Sidney Burnett 42 ft Gaff Yawl 1909 - Sold

The first owner Norman Deakin’s brief to the yard was to build the boat as strong as they possibly could as he planned to cross the Atlantic and explore the Americas. That specification is clearly evident still in the generous scantlings and has contributed greatly to ISEULT being afloat today - and such good condition. In a letter printed in Yachting Monthly in 1909, he wrote of his requirements “……as good a sea boat for the given dimensions as possible, and easily handled boat which could be taken about single handed if required, and comfortable living quarters for 3 months at a time”

A powerful and elegant yacht ISEULT has an interesting history - built to a very high specification from the best materials then available with enormous strength means she has survived the test of time without needing to be rebuilt.

Built in 1909 by Ashton & Kilner to a design by Sidney Burnett, this gaff yawl was launched as PRUDENCE. First owner Deakin cruised over 4,000 miles in his first season, winning the RCC’s Challenge Cup for the log of his journey around Great Britain. The design proved to be everything he had hoped for, albeit with some early modifications to the rig and interior. In spite of her performance Deakin sold her in 1911 to Professor F. W. Lanchester, who was apparently an authority on Wagner and perhaps it was this interest that caused him to change the name to ISEULT, from the opera \'Tristan and Isolde\'.

She was then sold on in 1921 to Colonel A. M. B. Gage, who fitted her first engine in 1923. Deakin had included auxiliary power in his original plans, but it wasn’t fitted. In the winter of 1926 -7, ISEULT went into George Martin\'s yard in Cowes, where her counter stern and mizzen mast were added.

In 1928 Colonel Gage sold ISEULT to Major B. C. Windeler, who in 1929 sold her to Sir John Holder. He considered the counter stern was poorly built and he wrote at length on the engine, finding it to be much better than modern lightweight machines. He never raced her and was usually too short-handed to set light weather sails, but he set a square sail for running. However, he eventually sold her as he found that the traffic down the coast was getting so bad that he was spending more time on the road than the water.

In 1938, she is recorded as owned by Air Marshall W. G. S. Mitchell. There is good evidence to show that ISEULT spent the war years on the Hamble, possibly at Moody\'s. After the war, she was sold to Kevin O\'Riordan - and letters from his son have put to rest any rumour that crossed the Atlantic in her, though well known for having done so in Vertue XXXV. In the mid 1950s, ISEULT was sold again and taken to the Hamble for a major refit and overhaul of the engine. She later left Poole for the Channel Islands and was caught out in a blow, during which sails blew out and a rope wrapped itself around the prop shaft. She limped back to Poole and once again, needed a refit.

in 1960 she was sold to Mr T. Taylor and two years later to Aubrey Pickwoad, who took her to Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, which has been her home port ever since. In 1966, ISEULT was bought by her current owner and soon after she became a film star, playing a part in the film \'Danger Route\' and in 1975, took part in the 50th Fastnet Race.

Her current owner bought the yacht in 1964 as a young lad and has sailed her every year since then, cruising the south coast of England and northern Europe, taking part in the Fastnet and competing regularly in classic yacht regattas. She has sailed further afield in recent years with a trip to Spain in dreadful weather in 1998. She has undergone many improvements, new decks, new engine, hydraulic steering gear, navigation electronics, refurbishment below and changes to the rig. She has been meticulously maintained with periodic checks on keel bolts, replacing the deck and constructing a dog house, as well as the usual minor annual maintenance jobs.

- 1 ½ pitch pine carvel planking, bronze nail fastened to massive grown oak frames
- Oak backbone, stem and stern post
- Lead ballast keel bronze bolted (last drawn in 1994 and found in excellent condition)
- 2 tons internal lead trimming ballast
- Enormous wrought iron strap floors fastened through the frames with bronze bolts
- Pitch pine deck on ½ inch marine ply sub deck, seams payed with Sikaflex and wood stain finished
- Teak king plank cover boards and toe rails
- Massive beam shelf with wrought iron hanging knees and large scantling deck beams

The original layout with crew quarters forward with the galley, serving hatch through to the saloon and a ladies cabin aft with an unusual level of privacy for a small boat has changed. The character lives on with a mix of Oregon pine, teak and oak joinery, white painted deck head and pine cabin sole
The current layout provides for 6 berths and is arranged thus:

Dog house added by current owner in place of the original sliding entrance hatch
- Provides shelter for crew; still part of the action rather than confined below decks
- Doors and sliding hatch into the dog house with 2 bench seats for 2 each side
- Engine space below
- Navigation area at forward end with electronic instruments and a switch panel
- Companionway steps to below decks port side

