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V ii 3 faire vertue.

• Posted on 30/12/2023

We are hoping to be able to post more details and a photograph of Faire Vertue in due course.  She was shipped out to Australia in the early 1970’s.

Description

Specification.

• Laurent Giles design No:
• Builder: Bossoms then local shipwrights
• Launch Date:
• Hull Material: GRP
• Deck: GRP with teak over
• Engine: Volvo md7A
• Ballast keel material:
• Doghouse: Long
• Cockpit: Short
• Backstay arrangement:
• Current Owner: Geffrey Klestadt
• Contact details:
• Email address:
• Other comments: Faire Vertue is a very early grp boat that was finished in Melbourne Australia, for Albert Klestadt by shipwright Bernie Webber, once the moulded hull had been shipped out there.

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Laurent Giles Vertue

• Designer: Jack Laurent Giles
• Builder: Elkins of Christchurch
• Location: Devon
• Length on deck: 25'3"
• Draft: 4'6"
• Tonnage: 5TM

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Full specification

27 ft laurent giles vertue yacht for sale 1954, wooden ships comments on this laurent giles vertue sailing yacht.

Designed by Jack Laurent Giles and built by Elkins of Christchurch in 1954.  Vertue no. V67.

The Vertue was designed by Jack Laurent Giles before the war and has become probably the most celebrated small cruiser ever, largely due to the amazing voyages made in these tough little ships.  It was Humphrey Barton who made the design’s reputation with his blue water voyages in Vertue XXXV and Hiscock spoke highly of the design. The latter engaged Laurent Giles to design his Wanderer 2 and 3, both designs owing much to the Vertue.

Since the first extended voyages proving that a well-designed and built small yacht could sail safely off-shore, many Vertues have made similar and longer voyages with some completing circumnavigations of the globe.

The early boats had a very short coachroof with sitting head-room below. After the war, the topsides were raised by a plank and a much bigger coach-roof added extending forward of the mast and raised to a dog-house aft so that Vertues are often identified as “long” or “short” dog-house models, there being a few inches difference but seen as a one window or two dog-house. In a little boat, a few inches can make a significant difference.

This is the short doghouse model with a single window in the doghouse and is a very attractive example of the famous Vertue.

Bought by the current owner with a view to local cruising, but unfortunately circumstances have changed and she is no longer a suitable boat.  Sold by Wooden Ships to the previous owner who kept her in France and lavished time and money on the boat to keep her in top condition.  As well as regular cosmetic maintenance, she had a new engine, standing rigging, various sails and updated systems in the previous ownership.  This is an exceptional example of the class with a recent clean survey and ready for her next owner.

With a beautiful teak deck, varnished teak coamings and mostly bronze fittings she is a delight to behold.  Below decks she has 4 berths, a baby Blake sea toilet and paraffin Taylors stove.  The 27 foot yacht is well equipped with navigation gear, sails and numerous covers.

A super example with a detailed documented history of ownership and maintenance.

Length on Deck                 25’3″

Length Overall                   27′

Beam                                    7’2″

Draft                                      4’6″

Thames Tonnage             5TM

More from Laurent Giles:

28′ Laurent Giles Bermudan Cutter

Construction

Carvel planked in teak below the waterline, mahogany above, all copper fastened to sawn oak frames with 2 steamed oak intermediate timbers.

Mix of sawn oak and bronze strap floors across the centreline.

External lead ballast keel with bronze keel bolts.

Oak backbone, stem and stern post with elm deadwoods.

Deck is yacht laid teak screwed and glued over a marine plywood subdeck, which is in turned laid over the original pine deck which sits on oak deck beams.  Teak deck re-caulked and sanded back in 2019.

Varnished teak covering board, toe rail and capping rail.

Stainless steel stanchions, pulpit and pushpit.

Varnished teak coamings with a raised doghouse aft.  This is the short doghouse model with a single large window and stainless steel portlights in the coachroof coamings.

Coachroof deck of sheathed T&G planking and finished in white.  Varnished teak handrails, dorade box, nav light boxes and forehatch on the coachroof.

Self draining cockpit with painted plywood sole and cockpit sides.  Scrubbed teak sole grating.  Scrubbed teak thwarts that lift to access large lockers.  Laid teak bridge deck and varnished teak coamings with lovely rounded aft corners.

