The Tideway

The flagship of our fleet; the original 12ft Tideway with a history dating from the original Walker 12 of the 1950’s. A Tideway is for the owner who wants a well mannered traditional looking boat – a dinghy that sails well, is stable, easy to sail and row and which has good looks with a high standard of finish and equipment. A boat that has stood the test of time with sail numbers above 500.

A boat for fun with the family but and has a performance which will get you home against the wind and tide of an estuary river or one which will let you sail or race (she has a RYA Handicap Number) with the Classic Dayboats.

The roomy and safe open layout – Tideways are boats you sit in and not on – and the high boom gives comfort and confidence, allows easy boarding and enables the crew to move safely round the boat.

She can be sailed single-handed or with a crew and she can be rowed either from the bow (with the mast down) or amidships. The rig is practical and manageable with mainsail reefing as standard.

All Tideways share the same hull rig and standard of finish and fittings but there are some variation in the layout. With some exras to allow you to add a bespoke touch to your boat the most popular being name carving into the transom. There are two models:-

Open Boat Model – with lockable aft locker, supplied complete and fully rigged.

De-Luxe Model – with lockable aft locker plus foredeck with bronze bollard and fairlead, supplied complete and fully rigged.

Key Statistics

Length – 12′ 0″ (3.66m)
Beam – 5′ 0″ (1.52m)
Sail Area – 81 sq ft – main and jib
Draft – 6″ Plate Up / 3′ 0″ Plate Down
Weight – 275 lb (125 Kg)

The boat is constructed in glassfibre in an off white cream colour – The hull is constructed as a clinker built boat with the inside of the hull finished with “flow coat” – a special gel coat to give the best possible appearance and durability.

The Tideway has a bow buoyancy tank constructed in glassfibre which is an integral part of the hull as is the glassfibre centreboard case giving maximum security and strength. Additional buoyancy is four buoyancy bags under the side benches properly secured with webbing straps. The total buoyancy is ample – more than that required under the relevant safety directive – and the design is fully certificated.

The wood finish on the boat is in solid mahogany –  the centre and aft thwart, all supporting knees, the centreboard case top, side benches and inner and outer transom pads are all solid as is the aft locker. The rudder is in the same mahogany with the tiller in ash. The mahogany gunwales are copper riveted with the roves showing on the inside and plugged on the outside as a traditional wooden build finish, with an ash inlay strip in the top of the gunwales which adds another attractive feature. The foredeck on the De Luxe model is in top quality marine plywood (the layers and face is of mahogany) edged in solid mahogany and has a bronze mooring/towing bollard as standard. All wood is finished and varnished to a high quality as standard.

The centreplate is in steel properly galvanised. It is raised by a tackle and secured with a jamming cleat – all making the weight which aids stability easy to handle. The floorboards (included as standard) are made of duglas fir and finished with oil wood sealer to give an attractive matt and non-slip finish.

The design has wooden runners on the keel and on the two bilge stringers each side to protect the hull on launching and beaching on the shore or slipway. Hull fittings include a bow eyebolt, oars and a pair of bronze rowlocks, rowlock securing clips a drain bung aft and jib jamb cleats.

The normal rig is standing gunter which gives a reasonable height rig whilst allowing all the spars to fit inside the boat when the mast is lowered. The shorter mast is of course lighter which makes raising and lowering easier. The mast boom and yard are in douglas fir properly finished and varnished. A bermudan rig can be supplied if wished.

All standing and running rigging is in stainless steel and terylene and blocks and fittings are in stainless steel and nylon.

Running rigging includes all halyards sheets a kicker and centreplate tackle plus a double topping lift / lazyjack to make hoisting and lowering the mainsail as straightforward as possible, makes reefing easy and helps prevent heads being bruised by the boom on sail hoisting and lowering. The mainsheet is a three part tackle to make handling straightforward and the jibsheets have jammers as standard.

The sails main and jib are in terylene with the main having reef points. If it is necessary  to reduce sail the mainsail reefing system means the mainsail can be reduced easily even away from the shore  –  the standing gunter rig and topping lift makes this simple and safe.

Larger headsails. There are two sizes of genoas available if required.

Tideways are finished with a high quality varnish on all woodwork. The fittings, all necessary items are supplied and fitted as standard are of best quality from high quality suppliers. All Tideways are supplied complete and ready to sail with oars and bronze rowlocks a flat cover, spare rope, fenders painter and burgee also included as standard.