Rowan IV Renamed and Launched

A 70-year-old gaff cutter that has had a major refit was blessed and renamed at Weir Quay Boatyard last Friday. The boat was built as Rowan IV on the Clyde in 1938 for a Glasgow surgeon, Dr RB Carslaw, who kept her all his life. She is now owned by retired veterinary surgeon Nelson Bowden, of Bere Ferrers.

She was featured in Dr Carslaw’s book, Leaves from Rowan’s Logs: Cruising the Western Isles and West Coast, and is a Loch Fyne skiff fitted out as a private yacht. She is mahogany-planked, splined above the waterline, on heavy oak frames iwth a teak dog house and superstructure.

The local rector, the Rev Nick Law, performed the blessing on the boat, which was dressed overall, and she was then renamed Darcy Patricia by Mr Bowden’s daughter in the presence of approximately 50 of the owner’s friends and family. She was later launched.

After being bought by Mr Bowden, the boat was out of the water for more than two years. The hull required major repairs, including work on the seams, the stern post was replaced in solid oak and the base of the mast needed major work due to rot. Instrumentation has been replaced and a new rig designed by Ed Burnett, of Totnes, to improve her performance and balance. New sails were also made. Mr Bowden has tackled some maintenance himself but said he had ‘gone out of his way’ to find and use local talent and skills in her restoration and refurbishment. ‘She is a credit to those skills and hopefully is good for at least another 70 years,’ he said.

Mr Bowden has photos of the original launch in 1938 and of Dr Carslaw and his wife, children and dogs on board. The relaunch was followed by a celebration gathering at the Olde Plough in Bere Ferrers.

The boat will take part in the Classic Boat Rally in Plymouth in August, crewed by Mr Bowden and his two brothers, and they will then head west to similar events at Fowey and Falmouth.