Fleetwing
(ex Seagull)

Seagull Design : Published 1912

 Under Restoration at Heritage Marine Boatyard, Essex
Built in 1913, Fleetwing is one of the oldest surviving Harrison Butler designed yachts. Memory was built the year before, and Argo the year after. Although of historical value she's had some difficult years recently, with a succession of owners taking her on, only to find she was “more of a project” than they initially realised. Paul Goold has now taken her on and seems determined to sort her out. He has Fleetwing under a tent in the Heritage Marine boatyard in Essex. Work on her is progressing steadily; the floors have being re galvanised and are back in and a professional boat surveyor is about to (November 2015) look at her hull and come up with a schedule of work. Paul kindly sent in the above 'before' photograph of Fleetwing taken when he was thinking of buying her.
In the Spring 2015 edition of the HBA Journal, Edwin Danson wrote an article  about his adventures as a schoolboy aboard Fleetwing in the 1960s.
I've yet to pin down exactly when the name Seagull was dropped, but in my 1924 Lloyd's register she is already listed as Fleetwing.

 
An old photograph of Fleetwing from
Cruising Yachts, Design & Performance
by T Harrison Butler (Fourth Edition)  

Fleetwing Statistics
Built : 1913 by EL Woods & Newstead in Cantley
LOA : 20' 0" + Bowspit
LWL : 18' 0"
Beam : 7' 0"
Draught : 4' 0"
Displacement : 3 tons TM
OGA Boat Number : 0641

Fleetwing Custodians & Home Ports
Paul Goold (2015-2017...) Heritage Marine Boatyard, Essex
Dominic Stevens (2014) Herritage Marine Boatyard, Essex
Hugh Barrett (?-2014) Herritage Marine Boatyard, Essex
J Frost (?-1993-?) East Coast, England
JF Brown (1971-1974-?) Dover
Dr PH Garrard (1970) Dover
JF Brown & S Dyer (1961-1969) Dover
JF Brown & G Fish (1960) Folkestone
Executors of AH Dean (1959) Folkestone
AH Dean (1952-1958) Folkestone
RR Allison (1950-1951) Dover
Surgeon Comdr AC Rusack RN(ret) (?-1936-1949) Dover
AT Springall (?-1924-1934-?) Gt Yarmouth
NR Suffling (fist owner)

Fleetwing Links  
• The Boatman magazine, 1995, March, Page 38
• Map Cap Voyage by Edwin Danson, in HBA Journal N° 72, Spring 2015 

Another Fleetwing ?
The following account must refer to a different wooden Harrison Butler boat also called Fleetwing as the length and owner detail conflicts with that in the authoritative Lloyd's Registers. Information on this 'other Fleetwing' welcome.

Terry Bridge (Pictured) wrote the following in September 2011,
“I joined the Princess Royal Sailing Club in 1962 and sailed in a 26 foot Harrison Butler designed cutter rigged yacht owned by Laurie Caldwell and skippered by Jack Baxter . The yacht, Fleetwing, had a bowsprit and an open cockpit with the rudder hanging over the stern. After sailing Fleetwing for several seasons, Jack Baxter and I altered the boat by removing the bowsprit, cutting the stern off and added about four feet by putting a counter stern on to the back of the yacht to lengthen her to 30 feet. We also added a self draining cockpit and changed the rig from cutter to masthead rig. All this improved the yacht's performance immeasurably. We sailed Fleetwing till Laurie sold her about 1972”.

Page last updated : October 2017

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