History of America Class
Introduction
The America Class provides large, fast and comfortable yachts, built and designed entirely by the Norfolk Broads Yachting Co, and only available for hire from us. There are 3 boats in the America class (America, Palace & Lapwing, which were built in that order) and each of them was exhibited afloat at the London Boat Show in their year of build. Palace was actually exhibited again after a year in hire, testimony we believe, to the quality of build and presentation that we aspire to. Please also refer to the Lapwing Gallery, where you can see details of the construction of these, the largest and most luxurious boats of their kind for hire on the Broads. To see these boats on the water, please refer to the America Sailing gallery.
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Background to the New Class
The modern “ America ” class of Broads yacht was introduced into hire by the Norfolk Broads Yachting Co in 1994, in response to feedback from our own customers that suggested an attraction for larger and more comfortable yachts than those already available. The new class of yacht was designed as a modern interpretation of the most opulent of Broads yachts offered for hire by our predecessors at the turn of the last century and based on the original “ America ”, which dates back to Victorian times.
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The project was performed from scratch “in house”, from the first pencil mark on the loft floor to the last stroke of the signwriters’ brush and so far we have built 3 yachts to this basic design being “America” (in 1994), “Palace” (in 1995) and Lapwing (in 1999). Though they all follow the same basic design and hull shape, they are each hand made with different layouts, which ensures an element of uniqueness and of course they are only available for hire from the Norfolk Broads Yachting Co. We are confident that today they are the most comfortable yachts available for hire on the Broads , as indeed their original namesakes were 100 years ago. “Palace” and “Lapwing” have both been presented afloat at the London International Boat Show in Earls Court , “Lapwing” in 2000 and “Palace” twice, in 1995 when she was launched and again in 1996 after 26 weeks in hire”!
History of the Original Boats
Ernest Collins of Wroxham built all three of the original yachts in the early 1900’s, although the precise dates of build remain as unclear as their eventual fate. At around 43 ft in length they were somewhat longer than their modern counterparts and unlike today’s handier versions, the originals usually went out with a paid skipper.
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“America” was probably built around 1900 or just thereafter and appeared in the very first Blakes Catalogue (1908) where, after the much bigger wherries, she was about the most expensive yacht then available. “ America ” was almost certainly built on borrowed money, which for most of the local yards was a common way of funding such a venture, as these boats were far too big and expensive to be afforded otherwise. In fact “ America ” appears alongside another very similar boat called “IO”, which was commonly held to be a tongue in cheek reference by Collins to his borrowings on the boat; as in “I owe”!
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“Lapwing” was smaller than the other two, and she was almost certainly built as a racing yacht, subsequently being put into hire under reduced rig as a cruising yacht when her days of competition ended. She too was included in the first Blakes Catalogue and as racing yachts went through a definable evolution in that era, it is possible to estimate from her appearance, that she was also built around 1900. Collins built many renowned racing yachts at that time and when offered a new commission, was of occasion known to take his customers existing boat in part exchange, either for resale or fleet use.
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“Palace” was the last of the three to be built, being completed in 1914. Like the “ America ” she was aimed at the more affluent charter customers and so her inventory naturally included a piano in the saloon.
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Eventual Life of the Original Boats
“Lapwing” was the first of the three to leave hire, sometime after the First World War. It is likely that whilst her racing pedigree made her fast and elegant, she was probably not the most comfortable boat for cruising and this would no doubt have affected her popularity in hire. “ America ” and “Palace” both remained in hire until the Second World War, but neither reappeared in the Blakes catalogues hire after the war.
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Yachting was slow to re-start and a great many yachts did not survive to see the peace. Others were sold out of the area and the simple truth is that we don’t really know when, where or even if these three yachts have ended their days. In all likelihood they have probably been long broken up, but this is by no means a foregone conclusion as other boats of this age and type have been found and recovered by the Company. If you know of an old broads yacht anywhere, in whatever state please email me at mike@nbyco.com, so we can at least try to document some more history.
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“America” was the last one of the three to be seen and the story of that last sighting is worth retelling here, as it is a quite remarkable tale. Locals remember the boat being finally recommissioned at Wroxham in 1947, having been laid up ashore for the duration of the war. Those that saw her then, noted that she was not properly refitted but simply re-launched and prepared for disposal to a private owner who had expressed the intention of sailing her to foreign waters. The story goes that “America” was bound for America, and this account persisted when we researched the history of the boat as part of the new build project over 40 years later. The launching of the new “America” and subsequent presentation of “Palace” at Earls Court in 1995 prompted fresh interest in the original boats, as a result of which it was confirmed that “America” had indeed crossed the Atlantic. Unless someone can tell us otherwise, we understand that she was last known to be in the Caribbean, “having crossed the Atlantic on her own bottom”. In fact she was seen in 1959 at Martinique, when she was photographed by a holidaymaker who recognised her, sporting an added mizzen mast and much reduced main. A testimony indeed to the skill and care employed by Ernest Collins and the tradesmen who built her to simply ply for hire on the Norfolk Broads.
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Details of the our America class boats can be found here: America, Palace & Lapwing