Bronze cleats and fairleads on deck.  Bead blasted stainless steel stemhead fitting added in 2015.

Bermudan slutter rig to the usual Vertue design.

Deck stepped hollow varnished spruce twin spreader mast made in 2000.  Regularly varnished and maintained.

Mast area supported by a large oak deck beam and vertical compression posts, plus bronze hanging knees on the inside of the hull.

Varnished wooden roller reefing boom with bronze roller mechanism and varnished wooden bumpkin over the transom to take the standing backstay.

Stainless steel standing rigging new in 2014 with new rigging screws, to internal bronze chain plates.

Twin lower shrouds, single intermediate and a single cap shroud.  Single standing backstay (new in 2021) and running backstays on bronze levers.  Removable inner forestay and outer forestay to stemhead.

Selden Furlex roller furling headsail system fitted in 1999.

Pair of original bronze non-self tailing cockpit sheet winches.  Pair of original bronze non-self tailing mast winches.

Mainsail from 2019, Genoa from 1999, 3 x staysails, spinnaker, storm jib and storm trysail.

Nanni N3.21 21hp 3cyl diesel installed new in 2015.

Single lever control with a TMC40 gearbox to a centreline 2 blade fixed bronze propeller.

25 litre stainless steel fuel tank with Racor fuel filter.

Optima AGM BT50 SLI engine start battery, Odyssey AGM PC2150 domestic battery, both new in 2017.  Charged from engine alternator or through a CTEK M200 battery charger when connected to shore power.  Blue Sea systems 12 volt switch panel with voltage monitoring and USB chargers.

2 x galvanised water tanks under the berths.

Accommodation

4 single berths with 2 saloon settee berths and 2 singles in the forepeak.

Steps down from the companion hatch into the main cabin with chart desk to starboard and galley to port.

Galley has a Taylors paraffin 028 2 burner stove.  Galley sink under the lifting chart desk with manually pumped fresh water.  Pumped out manually with a Whale Gulper 220.

Chart desk has switch panel and various nav instruments outboard.

Usual half height Vertue bulkheads with curved stainless grab rails separate off the saloon.

Settee berth either side with storage space behind the seat backs and shelf above.  Varnished pine sole boards.

Varnished mahogany lockers on forward bulkhead, along with a Hampshire charcoal stove on the starboard side.

Centreline door going forward into the forepeak.

Baby Blake sea toilet fitted on the centreline under the joinery, serviced and fitted in 2021 with new seacocks.

2 single berths with chain locker below.

Steering compass

Raymarine TickTack wireless instrument suite (2016):

Anemometer pack with masthead unit and display T101-868 (incl T112 & T120)

NMEA interface unit(T122) to network Micronet, GPS, VHF & Autohelm

Depth/Speed pack with bronze sleeve for speed transducer includes hull transmitter (T121)

Airmar special long bronze depth sounder (used instead of T942 above) [an analogue device compatible with Raymarine wireless]

Extra displays – two no. T110, to supplement T110 and T111

Fluxgate compass (T909)

Raytheon ST2000 tiller pilot

Navtex Target Pro Plus (518Khz) (c1999) with dual channel antenna mounted internally (2017)

Standard Horizon GX2200E DSC VHF (2017)

Metz Manata VHF antenna + Windex combination

Hella LED navigation lights (2017):

Masthead trio plus white mooring light

Port/Starboard lights

Clock and barometer

Horse shoe lifebuoy

Auto electric bilge pump, Rule 1100gph with Ultra Safety Systems float switch

Munster Simms manual bilge pump

ANAF Group CO2 fire extinguisher (fire category B) 75EN3 (Mfr 05/13)

Firekill FM200/HFC 227 automatic engine compartment fire extinguisher         bbbhh—+

Spare tiller

CTEK D250S dual and Smartpass battery charge regulator (2017)

CTEK charger CTEK M200 and cigar/usb sockets (2017)

Battery 1 (engine):  OPTIMA lead acid AGM (BT50 SLI) (2017)

Battery 2 (house):   ODYSSEY lead acid AGM (PC2150, Series TM) (2017)

Mainsail, Slab reefing (2); Bainbridge s/s slides (B308); 4 battens (1 full length), Technique Voile (2019)

Trysail, Hood, reinforced, orange, Holt Allen slides (HA89), (2015),

Genoa, furling, Hood, new UV protection (2014) Furler , Selden FURLEX (c1999)

