Diamonds are forever

East Cowes boatbuilder Martin Nott has just spent nine months in Lyme Regis building a lovely replica of the Victorian racing yacht Diamond, originally designed and constructed by Charles Sibbick of Cowes in 1897.

Martin told us: “I built Diamond at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis last year as part of a nine month boat building course to demonstrate my skills, but also as an interesting historical experiment.

“Diamond is a replica of a Victorian Half Rater, a 21 foot fin keeled racing yacht based on a design by Charles Sibbick from 1897. The original Diamond was exhibited in London in the summer of 1897 and then sold to the Mediterranean and then to Russia.

“Charles Sibbick built more than 300 yachts in Cowes between 1886 and 1903 in what is now the Medina Yard; many were raters of very light weight construction, as a result none of this type of boat still exists. The new Diamond is built using modern strip plank techniques but with very much a classic yacht look,” concluded Martin.

If you are interested in acquiring this beautiful boat, Diamond is for sale through the Sandeman Yacht Company or from Martin Nott on 07831 328212 or martinnott@mac.com.