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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
30 Tim’s phenomenal multi-year winning streak was due to the boat,the sails,Tim’s expertise or (most likely) a combination of the three. At about the same time in 1981 Ross and Jones made sails for the Stewarts finishing 1st , 2nd and 4th in the championship. One of the Stewart owners actually made his own sails. Patari owner Lloyd Brookbanks had a special sewing machine set up in the attic of his home. One of his crew, Geoff Smale designed and patented a No. 1 genoa, which Lloyd then built. Like Lloyd, the sail enjoyed a remarkably long life. 4 - From Wood to Fibreglass Although fibreglass boats began to appear in the early 1940’s, it would take another twenty years before “plastic” would become universally accepted as a viable boatbuilding material. In 1958 when Bob Stewart designed his first 34-footer, it was to be constructed of wood with fibreglass sheathing. That said, a boat built entirely of fibreglass was definitely on his radar screen. According to her builder John Lidgard, the topsides of Patiki were drawn with no tumblehome so that when it came time to fabricate the hull in fibreglass, it could more easily pop out of a female mould. Although Bob Stewart had wanted to have a mould taken from Patiki’s finished hull, her owner, Peter Colmore-Williams was keen to get the new boat sailing, and it was his impatience that denied Stewart this opportunity. If the instant success of the Patikis made them popular among sailors, the simplicity of the design made them attractive to both professional boatbuilders and do- it-yourselfers. Fast forward to 1973, when suggestions were made in a Stewart Association meeting by keen racer Ken Allen to build Stewarts in fibreglass. Fibreglass boats had many advantages over wood. Once there was a mould, they were easier and less expensive to build and their hulls would be identical from a “one design”point of view. Furthermore,they had a higher strength to weight ratio, required less maintenance, and since fibreglass didn’t rot, they would, in theory, last many times longer, if not forever. The boat-buying public seemed to accept this as well. New Zealand built fibreglass boats such as the popular H-28’s and Cavalier 32’s,were selling as fast as builders could pop them out of the moulds. While Stewart 34 owners were usually early adapters, in this particular case nothing much happened for another three years. It was at the Squadron’s Kawau weekend in 1976,where a group of 8 Stewart owners were socializing in the cockpit of one of the Stewartsafterarace. Onceagainthesubjectof buildingStewarts in fibreglass arose. Ken Allen suggested that all those present should each put up $500 to fund the fabrication of moulds. There was enthusiastic agreement by all, undoubtedly lubricated by a few post-race rums. On the strength of this agreement, Bill Miller offered to take the leadrole. Imagine his surprise, when a few months later, after finding a willing fiberglass builder and committing himself, when none of the other seven owners, apparently afflicted with temporary amnesia,Pionnier heads out on to the Waitmata on her maiden voyage Bill Miller collection A smashing success! Christine Miller christens the first fibreglass Stewart, Pionnier, in 1978 Bill Miller collection