Furler line (8mm polyester), (2015)

Staysail 1, Jeckells (2009)

Staysail 2, Delta Voiles (2015)

Staysail 3, Hood, (unused)

Storm jib, Hood, reinforced, orange (2015)

Spinnaker, Bruce Banks

Bronze sheet winches and mast winches

Spinnaker pole

Light weight genoa pole

Boom crutch

Mainsail cover

CQR bower anchor of 20kg on double stemhead roller

Fisherman’s kedge anchor of 20kg

Mooring chain 45m of 8mm

Warp 36m of 14mm and multiple mooring warps

Simpson Lawrence anchor winch with 8mm gypsy

Fenders:  6 no.  cylinder (680mm), 2 no. ball,  1 no. prow

Mooring warps

Day shapes (cone and ball)

Boarding ladder

Spare fuel container

Mast ladder:  Bespoke ladder with slides, 32ft (2015)

Workbelt (2015)

Climbing safety harness Body harness – Avao Bod (2015)

Overall Winter Cover (navy), Reasonable

Sectional covers (beige) (2006) for cockpit, main hatch, fore hatch, mast boot, tiller

Dodgers and sun awning (beige) (2007) for beside and over cockpit

All weather cover, superstructure (beige) (2014) 3-section zipped together of Sunbrella material, covers whole deck and cockpit

All weather cover (beige) (2014 3-section zipped/snapped together covers, covers topsides

Bunk and berth cushions

Taylors 028 paraffin stove with pressure tank

Hampshire charcoal cabin heater

Cockpit cushions

Removable mahogany saloon table

Baby Blake sea toilet, serviced 2021

Jabsco Par-Max model 42631 foot pump for galley sink

Whale Gulper 220 diaphram pump (2017) galley sink pump out

Wooden Ships classic yachts brokers have an extensive database of boats for sale. With a wide range of sailboats , classic yachts , motor yachts and small classic boats , Wooden Ships has one of the largest selections of traditional wooden boats and yachts for sale in the UK.

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.

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How to Sell a Yacht

September 5th 2022

How to sell a classic yacht – 10 things to expect from your broker.   Selling a classic yacht can be daunting, but working with a broker can simp…

Laurent Giles 25 ft Vertue Ocean 1990 - Sold

ELLENOR JOSEPHINE

Laurent giles 25 ft vertue ocean 1990.

These details are provisional and may be amended

BROKER'S COMMENTS

It is remarkable that such a small unassuming boat has almost become Laurent Giles’s hallmark rather than one his other important designs in the league of large luxury yachts and ocean racers. From before the 2nd World War Vertues have criss-crossed most of the World’s oceans; many such voyages undertaken single handed speaking volumes for this enduring design. ELLENOR JOSEPHINE was commissioned and built IBTC Lowestoft to a high specification by someone who wanted to sail long distances. Much thought has also gone into her inventory. In the event, she has cruised but not been very far afield and she remains in a condition close to that when launched in 1990. This boat would be as perfect for mucking about on a Saturday outing in the West Country as she would for taking on the mid Atlantic.

Class comments

The extended cruising version of this design was known as the Vertue Ocean and incorporated modifications from the original Vertue design suggested to Laurent Giles by Humphrey Barton. They were described on p 158 of his book entitled “Vertue XXXV”. The class was actually named post war by Laurent Giles in recognition of the presentation to Lawrence Biddle and Humphrey Barton on EPENETA, of the Little Ship Club’s Vertue Cup for their crossing the Bay of Biscay in 1939. There is a chapter in the book “Laurent Giles and his Yacht Designs” by Adrian Lee and Ruby Philpott dedicated to the Vertues and detailing numerous members of the Class with numerous anecdotes extolling their resilience, practicality and sheer performance in some of the World’s most powerful oceans. Humphrey Barton following his epic passage from the Lizard to Sandy Hook off New York in 1950 was to say: “I honestly believe she best designed built and equipped small ocean going cruising yacht that has yet been produced. Her ability to stand up to bad weather, her remarkable high performance under sail and the comfort of her accommodation are outstanding” - No surprise then that even before the Class half century, some 200 had been built.