Below decks
- Quarter berths port and starboard
- Hanging locker and stowage
- Forward into the saloon
- L shaped galley athwartships with butterfly hatch skylight over
- Mariner 4 burner gas stove, grill and oven
- Double stainless steel sink and draining board with hot and cold running water mixer tap
- Shelf behind under the deck head with storage under the sink unit
- Waeco 12 V fridge new in 2012
- Work surface to port with a stainless steel top,
- Matsui microwave oven and storage cupboards

- Large saloon with full standing headroom throughout and butterfly hatch skylight over
- Cambered gloss white deck head, deck beams and coach roof coamings
- Settee berth port side and U shaped settee to starboard
- Drop leaf saloon table seats 6 comfortably
- 2 x Oil lamps on bulkheads
- Varnished cabin sole boards

- Passageway forward port side of the mast
- Head to starboard
- Jabsco auto electric flushing WC
- Hand basin with running water drains directly overboard
- Storage lockers beneath and behind the sink
- Large hanging locker to port

- Fore cabin with large double berth to starboard and fore hatch over
- Large sail locker beneath berth
- Small hatch forward into the anchor locker

Rig and rigging
- Gaff yawl rig on keel stepped solid varnished wooden masts
- Main mast extended recently for use of the topsail without a jack yard
- Main mast single cap shroud, twin lower shrouds and a single intermediate lower running aft
- Varnished wooden booms and gaff yard
- Mizzen added in 1926
- Stainless steel standing rigging to s/s rigging screws and external chain plates
- Single whisker stays and fixed bobstay all in stainless wire
- Stainless steel inner forestay to galvanised stem head fitting in
- ProFurl roller furling on forestay to end of bowsprit
- Running backstays on 2:1 tackles
- Mizzen mast Bermuda rigged with single spreaders
- Twin lower stays with a single cap shroud in s/s wire to s/s rigging screws and external chainplates
- Galvanised gooseneck fitting with leathered gaff saddle
- Halyard falls to pins on goose neck band or teak pin rail with oak belay pins in the standing rigging

Sails

- Jib by Crusader Sails on furler
- Large genoa on profurl
- Staysail by Crusader Sails hanked on
- Topsail by Crusader
- Mainsail
- Mizzen

- Spacious foredeck with wide side decks due to narrow coach roof forward from dog house
- Bronze bow cleats and fairleads
- 2 x Varnished butterfly skylight hatches on the coach roof
- Small doghouse aft with 2 windows each side
- Deep self draining varnished teak cockpit with bridge deck to dog house entrance
- 2 x Lewmar 43 winches - non self tailing on teak cockpit coamings for running backstay
- Teak compass pedestal
- 2 x Lewmar 43 bronze staysail winches - non self tailing on coach roof forward of doghouse
- 2 x 2 speed Merriman jib winches
- Bronze stern cleats and fairleads in toe rail aft
- Hatch and skylight covers
- Various mooring warps
- 6 x Fenders
- Lofrans electric windlass
- 45 lb CQR with 60 fathoms of 10 mm galvanised chain
- 70 lb Fishermans anchor
- 2 m inflatable Zodiac
- Tohatsu 3 HP outboard engine

- Wheel steering with varnished spoked wheel fwd end of the cockpit
- Vetus Hydraulic 2 x ram drive to original bronze Reed pattern steering mechanism
- Original steering mechanism to rudder, under a varnished teak box aft of cockpit
- Yanmar 4 cyl 60 HP marine diesel installed new 1994
- Bespoke galvanised engine bed spanning several frames
- Single lever control Yanmar gearbox to Aqua Drive
- Stainless steel shaft with a 3 blade bronze propeller
- 8 knots max, 6 knots cruising at 1.5 gallons per hour
- 4 x 12 V batteries under quarter berths with engine starting bank and separate domestic bank
- Twin engine alternators, one for charging each bank of batteries
- Link switch in case of failure of either a battery bank or alternator
- Varnished teak navigation light boxes in the rigging
- 50 Gallon stainless steel fuel tank under bridge deck with water separator filter
- 100 Gallon fibreglass water tank under starboard settee berth
- 2 x 13 Kg calor gas bottles (on deck abaft mast)

- Steering compass by Smith and Son of Southampton
-Tacktick sounder, log and wind indicator; readers by compass binnacle

- Furuno GPS navigator
- Furuno stand alone radar
- Cetrek Chartnav 350 chart plotter
- Cetrek autopilot
- Sea Ranger VHF

- 6 x Lifejackets
- 2 x life buoys
- 3 x Fire extinguishers
- Fire blanket
- Electric and manual bilge pumps

- Hull taken back to bare wood below waterline in 2012, above the waterline in 2013
(planking and caulking in first class condition)
- Roller furler overhauled in 2012
- Masts removed from the boat at regular intervals and the rig serviced. Re-varnished in 2010
- Last surveyed 2010