Bucks flyer is located in Gilford, New Hampshire USA on Lake Winnipesaukee. She is locally loved and appreciated for the thoroughbred she is. Her owner is Talbot Pratt of Bedford, New Hampshire USA who provided the following comments.
"We bought her in Newport, Rhode Island from the family of N C Wiley in 1998. He had purchased her from the first owner (who we believe lived in Buck UK), and had her sailed across. She was extremely well equipped as it appeared he had been planning to do some extended blue water cruising. He added the conveniences of hot and cold pressure water, refrigeration, electric head, cabinets instead of upper bunks, an owner stateroom instead of the sail locker up forward. I babied the engine for two years and finally had to rebuild it in my basement over one winter. The Stevenson Marine people were very helpful. It runs well enough, but unfortunately, it still smokes and leaks from too many places. My wife, Ellen, and I spend every available weekend aboard Bucks Flyer. Lake Winnipesaukee is a mountain lake about 30 miles long with several fjords, and is peppered with hundreds of forested, granite islands. Large boulders cover the bottom of many shallow passages and along all the shoreline. A few of these rocks cut into our sailing season when the lake level drops in the fall. We loved the boat AND we loved the lake. So we reduced the draft by removing the bottom 12" of the keel and recast it into two 14" wings that are through-bolted across the new bottom of the keel. I then faired and fiberglassed the whole appendage. I expected some performance handicap and was willing to accept that in exchange for a longer sailing season. It was a pleasant surprise to find no difference other than reduced prop torque induced helm under power. We have raced her since with good results."
Below are two pictures of Bucks Flyer at her mooring in Smith Cove, dated October 20th 2002 - click on the thumbnail to view full size
