"Dola" Medway, Kent

Smoother sheer line step. Twin winches.

Dola has a reverse counter stern and the sheer step is different to the other Folk Dancer 27's . I saw another one with these variations in Cadiz, Spain. It had a different name than Folk Dancer 27 and when I can remember I shall note it here. The characteristics are otherwise completely Folk Dancer 27.


Similar cockpit shape but plywood faced open lockers.

Plywood bulkhead abaft the main companionway and distinctive single front window
Tony, there appears to be two boats here, as one has a ply cabin with hinged doors and the other has a fiberglass cockpit with typical hatch boards. Please help me sort the photos into the right categories. This next is certainly a different boat still looks Folk Dancer-ish, was it one you looked at before buying Dola?.



Keyhole passageway through to foreward cabin

Here's that interesting reverse counter stern. The rudder is a typical triangle shape.

John Shirley on Folk Dancer 27 Socca in France.

Hi Clarissa

Great to hear from you again. Congratulations on getting published! I'm delighted for you. As you know, I appreciate your writing and so would be delighted to read any excerpts you might care to send me - I hope your book will be a great success.

I'm reassured that you at least, understand why I called the boat 'Socca" - most seem to think the name has to do with getting wet. If I had wanted to go that way I think it would have been difficult to surpass Fagan's 'Swirly World'! Hard to beat a name like that for a tiny craft capable of doing the Oz - New Zealand crossing.

I am still at Port la Robine in S. France and have been living aboard since april. Moving down to Agde in two weeks to haul out and antifoul etc. Hoping no dreaded osmosis as she has been sitting in the canal for four years or more. If all turns out to be OK, out into the Med after that.

Bit tricky writing this as wi fi hotspot is outdoors and three kilometres from home and it has just started raining so I will close.

best regards

John

Folk Dancer 27 from Poole to Brighton, UK.

HI.
I have just brought a Folkdancer this year in Poole, and am looking at bringing her back to Brighton on the weekend 28th March 2009. Would you know anyone who could assist me?Especially who knows the Folkdancer yachts, all expenses covered and good dinner out in ports. Please contact me if there is anyone who fancies a early season weekend trip. Regards Stuart Buchanan

Update on Storm Petrel

Storm Petrel spent a long Summer out of the water having osmosis protection and rebonding the rudder shaft after I found cracks in the hull just where the rudder shaft exits. I epoxy mat bonded it back to strength. Inside I wrapped epoxy mat around the rudder tube and built up a flange on the hull. At the top of the rudder tube underneath the deck I bolted a stainless bracket to add support to the upper rudder tube.
This photo looks remarkably similar to the Folkdancer in the previous post which is for sale in Whareham. Must be the same production period and yard.

For Sale - Folkdancer 27 described as Hurley Folkdancer

Hurley Folkdancer 27 - £6,995
3 berths in main saloon. Linear galley with 2 burner + grill Flavel gas cooker, stowage lockers and sink with electrically pumped water. Navigation area with slide out nav table from under the quarter berth. Good range of stowage lockers. GRP moulded headlining in good order with fitted electric lighting. Newly carpeted floor. Forward of the main saloon is a large stowage area to port and a small heads compartment to starboard with a very interesting antique heads! The forecabin comprises of 2 berths in V formation with stowage beneath and an anchor locker in the forepeak. Forecabin also fitted with electric lighting and newly carpeted.


Vessel Location - Wareham UK
Year Built - 1968
LOA (Feet) - 27'0"
LOA (Metres) - 8.23 m
Draft (Feet) - 4'6"
Draft (Metres) - 1.37 m
Beam (Feet) - 8'
Beam (Metres) - 2.44 m
Hull Construction - GRP
Fuel - Diesel

Broker and web address of this vessel:

18a High Street, Poole, UK, BH15 1BP

Phone: 01202 661665

http://www.networkyachtbrokers.co.uk/

Norsue V, Folkdancer 27 in steel

Recent email from new owner, Gary: ***I have recently taken ownership of what I believe to be a Folkdancer 27. She's named Norsue V, built for, I believe, Fred Parker in 1967. She's number 44 with a steel hull. I do have a copy of the original Lloyds registration, but it's at home. And she does need a fair bit of work. She's currently on the hard in Maryport***
I was surprised to see the hull shape varies greatly from the other boats on this site. Tony with FD27 Dola, in the Medway, has mentioned she has a reverse counter stern and Gary's boat in the video here also has that.
I wonder how they are related. It is quite surprising that she is constructed in steel.