This boat was launched in November 1990 for Mr Ian Wright and named PATIENCE. Mr Wright died around 2005, his widow selling the boat to Mr Brian Edmunds MBE FCA in August 2006. Her current owner bought her in July 2009 at Tollesbury in Essex, then taking her to Mashfords Yard opposite Plymouth Devon, where she underwent an extensive refit. And was renamed ELLENOR JOSEPHINE.

Construction

- Strongly built to Lloyds Al of iroko planking copper fastened onto oak frames - Iron keel sandblasted and epoxy coated in refit - Bronze bolts - Bolted steel and oak floors - Teak laid deck - Varnished mahogany coach roof - Oiled spars

Accommodation and domestic equipment

- Saloon with 2 x 6 ft 3 inch single berths with lee cloths for sleeping on passage - Cushion and panel infill to bridge the berths for harbour sleeping - Stowage below and outboard of the berths - Blue upholstery - Eberspacher D2 diesel heating system - Galley with a Taylor 030 paraffin 2 burner hob and oven - Various copper and stainless steel pots and pans with fiddle rail and holders - 2 stainless water tanks - Blake marine WC in forepeak - 12 V and oil lighting

Mechanical, electrical and tankage

- Beta Marine 14 HP inboard diesel new in 2004 approx 500 hours to date - Shaft drive to fixed bronze propeller - Single lever Morse control in cockpit - Engine alternator charging 2 x 12 V batteries - Stainless fuel header tank c 70 litres - Racor fuel filter - 2 x 33 gallon / 150 litre stainless steel fresh water tanks total c 66 gallons 300 litres

Navigation communications and electronics

- Sestrel hand bearing compass in bulkhead mounted case - Sestrel steering compass - Furuno 7000 F plotter / sounder - Furuno GP32 GPS - Furuno cockpit repeater - Walker Knotmaster log - Walker Excelsior log - Simrad TP30 autopilot - Furuno DSC VHF - Sextant in wooden case - Barometer and clock - Lead line - Steaming lights - Tri colour masthead light - Oil Anchor light

- Permanently fitted jackstay lifelines - 2 x Safety harnesses - Avon Ocean ISO 9650 4P TIA Canister Life raft V80381 - 2 x Dry powder fire extinguishers - EPIRB bulkhead mounted - Fire blanket - 2 x manual bilge pumps - Coastal pack distress flares - 2 x Life jackets

Rig spars and sails

The sail plan is based on the 1936 gaff rigged cutter Vertue ANDRILLOT - Sitka Spruce mast and spars - Rigging and sails by James Lawrence Sailmakers, Brightlingsea, Essex - Rigging screws mainly imported from Bronze Star Inc. San Diego U.S.A - Wooden blocks by Colin Frake of Faversham, Kent - Stainless steel standing rigging and traditional running rigging - Slab reefing mainsail with cover - Working jib on Wykeham Martin furling gear - Hanked on staysail - Spinnaker - Topsail with yard - Towsail - Storm jib - Tri-sail

Deck equipment and ground tackle

- Traditional bronze ports, cast bronze fittings etc, custom made by craftsmen in Lowestoft - Laid teak cockpit seats with cushions, teak cockpit grating - Tiller, spare tiller, and autopilot tiller - Main anchor 35 lb CQR with galvanised chain - Danforth kedge anchor with chain and warp - Fisherman’s kedge anchorwith chain and warp - Simpson Lawrence bronze anchor windlass - 2 x Boathooks - Various mooring warps and fenders - Yacht legs - Full winter boat cover - Teak and bronze boom gallows

Refit details

Summary of work carried out in the 2009 / 10 refit at Mashfords – detailing some items already noted in inventory above - Mast and spars taken back to bare wood and 20 coats of Deks Olje D1 applied - Iron keel sandblasted and 6 coats of VC TAR 2 epoxy applied - 2 keel bolts drawn for inspection and found to be in new condition - Deck caulk removed; repayed with Teak Decking Systems SIS 440 Teak Deck Caulking - New bronze deck stanchions fitted - All external varnish removed and re-varnished with 8 coats of Epifanes clear varnish - New bronze rudder cap manufactured and fitted - Rudder pintle bracket bolts replaced with new silicon bolts - New bronze shaft and propeller fitted - Engine removed, new shaft coupling and engine drip tray fitted - 2 New Optima high performance batteries fitted - Engine fuel tank removed, cleaned and re-installed with new Racor filter - New Eberspacher diesel hot air heating system installed - New running backstays - New cockpit cushions - New Furuno instruments as specified in Navigation fitted

These particulars have been prepared from information provided by the vendors and are intended as a general guide. The purchaser should confirm details of concern to them by survey or engineers inspection. The purchaser should also ensure that the purchase contract properly reflects their concerns and specifies details on which they wish to rely.

