Welcome to Caress's cyber boat shed.

Here’s a glimpse of the delights to be enjoyed by owning and sailing a slice of traditional Norfolk Broads heritage in the form of a traditional Broads sailing yacht or ‘river cruiser’.

 

Caress is our pride and joy but really she isn't ours at all. She is part of Broads history and is simply in our custody for the time being, one day as we age she will pass into the hands of someone younger and better able to enjoy and maintain her. Our hope is that we will be able to hand her over in splendid condition having been maintained with sympathy for her originality.

 

Virtually everything used in the building of a timber Broads River Cruiser is repairable or replaceable, so at least in theory there is no reason short of a huge fire for them ever to be lost to deterioration of the wood. Sadly, deferred maintenance can mount up at a rapid rate and many old wooden boats have been deemed suitable only for breaking-up following decades of neglect.

 

Caress is actually Caress number 2. She was the second of twin sister ships commissioned by H.T.Percival of Horning in 1935 for his fleet of letting boats. "HT" skippered both boats on occasion for both leisure and competition and was extremely fond of them. Caress I has been lost a few years now, having fallen to the fate of neglect. Caress II was found ashore in a deteriorating condition by Mr Peter Barrall of Acle, who bought her and set about restoring her. Peter was unable to move Caress for a whole year from the position in which he found her, she needed to be taken back into shape and her strength and spring restored in situ before a lift by crane and road transportation dare be attempted.

 

Since Peter's relaunch Caress has enjoyed the attention of a traditional boatbuilder at Upton and more lately is undergoing further refinement at Martham. We bought Caress in August 2006 enjoying the thrill of sailing her well into December, when she was lifted to hard standing for a little Winter care. 2007 was a magnificent sailing season, particularly for boats which enjoy ample wind. In December 2007 she was lifted to hard standing for maintenance and improvement, progress of this being much slower than anticipated to the extent that we missed the whole 2008 season.

The combination of a long and very heavy oak and wrought-iron keel with a long-footed Bermudan rig provides for the ability to enjoy heavy, gusty weather without the need for deep keel. Caress draws just 2ft 9ins yet heels only very lightly, even when pushed hard in a strong blow. This makes her ideal for family leisure sailing, she is kindness itself to novice passengers while producing a good turn of speed when conditions permit. A novice crew could make her progress briskly but the 'feel' which comes only with experience is a requisite to extracting the best from her. Nevertheless, she is rarely hard work. As a Bermudan, Caress lacks the highest sail area above tree level enjoyed by gaff-rigged Broads cruisers with their topsails set, so is much less of a performer in light airs. By the same token she retains her balance when the wind gusts sufficiently to send the gaffers broaching out of control and she will 'pinch' much closer upwind than most. Every boat and every rig is a compromise of some sort, Caress suits our needs very well with her emphasis towards safety and stability - and a skipper too lazy to reef the sails when he really should! She is also very comfortable indeed when living onboard for several days and nights, with four very ample berths in two separate cabins and 6ft headroom throughout with the timber-sided cabin top raised.

 

Please feel free to look around the website. With the passage of time more pictures and detail will be added, but not very quickly!