N2769 Barrow Boy

[National 12 Webmaster]

The life of N2769 Barrow Boy.  Design: Paper Dart, designed by: Phil Morrison in 1972
Original boat name: High Stakes

[duncan]

seen at Largs Sailing Club, Ayrshire, not sure if still actively sailed.

[Chadders]

Rescued from the chain saw just in time having been abandoned at Largs in 2003 the club has gone through the RYA procedures for dealing with abandoned property and have parted with her for a small sum of money. 
The cover was long gone and the sails left in so the whole lot whilst sound is pretty grotty to say the least and she is badly faded.  The mast is also missing and the trolley is on the point of collapse.  I will be sorting her out over the next few months and will sail her occasionally and perhaps lend her out to some of our younger members at the club by way of introducing them to 12 sailing.  Hope my other 3 twelves dont get jealous!  Howard Chadwick N2, N2266, N2769 and N3356
I will load pics when she is looking a bit better!;D

[Mark Barron]

This was the first National Twelve that I sailed. My dad (Mike Barron) had loads of twelves, and this was his second glass one. It was called 'High Stakes' when we had it, it was sailed for years at Loch Tummel. Dad then sold it to Richard and Phillip Harvey, when he bought a Design 8 3293.
I saw it sitting at Largs a couple fo years ago, and am very glad to hear that it is being brought back to life

[Chadders]

Barrow Boy was recommisioned in the summer and currently resides at Yeadon Sailing Club.  She won her fiirst race since the relaunch (a midnight race!) beating the other 12 (a baggy) by a good margin, she also sailed in the Yeadon Open Meeting in October and remains ready for action at the club.  Tired sails but still very fast and an excellent club boat for loan or when I cant be bothered to tow my Starfish or D8 up.

[John Sears]

N2769 was my 3rd N12, purchased new from David East in 1974 in the middle of the fuel crisis of that time. The first batch of Paper Darts made in 1973 impressed everyone with their speed and "off the peg" tune. David East and Clive Robinson came 1st & 2nd on points at the Weymouth Burton week.
I had a pretty 7 plank China Doll (N2515) before which served me well but the smooth finish of the Paper Darts promised a performance increase. My father generously offered me a new boat so we ordered her at the end of the season. David made a change to the stern buoyancy tanks to increase their volume. The first batch of Darts needed small inflatable bags to supplement their stern tanks.
Unfortunately this change plus the effect of the cold winter on the GRP resin made her overweight which was dissappointing. In hindsight the teak gunwales and thwart were extravagently heavy. They did make the boats more attractive than a completely plastic shell yet were simple to maintain with teak oil.
She was called "High Stakes" because of the price hike we had to pay as the oil crisis and VAT increase drove up resin prices. In fact she performed well and was easy to sail, with similar charecteristics to the China Doll design she was based on. I finished in the teens at her first Burton week at Pevensey Bay in 74. The following year at Plymouth Burton week, sailing with Mark Pillat, we had a couple of purple races finishing 2nd and then 1st after overtaking Gavin Willis in the latter. This hauled our overall standing up to 8th overall and put us in the Winning Gypsy Trophy team from Trent Valley SC. I also won my first Open meeting in her at Rudyard Lake. Needless to say I was pretty pleased!
The Paper Darts were slightly overshadowed by the Cheshire Cats which appeared in 1974. Mike Jackson's design, with its deep fine bow and flat rocker was radical and effective. The battles between Chris Edwards and Clive Robinson were epic but the Cat and its successors held sway as the decade progressed.
The hulls were built by Paul Wright on the East Coast. He also built Javelins. The build quality was high and the fact that Paper Darts are still giving service 40 years later is testimony to his standards. As the minimum hull weight of 12's reduced, hand laid thin skin GRP hulls became uncompetitive and the Dart's successor, "Scooter" was not a success.
I decided to have a go at 12 design in 1977, commissioning "Paws" to be made by Jo Richards in my parent's garage. "Paws" tried to combine China Doll sections with the Cheshire Cat rocker profile. Her bow was just a bit too fine (Prismatic coefficient wrong!) so she was prone to nose diving but she had wonderful speed to windward in light and moderate conditions. Once I felt she was quick I sold "High Stakes" to Richard Langford (of Noble Marine) in 1978. He sailed her at Nottingham SC with his son for a couple of seasons before taking up windsurfing and now the RYA. I think he sold her to Mike Barron.

[Chadders]

Still at Yeadon John but not getting much use this year.  Went well when I had her.