Sandeman Yacht Company

Brokerage of classic & vintage yachts.

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Extraordinary boats: Andrillot, the original ‘Vertue’ design

• May 25, 2021

Andrillot is the original ‘Vertue’, the design which launched Laurent Giles’s long and illustrious career in 1935. Nic Compton reports

German boatbuilder Uli Killer was looking for a boat to sail while he was working on a big restoration project when he spotted Andrillot , a 25ft wooden cutter for sale in Dartmouth, UK.

The boat had recently undergone a three-year restoration and was said to be in very good condition for her age. The ad claimed the yacht was ‘an important part of our maritime heritage’ and that she and her sisterships had ‘become legends in their own right’. But to Uli, a relative newcomer to the classic world, she was just a pretty boat at the right price.

Andrillot as she was built with a gaff rig.

“She looked pretty and was affordable for us. I knew nothing about her history, and I had to ring a friend to ask him who Laurent Giles was!” Killer recalls. “Then I saw articles in English and American magazines and realised she really was such a famous boat, and hundreds of them were built. Being No 1 makes her more interesting.”

The boat Uli had inadvertently stumbled across was Andrillot , best known as the ‘original Vertue’, the first of a class which, 85 years after she was launched, is still going strong and now numbers around 200 boats. More by chance than intent, Uli had discovered a unique piece of maritime history, which he was able to buy for less than the price of a new VW Golf. He could hardly believe his luck.

It was in 1935 that Guernsey solicitor Dick Kinnersly commissioned British yacht designer Laurent Giles, then at the start of an illustrious career, to design a cruising boat for him.

“I was ignorant of yacht design but I knew what I wanted; a boat that would spin on a sixpence and I could sail single-handed,” he told British journalist (and fellow Vertue owner) Adrian Morgan 60 years later. “I don’t mind a transom, I said, and a good entry. I couldn’t afford an engine, so I needed ‘plenty of air’ aloft, which meant a topsail.”

The result was a modest 25ft 3in cruising yacht with a wide, distinctive sheer strake inspired by her working boat origins, and a manageable gaff rig (described by some as the ‘pinnacle’ of gaff rig design).

The hull shape was moderate in every way, and Giles himself was reticent about his achievement, saying: “There was nothing very special about the first conception, simply a contemporary interpretation of the Pilot Cutter theme with the same sort of displacement and general arrangements whittled down suitably to the very small size.”

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The boat’s capabilities were soon put to the test by Giles’s colleague Humphrey Barton, who borrowed Andrillot soon after she was launched and sailed her from Lymington to Concarneau and back, covering 855 miles in 23 days. The voyage, almost unheard of at the time on such a small boat, earned him the 1937 RCC Founder’s Cup.

More orders for the design soon started trickling in although, strangely, the class didn’t get its name until 10 years after Andrillot was launched. One of the boats built to Laurent Giles Design No.0015 (as it was then known) was Epeneta , which won the Little Ship Club’s annual Vertue Challenge Cup in 1939 for a 745-mile cruise of the English Channel. When Giles came to naming the class after the war, he chose the name Vertue in honour of that achievement.

Andrillot has been converted from gaff to Bermudan rig. Photo: Nic Compton

Other epic Vertue voyages soon followed, including notable transatlantic crossings. One, by David Lewis on Cardinal Vertue , was made while competing in the first OSTAR in 1960. He finished 3rd, behind Francis Chichester and Blondie Hasler.

Over the years, there have been several changes to the boat’s superstructure and rig, but the basic hull shape remained unchanged (indeed Giles believed it couldn’t be improved) until the design was adapted for GRP construction in 1976.

Reconfigured with slightly more beam and a higher freeboard, more than 40 Vertues were built in GRP, mostly by Bossoms in Oxford.

Wooden Vertues continue to be built to this day, both in carvel and strip-plank construction, and the company recently sent out plans for hull No.249 – though not all the plans sent out have been built.