Look!

Fred Parker and Ian Anderson

Advert from 2005 reproduced here for the subject of whether there is a Hurley connection with Folkdancer 27. After talking to the Hurley Owners Association it appears there was none. Recently I have discovered the designer of the Hurley boats, Ian Anderson served a three year apprenticeship under Fred Parker. As far as I know this is the sole connection but the advert below appears to suggest more:

Private Advertiser

HURLEY 27 FOLKDANCER Long keel,5 sails ,VHF,compass,
navtext ,Windvane self steering ,in date flares,fire
blanket, 3X extinguishers. Good Nov 2002 survey,
yanmar 1GM10 , (installed Nov 2002) 5berths, toilet
,cooker, 2x watertanks,nice solid boat owned for 5
years,sale due to trading up. Lying: UK, Brighton.
Year: 1968. Price: £8500.

Thanks Ian Talmage for emailing this advert dated 300305.

Dismasted in Biscay

Originally emailed to Folkdancer 27 Owners Association 210203, a part of the history of one boat that is yet to join the list.
The email follows:

Hello,

I have found your website, while I was looking for information about the Folk
Dancer 27.
I have bought one recently, with broken mast. The owner was Irish, and had to
leave the boat in North Spain (Santander) after a Storm, where she lost the
mast. I know that he was planning to go round the world with the boat.

I have not found information about this model and I really would appreciate any
details you could give me.
In special, I would like to know the size of the mast, sails... because I must
put them new and I don't have the original.

Do you know if it is possible to find a new mast for this boat?

The name of the boat is LADY MEG.

I hope you can help me.

Best regards from

Carlos Sierra
(Spain)

Brief mention in old magazine.

There is a second hand boat report available from PBO ("Practical Boat Owner" magazine in UK) at this URL:
http://www.ybw-directory.com/reprints/results1.jsp?keyword=Folkdancer&submit4.x=11&submit4.y=12

Folkdancer 27 "Curious" of Shoreham, UK.

A Folkdancer 27 called "Curious" was mentioned on the website of the Eastney Cruising Association. So far no contact with the owner.

Contact the Folkdancer 27 Owners Association

Other Folkdancer 27's please add yourselves to the site here to build an owners association. One of the best aspects of this will be sharing DIY projects and cruising stories. Photographs and videos are good too. There was a Folkdancer 27 in Belgium and the owner sent me some pictures of it in rebuild, but this was several years ago and I cannot locate the files, so if it is you please resend them to my e m a i l:
clarissa.vincentR E M O V E T H I S T E X T@gmail.com

List of hull or sail numbers

1. "Norsue" renamed "Dancer". 1965. Presently for sale
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?
13. ?
14. ?
15. ?
16. ?
17. ?
18. ?
19. ?
20. "Stimulans" FBK20. Laying in Poland. Renamed Socca (Not "Calvados"), now in France.
21. ?
22. ?
23. ?
24. ?
25. ?
26. ?
27. ?
    
28. "Gandalf", 1968. Ian Talmage, U.S.
    
29. ?
30. ?
31. ?
32. ?
33. ?
34. ?
35. ?
36. ?
37. "Storm Petrel of Narnia". 1969. Reg. Bristol, UK. Now laying Woodbridge, Suffolk.
    
