There she stood in a cradle in the shed, a once lovely cruiser, mutilated beyond belief after one season’s use in the hands of a careless owner. Her topsides had multiple gouges bow to stern as a result of intimate contact with unyielding quays. Her transom corners had been ground away and in places you could get your hand into the hull. The owner only kept her a few months what would have happened if he’d kept her longer?

When wood was king it needed just one bad owner and one hard winter to start the rot leading to the bonfire behind the shed. Disposal of GRP is one heck of a problem, burning - that’s a no no. Cutting them up, awful task, brings on migrating tendencies amongst the staff, better to repair it !

If this boat had been built from wood it would have been a pleasant job replanking her sides, scarphing in bits here and there and fiddling around with the complex shapes in her transom. To experience the pure pleasure of running a sharp plane along a plank edge hearing and watching the mahogany curl away to fall and crunch under your feet, the sound of a copper nail as it tightens upon the roove, the smell of the wood - ah well – age is telling .

I did most of the GRP work on her and found it difficult to get excited and wax lyrical over a barrel of Scott Baders finest polyester resin. In my formative years somebody called the stuff “solidified snot” the description has stuck. I spent weeks up to my ears in resin and polyester wearing goggles, face mask and ear defenders, the romance of boatbuilding had abandoned me, I was glad when the job was finished. I hate owners who do not use fenders.

Recently, in Groningen,I saw a cruiser called “Meander” fifty odd feet long, painted yellow built from steel, with a pair of 1,000 hp diesels. This fast and glorious vessel sported a built in fender, a full size heavy-duty RIB style collar around the hull it looked stunning, and so practical. You could stuff the quay and bounce off. Why have we stopped designing boats with integral fenders, remember the Ocean 37, the Nelsons even the little Hardy’s, perhaps its all a plot to keep boatbuilders busy.