| The Royal Torbay officially adopted Nordic Folkboat class racing in 2006,
and the fleet is already up to five in number with several more sailors showing
great interest for 2007.
|
| |
| The Folkboat was originally designed in the 1940s in Scandinavia and the current GRP Nordic has been in construction since 1970’s. It is a 25' long
racing cruiser with a beam of 7'2" and a draft of 3'9" making mooring fees reasonable.
|
| There are 4 berths and a gas or meths cooker and an easily
mounted outboard motor for a no wind situation. The boat is built of
”clinker” construction in glassfibre.
|
| The mast and boom are constructed in wood although we tend to use alloy spinnaker poles.
|
| The boat offers first class one design racing by anyone of any age. A crew of
three is usually carried. Additionally the design provides very safe
comfortable cruising and day sailing for the family. The class has
numerically the highest numbers of any one design in Scandinavia and is very
popular in Germany. In San Francisco they start fifty at a time for club
racing. In the UK the largest fleet is at Lymington where they have about
forty boats. Originally Folkboats were built in wood by all the famous
Scandinavian boat builders but of late all Nordic boats are built in GRP
by Folkebad at Kerteminde(Denmark) to exactly the same hull specifications.
|
| |
| Secondhand boats can be located through the
|
| UK Folkboat Association |
| who keep a
full list of what is available. |
| Nordic Boats tend to sell from £10,000 to £30,000, depending on age and condition.
Depreciation at the moment is almost zero and boats seem to sell very
quickly and very easily. The potential secondhand buyer may be bewildered
by the huge array of equipment and engine variety on offer such is the
popularity of Nordic Folkboats with cruising types as well as racers. To
race a Folkboat successfully there are really only three requirements, good
sails, careful tuning (mast rake and shroud tension etc) and a light
outboard of only 3.5hp which will push the boat along happily at 5 knots.
Sadly pulpits, stanchions, 8hp outboards and other weighty items must be
jettisoned in order to be competitive. It must be appreciated that there is no disadvantage in buying an older cheaper boat, given the above mentioned requirements. Unlike most
other classes, Dragons and Flying Fifteens for example, the hull shape has
never been altered or 'improved'. An original Nordic Folkboat is exactly the same
as a new one.
|
| For new boats: |
| Folkebadcentralen a.s at |
| www.folkboat.dk |
| |
| International Folkboat Association |
| For help and information: |
| Mike Ellis Tel.01803 605988 |
