Harrison Butler 27 ft Cutter Rigged Sloop 1939 - Sold

THALIA is a most charming yacht – and attractive with her 1930s lines and spars, built by a well respected yard of the time to the design principally of Dr Thomas Harrison Butler. His creations – and derivatives thereof by other designers and builders - continue to have a strong following among enthusiasts. She has benefitted from a refit and ongoing maintenance by a fully qualified member of the present owning family. While there is scope for some cosmetic enhancement the fundamentals are all there. She’s ready to go.

- Beta Marine BZ482 2004
- Beta Marine throttle control
- Batteries

- Lowrance GlobalNav II A GPS
- Echo Pilot speed and depth repeaters
- VHF
- Clock and barometer

- Seago 4 person life raft July 2004 stowed on trunk cabin
- Manual bilge pump
- U life buoy

1996-97
- Replaced 1 hull plank
- 4 planks repaired using pitch pine
- Complete re-caulking
- Re-canvassing deck
- New bowsprit
- New bumpkin
- Stripped and repainted
- After hatch replaced
- New Toe rails and rubbing strakes
- Inside of hull stripped and re-varnished
- Refastened centre line on hull
- Heads replaced
- Coke stove / heater removed

Subsequent
- Mast and boom totally stripped and re-varnished with nine layers in 1998 (re-varnished every year)
- 3 new floor timbers were added around the mast in 1999
- Engine replaced (new Beta Marine BZ482) in September 2004
- New cushions / mattresses (2) for cabin bunks 2005
- New Stove (Plastimo Neptune hob & grill) July 2009

- CQR anchor on deck chocks with chain
- Manual windlass
- Fore hatch and raised trunk over fore cabin
- Butterfly hatch over main cabin saloon
- Deep protected cockpit with teak boarded seating over deep lockers
- Original Viking bronze jib sheet winches in aft corners of cockpit
- Mainsheet horse mounted abaft
- Bronze mooring cleats
- Lazarette hatch over gas locker
- Red canvas Sail covers
- Warps and sheets
- Boathook

Solid wooden single spreader mast, boom and staysail boom, bowsprit (with retractable bobstay) and bumpkin of pitch pine. Stainless steel standing rigging, soft eyed around the mast. Galvanised running backstays to Laurent Giles levers.

Apart from the principal jib; new in 2003, the sails are fairly old but in reasonable condition. They are checked at least annually and maintained by Quay Sails (Poole) Ltd.
- 1 x Mainsail
- 1 x Staysail (boomed)
- 1 x Jib; new circa 2003 with Wykeham Martin furler
- 1 x Storm jib

Accommodation is for 4 in two cabin spaces. Descending companionway steps over the engine by the coach roof hatch the main cabin opens out with chart table to port with stowage under and locker abaft. Forward are settees / single berths each side of the saloon and beyond the mast and semi bulkheads with oilskin locker to port are the 2 pipe cot berths and head with Jabsco manual WC. Coming back aft the galley is to starboard with a gimbaled Plastimo Neptune 2500 gas oven and 2 hobs and manual sink, draining board with stowage under and outboard.

The stem, forefoot, stern post and stern knee are of oak. Frames are of bent rock elm 1 ¼ x 1 ½ at 8 inch spacing. Carvel planking is of 1 inch pitch pine; single lengths below WL and 1 scarf per strake above. External ballast is lead fastened through the keel and oak floor timbers with ¾ inch bronze bolts. All backbone fastenings are of through riveted bronze rod.

Chain plates are of bronze through riveted with bronze onto interior oak blocking. Deck beams, carlins hanging and lodging knees are of oak and the beam shelf fir fastened with copper rod rivets. The deck and coachroof are of canvas covered pine. New deck joinery is of iroko or pitch pine fasted with stainless steel

THALIA is a cutter sloop designed largely by Harrison Butler but with some alterations requested at the time of building by her original owner. Built by Harry Feltham of Portsmouth in 1939, the onset of war was to postpone her launch until 1945.

She was bought by three generations of the Butler family in the autumn of 1996. At that time she was on the hard at West Mersea in Essex, having sustained some damage after breaking loose from her mooring in a storm.

During the winter of 1996 -7 she was worked on for 4 months or so by Jonathan Butler a graduate of the North West School for Wooden Boatbuilding, Port Townsend, Seattle, USA. Details of works carried out then and later are to be found in the Refit section below.