Wooden Drascombes
John Watkinson
1968 London Earls Court Boat
Much of the sailing in "Katharine Mary" was on and from the River Yealm in Devon. She gained many admiring glances and there was so much interest shown, that John decided to resume boatbuilding as a small business and go into small scale production, part building the hulls at Drascombe Barton and getting them completed at a boatyard. It was with this in mind that he approached the then owners of his old boatyard Kelly and Hall where Doug Elliott now worked alongside his brother John. They were happy to take part in the venture and a successful partnership began. John built a modified version of the original design at Drascombe Barton, which was exhibited at the 1968 London Earls Court Boat on the Kelly and Hall stand.
January
1969 Earls Court Boatshow
'Aeolus' was exhibited at the 1968 show and sold within 20 minutes. She is shown here at the 1969 show alongside the 35th Lugger to be produced.
When the show opened to the public, the "Drascombe Lugger" was sold within 20 minutes of the show opening, possibly a record in itself. Further orders followed and production took off to provide constant work for Kelly and Hall.
Last updated: 17 November, 2006
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