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Affordable Classics 13 – Little Hillyards

H illyards are among the most maligned of all classic, wooden yachts, and I say this as a former co-owner of one, the 1932 9-ton aft cockpit Billy Blue , writes Steffan Meyric Hughes . They are perhaps the only yacht that carries the cultural baggage of an ‘official’ sailors’ joke. In the same way that people would crack jokes about Skodas in the 1980s (filling one up doubles its value and so on), there is a joke about Hillyards that you “won’t drown but you might starve”. Now, putting aside that no one’s laughing at Skoda today, and that the Hillyard’s true automotive equivalent is the Volvo 245 (beloved of window cleaners and school-run mums; reliable, commodious and classless), the Hillyard joke is actually a backhanded compliment.

It’s true that the wooden boats designed and built by David Hillyard in Littlehampton, West Sussex, from 1904-1978, are neither the quickest nor the most heart-stoppingly elegant. But they absolutely will get you there. Heavy, workmanlike build, sensibly judged sail area (under-canvassed, some say), the double-ended hull form, good freeboard, wide side-decks and frequently a fore triangle divided into two headsails, mean that these are boats that will get a family safely, comfortably and cheaply wherever their hearts desire. And these days, with most of the larger boats given bowsprits and cutter rig for better windward ability and more sail area, they’re not particularly slow either. And in a blow, they really come into their own, as I discovered when Billy Blue came second on elapsed time in a race against a fleet of nine, mostly modern, similar- sized yachts on a 25-knot day off the coast of East Sussex.

David Hillyard is well known as an early exponent of production building, albeit by hand and in wood. He built his boats true, solid and simple, with the result that of the 800 or so built (he was not the best at record-keeping), an estimated 600 are still afloat. By far the most famous owner was Arthur Ransome, who owned no fewer than three: the 7-ton, transom-sterned Nancy Blackett ( Goblin in We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea ), Lottie Blossom (6-Tonner) and Lottie Blossom II (5.5-tonner). Aside from Lottie Blossom , these were unusual variants. The boats built at ‘The Ropewalk’ from 1923 come in a dizzying array of sizes and initially at least they were mostly offered in gaff or bermudan rig, all measured in Thames tonnage. The most common ones to look for in the sub-£10,000 bracket are the 2.5-Ton, 4-Ton, 6-Ton and even, these days, occasionally the odd 9-Ton if it needs tidying. This is amazing for a 32-33ft bluewater cruiser.

The 6-Tonners and 9-Tonners, all bermudan from the outset, came in two very different variants: the traditional, aft-cockpit yachts and the later, twin-cabin, centre-cockpit yachts. The former are more elegant and better to sail if you like tiller steering and with marginally bigger cockpits. In truth, all Hillyard cockpits are dismally small. The later, twin-cabin boats offer a snug cockpit hidden from the elements, and two separate cabins. As one yacht broker once put it: “Mum and dad can put the kids to sleep in the forecabin and have a bit of rumpy-pumpy in the aft cabin.” For this reason or others, the canoe-sterned, twin-cabin yacht has become the defining style of the Hillyard marque, with its own distinct charm. The 6-tonner is small to carry two cabins, resulting in a small cockpit with a tiny wheel sometimes awkwardly mounted behind the helmsman. But there are many advantages to the lay-out, so it’s a matter of sacrifice and compromise, as always in boats.

The 2.5-Ton is a generic, small cruising yacht of the sort built by many before and after the war, and very attractive. The 4-Ton should be seen as a larger version of the 2.5. Either would make an ideal dayboat or coastal cruiser. The 6 is the smallest ‘offshore’ Hillyard. Planking, until 1949, was in pitch pine, followed in the 1950s by mahogany and in the 1970s by iroko. The build is simple (“agricultural,” some have said) but the timber was always high quality. There are no nasty surprises in a Hillyard.

