Golden Beaver

An Invited Friend of The Harrison Butler Association
Built by David Hillyard in 1954

Golden Beaver : Large Hillyard in Scotland For Sale 
Golden Beaver is one of the larger Hillyard boats. She's currently (July 2019) for sale in Inverness in Scotland, for £94,000. There is clearly a story behind how she ended up north, because in 2014 her home port was Honfleur, in France, and she had a Belgian owner. She is reported to be largely in her original condition, including a bath.
Delving into the Lloyd's Registers reveals that she's had some famous previous owners, as one would expect for such a grand boat. In particular, Sir Giles Loder Bt, is a name that will be familiar to many gardening enthusiasts. He devoted much of his life to Leonardslee, one of the largest and most spectacular landscaped woodland gardens in England. Another past owner, Kenneth AE Moore, was chairman of the National Mutual Life Assurance Society. Previously, he'd owned the 5 ton Hillyard Dorma.
2019 Update
David Crosland has very kindly been in touch with some facinating information about Golden Beaver which will be appearing in the Autumn 2019 edition of the HBA Journal Cruising Yachts; By the Surgeon's Eye.

Golden Beaver Statistics
Built : 1954 by David Hillyard at Littlehampton, England
LOA : 46' 7"
LWL : 43' 0"
Beam : 12' 6"
Draught : 5' 0"
Displacement : 28 tons TM  
Lloyd's Register : N° 186375
Signal Letters : MSMD

Golden Beaver Custodians & Home Ports 
Marc Decourteille (?-2014-?) Honfleur, France
Digby Hubbard (1995-?) Monacco
David Crosland (1991-1995) Dartmouth, Devon, England
Chausey Ltd (1984-1991) Hull, Yorkshire, England
Poste Hotels Ltd (?-1980-1984) Lymington, England
MO Hoskins (1977-1978-?) Lymington, England
Kenneth AE Moore (1960-1976) Buckler's Hard, England
Sir Giles Loder, Bt (1954-1959) Littlehampton, England

Sir Giles and Lady Loder in their garden at Leonardslee, Sussex, England
Photo by John D Johnston

Golden Beaver Links
• Golden Beaver For Sale in Scotland (March 2018)
• Obituary : Sir Giles Loder Bt

Page last updated : July 2019

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