Anyone out there familiar with this boat? A friend foisted off a partial Pyrol kit on my poor unsuspecting self. The hull is sexy looking. The parts of the rig that I have, appear to be really heavy by todays standards. The bulb, which is missing, appears to be an awful pudgy blob, though nicely shaped as blobs go.
I can make or buy all the parts that I need to complete the boat. Is it worth fooling with as a pond yacht? I’d probably use a Goldspar mast and arrow shaft booms. The kit has an old Dumas coffee grinder winch that is in good working order. Yikes, those things are crude! I’m partial to an RMG winch, but for around $200+, I am not sure whether I want to invest that much for this boat . Comments invited.
If nothing more, it would make a great conversation item at the pond. You can also use a Futaba or Hitec arm type sail winch as a replacement. Once you have a displacement number, you might be able to puchase a bulb - perhaps a Marblehead one?
I think I had a review on the boat in an older magazine. If I still have it, copies are yours. Give me some time to see if I still have it.
Dick: Thanks for the reply. This is an interesting boat that is getting in the way of some of my other works in progress. The Pyrol pretends to be a Marblehead. It even has the M insignia on its’ poyester sails, but it is an inch or two over the 50" LOA limit. The original owner sold the bulb on E-Bay but he had the presence of mind to make a mold first. The mold has the bulb and a short section of the fin all in one piece. Thus, the the lower part of the fin has a horizontal joint line. The joint is not a problem if done neatly. The very nice full sized plans show this arrangement and the plans are of course written in German.
There are also some beautiful hardware pieces. The hull appears to be a rotary molded type as it has the deck and hull in one homogenous piece. It is an admirably stiff hull with no signs of oil canning anywhere. Surprisingly modest weight too. Not at all like some of the present day popular boats like Seawinds and such. I think this thing has me hooked. I’ll get to it right after the 50/800 I have under construction, along with the Melonseed style US1M whose parts are being collected. I dont know how I’ll be able to fit a Footy into all these ambitious building plans.
If you come across the review article, I would appreciate seeing it.
Thanks for the tip Clyde. That will be useful information.
Cast iron you say. Cast iron has a density of about 450 pounds per cubic foot while lead is about 710 pounds. A ratio of about 1.57. I reckon I could make a lead bulb that is somewhat smaller and/or more conventionally shaped.