Strange “Shelia” Specifications:
LOA: 31’0″ / 9.44m * LOD: 25’00 / 7.62m * LWL: 19’06 / 5.97m * Beam: 6’09 / 2.10m * Draft: 3’05 / 1.06m * Ballast: * Displacement: 4 TM * Sail Area: 330sq’ * Yard Number: * Hull material: Planked in full length ¾” Pensacola pitch-pine fastened with copper nails and roves to grown oak frames at 3’ centres with 2 steam bent intermediate timbers all on a very substantial oak back-bone. * Rig: Yawl * Designer: Strange * Built by: Robert Cain, boat builder in Port St Mary * Year Built: 1905 * Restored By: * Current Name: Shelia * Original Owner: Robert Groves * Contract Cost: * Current Owner: * Sail Number:
Known Racing History:
1910, 1911 and 1983 – Humber Yawl Club cruising trophies.
Trophies from the Cruising Association, Woodbridge Cruising Club and OGA for her Deben to Douarnenez cruise in 1988 and some 30 trophies from the OGA
Known Restoration History:
1914, written off by the insurers, sold to and rebuilt by Capt. Patrick Walsh of Dublin who added 5’ to the keel depth and fitted a rather exotic kauri pine swept deck.
1978 – Present ownership followed by an extensive, largely professional restoration. The deck was removed and the hull stripped of all paint inside and out. The keel bolts replaced. All hanging and lodging knees replaced. Several deck beams replaced in Honduras mahogany. The interior rebuilt in the spirit of the original design with the help of Groves’ original drawings. The rig rebuilt.
1985 – Garboards replaced in iroko
2008 – New mast step – a massive piece of iroko.
2009 – Keel bolts drawn and found in perfect condition.
Historical:
1914 – damaged in a storm in Dublin Bay
1939 – Damaged by a bomb in a Scottish boat-yard
Shelia was his first deep keel design commission, drawn for fellow artist Robert Groves who sailed her in the waters of the Scottish West Coast and the Hebrides in the early days of the century at a time when sailing such voyages in a small yacht was considered impossible. Named for Groves’ eldest daughter, she is the oldest known surviving Strange yacht.
