Page updated: 5 November 2004
SeaHawk (#311)
This SeaHawk shows many signs of being an early boat, yet it carries sail #311. There must be a story behind that! The boat has the standard pulpit and is fitted with a furling jib, which would not have been the norm for an early Reedcraft boat. However, the sail number suggests a "mixed" history! The non-standard fairleads, either side of the bow will make the securing of a bow fender easier!
The tabernacle is of the most popular design seen on SeaHawks. The support for the mast, which can be seen through the cabin window indicates that this could be a four berth boat, however, the position of the cockpit lockers suggest otherwise. The single mushroom vent is in one of the more common locations as, if the cooker/sink moulding is fitted, this places the vent directly above the cooker.
The shrouds are secured to the cabin using the traditional Broads method of line passed repeatedly through shackles, rather than the stainless steel fittings. The Cabin door is two piece. This was an option offered from the early days and does make it easier to manhandle as there is no special stowage arranged for this within the cabin. The conventional place for the jib cleats on early SeaHawks was on the bulkhead to either side of the cabin door. Although of the standard type, this boat shows them fitted further aft in the cockpit, on the extended cabin sides. They were probably moved here when the furling head sail was fitted, an an alternative to the standard bulkhead cleats would then have been necessary.
In the cockpit, the hatches are a little bigger than is conventional. However they are of the standard design for early boats, being separate mouldings secured by regularly spaced self-tapping stainless steel screws. It is these lockers, however, that suggest that it is not equipped with four adult berths, as they occupy the space needed in the quarter berths in the cabin.
This boat has the standard cockpit guard rails and is also equipped for the original main sheet arrangement. Fixed on the port side, the sheet would pass through a double block on the boom, passing down to the centre of the transom, round a single block to return to the boom, from where it was then taken through a block on the starboard side of the cockpit, opposite the original fixing.
Peeling paint reveals that the original colour of this hull was not white. All white was the most popular colour scheme for the SeaHawk. However, a number of colours were available for both hull and superstructure.
Information about electric outboard engines appears the Owners Section of the site.