50th BIRTHDAY REBUILD OF A YACHTING WORLD DIAMOND

This is a collection of images that details the rebuild and modification of the Slippery Beaver, a Yachting World Diamond based in Auckland, New Zealand.  The project is now complete and the Slippery Beaver is once again sailing on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, the same harbour she was launched on some 50 years earlier.

The project has involved taking her back to bare timber before sealing and fibreglassing over the entire hull. The self draining cockpit has been extended through the transom in the open-design.  The new Dibley designed keel draws 2.1m with a 370kg bulb. This is more than twice the draft of the orginal keel and is 40% lighter. The floors and kingplank have been significantly upgraded to accomodate the increase in stability. A new high aspect rudder has been moved aft to improve controlability in stiff breezes. The completed weight of approximately 950kg makes her a particularly lightweight vintage rocket.

 

The project has taken over three years and over 1800 man hours. A special thanks for all those who have helped this special project. It really couldn't have been done without you

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