38. ?
39. ?
40. ?
41. ?
42. ?
43. ?
44. Norsue V, lying in Maryport, UK, steel hull reverse counter stern

* Denotes Folk Dancer 27's with unknown sail numbers
* "Lady Meg", Spain
* "Dola" Medway, Kent
* "Curious" of Shoreham
*

Folkdancer 27 for sale

Folkdancer 27 for sale in Stokholm, Sweden. Price around 56,00 kronas, around 4,500 UK pounds sterling. Vire inboard. Four sails plus spinnaker, ships clock and barometer. Hopefully more details to come.
(Photograph used with permission of the current boat owner)

Storm Petrel of Narnia

Narnia is a place in books and was added to Storm Petrel's name when I bought her in 2001, as a way to bind my dreams with reality, into a tight knot of intention. "The Voyage of Storm Petrel" is the book I wrote while sailing from the UK to Senegal and Gambia and back. Why Gambia? Because of hippos and crocodiles.
Storm Petrel has sail no. 37 and her home port is Bristol (Now Woodbridge on the River Deben, Suffolk), UK. I live aboard her with a small black Cairn terrier.

Spring Fever

Spring Fever is Alister Smith's Hamble One Design (images and quoted text copyright 2006 Alister Smith).
Alister wrote:
"Hi
Have just found your web site.
I've recently purchased a Hamble one design - Spring Fever.
The Hamble one design was a derivitive of the Warsash one design and the
immediate predecessor of the Folkdancer. I believe six were built before the
design evolved into the Folkdancer.
I've attached a couple of photos - the similarity is obvious!
She's now moored on the Helford (Cornwall) - have yet to take any decent photos
afloat!
Happy sailing.
Alister Smith"


For a yacht built in the sixties Spring Fever is beautifully maintained.

Immanent "Dancer"

(Image and text copyright 2006 Tony Curchod)Tony Curchod kindly provided this photograph and the following information about the original Folkdancer 27:

In the photo she is being sailed by Fredk Parker - you can just about distinguish his personal racing flag with the P for Parker. This was the prototype Hamble One Design. My Father owned the prototype HOD1 called Dancer. He bought it off the designer, Fredk Parker of Hamble, when it was one year old. Originally it was designated as the Hamble One Design (HOD).
The rig was originally designed to be a 3/4 rig based on the Folkboat design. But when racing her she did not have the pointing ability and the old mast was thrown away and a masthead rig fitted with a nice huge genoa, from Banks. This totally transormed her ability to point to windward in heavy winds.
The original boat was named Norsue. Fred Parker wanted to keep the name so my Father named her Dancer. When she went into production they took the Folkboat concept, merged it with the name Dancer and created the Folkdancer class.

HOD 1 - in 1965 and today in 2005

Tony Curchod sent these two images of the Hamble One Design (copyright referred to Tony Curchod):



HOD1 "Dancer" in 2005, previously named "Norsue".




HOD1 "Norsue" in 1965 later renamed "Dancer".

"Socca" owned by John Shirley, in France(formerly "Stimulans" Polish Folkdancer 27 FBK20)

Photograph copyright by Wakaje, the first website (the website no longer holds photos of Stimulans in the Mediterranean) about another Folkdancer 27 I found and the photographs of a voyage along the coasts of Italy, France and Spain were a most pleasant discovery. Due to language difficulties I have had no contact with the owners of "Stimulans" Polish Folkdancer 27 FBK20 (sounds like a sail/hull number).

Austin Gouge's "Tiffane"

(Image and quoted text copyright Austin Gouge)
Folkdancer 27 "Tiffane" stole the heart of Austin Gouge. This photograph is from Austin's website and shows "Tiffane" in the act of seducing yet another sailor into Folkdancer 27 world and I quote from Austin Gouge's website, "...We came across Tiffane while looking around Dickies boatyard in Bangor, North Wales. We had gone up to look at another boat that turned out to be a waste of time, and thought we would have a look around the area. Tiffane caught our eye because her lines are so pretty..."

The pleasure of a Folkdancer 27 begins the moment you lay eyes on her.

Ian Talmage, "Gandalf" and Water World Design

Picture by permission of Ian Talmage, Water World Design.

This is "Gandalf", Ian Talmage's Folkdancer 27. There are many photographs of the refitting work, as well as cruising, at Water World Design. Ian has scanned an original Russel Marine brochure and published it there too.
"Gandalf" looks really good after a major refit.