Rowles of Pill Marguerite Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Marguerite

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Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter Marguerite

Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter built by Rowles of Pill near Bristol in 1893. The build was commissioned by pilot Frank Trott at a cost of £500, she went on to be a very successful pilot boat and regatta winner in the annual pilot cutter races around the Bristol Channel.

In 1900 she became known as the ‘boat with the new boom’ after she was fitted with the first example of the famous Appledore roller reefing system which went on to become commonplace on all pilot cutters, enabling the mainsail to be reefed easily even in heavy weather. She still sports her original Appledore gear on the boom, overhauled and improved with grease nipples to enable regular greasing of the moving parts.

After retiring from her working life, she became a private yacht and then charter yacht, eventually ending up in the Caribbean as a charter vessel. She was sold here and moved to Covey Island Boatworks in Nova Scotia where a major rebuild commenced in the 1990’s involving all new frames and planking, new deck and refitted rig and interior.

She was sold in 2000 to the current owners, experienced wooden boat custodians and sailors, who have cruised her across the Atlantic and back, around Britain and taken part in numerous classic yacht regattas and events. She is a regular fixture around the West country coast spending recent years between Falmouth, the Scillies and Padstow.

One of the largest of the surviving original Pilot Cutters, a well respected and admired yacht with a great pedigree and history. She stands apart from many of the pilot cutters with her large and comfortable cockpit which is ideal for cruising, and her spacious homely interior which has far better headroom than most of her contemporaries.

Specifications

• Length on Deck: 53’


• Length Overall: 65’


• Beam: 13’10”


• Draft: 8’3”