As for Andrillot , the progenitor of this remarkable explosion of small boat sailing, she was owned by Kinnersly until 1947, after which she went through a succession of owners (seven in all) until 1982 when she was spotted by father and son Peter and Tim Stevenson.

By then Andrillot was in a dilapidated state. Peter and Tim had to tow her across the Solent and had her transported to a hay barn on the family farm near Lyndhurst.

The chart table was completely rebuilt for her new owner, including the non-original inlaid compass rose. Photo: Nic Compton

There, over the next two years, they gave her a full restoration, gutting the interior, doubling up several frames, and replacing the old Stuart Turner engine with an 8hp Bukh. By then, the yacht had already been converted to Bermudan rig and her coachroof had been extended, with the mast stepped on top of the coachroof rather than on the keel, as original. Peter and Tim kept the Bermudan rig but reinstated the bowsprit.

Andrillot across the channel

For the next few decades, Peter and Tim sailed extensively from the yacht’s base in Lymington to both sides of the English Channel. When Peter died in 2002, Tim took over the boat and based her on the River Exe in Devon. But eventually, the wear and tear of 35 years of sailing took its toll – particularly on the extended coachroof, which was creaking under the strain of the rig.

Tim entrusted the job of repairing the boat to Dartmouth-based boatbuilder Michel LeMoigne, whose CV includes working on major restoration projects such as the William Fife sloop Rosemary . He duly opened the coachroof up and replaced two deck beams, fitting three hefty posts under the mast step to transfer the load to the keel.

In the process, he had to rebuild the foc’s’le bunks and lockers. Once that was done, it was clear the rest of the interior needed to be updated, soon followed by the cockpit. And so one job led to another…

Andrillot in Darmouth where she was given an extensive refit. Photo: Nic Compton

Finally, near the end of the summer 2019, Andrillot was ready to be relaunched, but any hopes Tim might have had for a late season’s cruise were crushed when the surveyor spotted a crack in the mast – which had been there for years and never caused a problem – and condemned it.

It was the last straw for Tim and soon after Andrillot was put on the market. By the time a new mast was made and a buyer was found, the UK was deep in Coronavirus lockdown, so Andrillot wasn’t launched until August 2020 – three years after she’d been taken out of the water for repairs.

Uli Killer was in some ways a surprising buyer. A former CEO of a finance company, he quit his well-paid job in 2010 after becoming ill with the stress of work. In a dramatic change of life, he decided to pursue his lifelong love of boats and trained as a boatbuilder at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis.

He then set up shop at his home in southern Germany where, alongside building bespoke dinghies, he embarked on a major project restoring an 1884 gaff cutter called Wild Duck. But, as it became clear the restoration would take longer than expected, he decided to buy a smaller boat to sail in the meantime. Which is when he discovered Andrillot .

Close encounters

Uli only had time for one trial sail on his new boat, before he and his son Moritz set off from Dartmouth to Vlissingen, Holland, at the end of August.

They were pushed on their way by strong following winds, with a dramatic wind against tide run past the Needles, a boat crashing into them in the middle of the night in Lymington, and a close encounter with a military firing range near Dungeness.

The RCC Founder’s Cup was awarded to Andrillot after she sailed 855 miles from Lymington to Concarneau and back. Photo: Nic Compton

In the end, it took them two weeks to make the 380-mile trip – including a week’s stopover in Cowes for repairs – averaging 50 to 60 miles a day. Yet, despite the drama of the trip, Uli was euphoric about his new acquisition.

“The boat felt really safe. Several times, we made 7-8 knots. It’s amazing such a small boat goes so fast – more than the theoretical hull speed. With the white cliffs near Eastbourne to one side, it was really beautiful. And when you go into harbour, people are interested in the boat and want to talk to you – we met such nice people all the way. In the evenings, it was so cosy and nice to snuggle in there and have supper.”

If Uli was ignorant of the boat’s importance when he bought her, he is certainly fully appreciative of her now. He is talking about taking her back to her gaff rig one day – perhaps in time for her 90th birthday – and hopes his son will take over ownership once Wild Duck is restored.

Once again, it seems, Andrillot will be handed down from father to son, as it was under the Stevensons’ long tenure. Almost by accident, it seems, the little boat with a big heart has reinvented herself and found a doting owner to take her to the end of her first century. Laurent Giles himself could ask no more.

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EX3 0LS, Exeter, Devon

This Vertue II 1986 was from moulding fitted by the first owner drawings are available. Owners comments:- This is a fine Offshore cruiser, she has been maintained and wintered at the Retreat Boatyard. She comes with relevant manuals and invoice and previous Bills of SalesShow More

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Austral Vertue

$ 25.00 – $ 2,250.00

Design No. 0222

Built for: Bernard (Bernie) Kavanagh Builder: Bernie & Jim Kavanagh, Newport, Victoria, Australia Date designed: 1936

Class – Hull Number  Vertue Class No. 59

Principal Design Data

L.O.A: 25’ 3½” ( 7.70 m) Datum: 21’ 6″ ( 6.55 m) Beam Max: 7’ 2″ ( 2.18 m) Draft: 4′ 6″  ( 1.37 m) Displacement tons: 4.2 T.M.:  4.97 tons Ballast ratio: 47.1% Sail Area: 384 sq. ft Rig: Bermudan slutter

Bernie Kavanagh, a coach builder, built Austral Vertue [the first in Australia] and launched her in January 1958 at Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club, Melbourne. After sailing around the bay for a few years Bernie’s poor health meant he had to sell his masterpiece.  The second owner Noel Waters looked after her admirably until he in turn sold her to Michael (Mick/Mike) McKeon in January 1966. Up until this time Austral Vertue had not left Port Philip Bay to the oceans she was designed and built for.

This was to change and in Mike’s hand she was to undertake many cruises and voyages including the first voyage offshore to Tasmania with 2 mates. She is pictured as she departs Hobson’s Bay setting off for Opua, Bay of Islands, NZ across the Tasman Sea after putting into Sydney. After some winter cruising Mike settled in Whangarei for a while working as an electrician in Whangarei then for a boat builder back in Opua, making many new friends.

Friends, Margaret and Ron Sharp asked him to navigate their 36’ ketch Wayfarer to Noumea, New Caledonia, returning via Norfolk Island. On return Mike set off for Fiji and beyond; Austral Vertue clocked up 140 miles in the first twenty four hours and the cruise encompassed Fiji, and some of the surrounding islands before heading north to the Tuvalu [Ellice Islands] and thereafter further north to the Kiribati [Gilbert Islands] including Nonouti, Tarawa, Abaiang, and Abemama.

Around the 29th of March 1972 Mike left Abemama intending for Funafuti [Tuvalu], Fiji and on to New Zealand, however this voyage ended prematurely when on the night of April 5/6 th while Mike was ashore on the island of Vaitupu [Tuvalu] Austral Vertue dragged her anchor and drifted out to sea. Despite his best efforts to spread the word to shipping and flights in the area she was deemed lost. This of course was devastating for Mike who we respectfully thank for providing us with the information from his memoir ‘Austral Vertue and her voyages’ .

We are currently updating the online purchase facility. For those of you who would like to buy copies of the original historical drawings, plan for the construction of scale models, stock plan sets for full size construction, study notes or our brochure please contact us stating which design and items you require. We will do our best to help.

If you want to make your purchase by using PayPal account or credit card, please choose 'PayPal' at the 'Check out'. We can also take payment by Bank transfer, for further information, please contact us.

Additional Information

Individual drawing copies.

Please download and print the drawings list for Austral Vertue, Individual plan copies cost $85.00 which includes standard airmail. Please contact us using the link for information on how to order.

Study Notes

34 page A4 format colour booklet containing many small scale drawings and photographs as well as technical data and an abridged specifications of Andrillot and the various Vertue types. Construction scantlings of the carvel, strip plank, steel and new aluminium versions are outlined as are the variant deck arrangements, accommodation layouts and rigs. Included are generic drawing lists for each of the alternative designs and information for clients considering building a new Vertue.

Model Plans

Full set of Stock Building Plans

Full construction drawings are available for the Vertue. There are many options available: a new Vertue can be constructed from the original pre 1938 or post 1945 drawings, or if preferred using strip plank construction or for steel construction. In all cases full lofting (with full size templates for the strip plank version), hull and deck works construction, rigging and outfit drawings will be provided. Just click on contact us on our home page, send a short message with the title ‘Vertue stock plans’ and we will reply to discus which options are required with each version of the famous and extremely highly regarded ocean cruising yacht.

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