Hillyard 2.5: LOD 18ft 6in (5.7m),  beam  6ft 7in (2m),  draught 3ft 3in (1m) Hillyard 4:  LOD 21ft 4in (6.5m),  beam 7ft 2in (2.2m),  draught 3ft 6in (1.1m) Hillyard 6:  LOD  27ft 6in (8.4m), beam   7ft 7in (2.3m),  draught  4ft 2in (1.3m)

One owner’s view

Waterwitch is a 4-ton gaff cutter launched in 1936. I bought her in 2006 as a diversion after a second marital shipwreck. Although I started sailing over 50 years ago I had little experience of traditional wooden boats or gaff rig and some early experiences with Waterwitch made me think about selling her. These included seeing the stern lifted out of the water after the bowsprit caught behind a pile at Iron Wharf on a rising tide, seeing a seam of mud extruded between two planks near the head after grounding and having rusty water drip on me as I tried to sleep. After much prevarication I determined to keep Waterwitch and make her capable of taking me, in the spirit of David Hillyard, “anywhere I was capable of going”. I am very happy with what Alan Staley has achieved in restoring her, with superb skill and for his excellent advice. Any mistakes along the way have certainly been mine!

Nigel Sherratt, owner of Waterwitch

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History of Hillyard Boats

Hillyard, an illustrious boat manufacturer, was initiated by the visionary, David Hillyard, in 1923 in Littlehampton, England. This family business started its journey by crafting traditional wooden sailing yachts, which were soon hailed for their trans-oceanic capabilities. Over the years, with a keen eye for detail and a relentless pursuit for quality, Hillyard built an exceptionally strong track record in the marine industry, churning out an impressive range of 800 yachts. Each of these masterpieces was characterised by the brand's sophisticated design aesthetics, superior craftsmanship and innovative boat building techniques, ensuring a unique yachting experience for the customers.

Over the decades, the brand navigated through multiple transitions, upheavals and ownership changes, but remained resiliently committed to its foundational ideals of innovation, quality and performance. In the late 1980s, the family business was sold off and is, at present, run by Timeless Boats Ltd. However, the Hillyard's legacy staunchly continues to inspire modern boat builders around the globe.

Today, the Hillyard brand, under the aegis of Timeless Boats, operates out of Chichester, England, but continues to hold strong to its roots in Littlehampton. The time-honoured Hillyard boats are esteemed as iconic representations of traditional British seafaring quality and design. These boats, lovingly maintained by their owners, can still be sighted gracefully cruising the waters, bearing testimony to the historic craftsmanship of their makers and the timeless allure of the Hillyard brand.

What types of boats do Hillyard build?

Hillyard manufactures a range of different types of boats. The ones listed on TheYachtMarket include Antique/classic , Sloop , Cruiser , Wooden boat and Keelboat .

How much does a boat from Hillyard cost?

Used boats from Hillyard on TheYachtMarket.com range in price from £5,000 GBP to £39,500 GBP with an average price of £13,800 GBP . A wide range of factors can affect the price of used boats from Hillyard, for example the model, age and condition.

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Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Hillyard: The Man, His Boats and Their Sailors: Book review

• Julia Jones
• August 30, 2021

Julia Jones, Yachting Monthly's literary reviewer discusses Hillyard: The Man, His Boats and Their Sailors, a biography that should be warmly welcomed by wooden boat aficionados and anyone interested in the history of 20th century yacht design

David Hillyard (1883-1965) is undeniably an important subject for biography, so the sailing book about his life, Hillyard: The Man, His Boats and Their Sailors, is very welcome.

This book takes an earlier narrative by John Balchin as its starting point and should be warmly welcomed by wooden boat aficionados and anyone interested in the history of 20th century yacht design.

Hillyard’s products represent what one might call middle-class yachts, intended for weekend sailing and holiday cruises, often with family aboard.

Such generalisation is always dangerous and Hillyard experts will be quick to point out the extent and variety of adventures undertaken by these sturdy, indefinably recognisable vessels.

Their sea-keeping qualities inspired great confidence on longer voyages and there are plenty of examples included.

Nevertheless, the nature of David Hillyard’s productive life as a designer and builder of yachts, running from Twinkler (1922) to Antipodes (1964), places him and his customers firmly in the context of mid-c20th social history as demonstrating a particular strand of family leisure choices.

After Hillyard’s death, the business continued under his nephew Dennis Cullingford and great-nephew Simon but their failure to weather the 1970s shift from wood to GRP demonstrates, harshly, that they were no longer mainstream.

A man of principle

Hillyard himself was born in Rowhedge, Essex into a c19th world of day-to-day craftsmanship and sharp-class distinction.

His success in transforming himself into the owner of a yard which may have produced as many as 800 individual wooden yachts using early mass-production principles, is perhaps even more remarkable than it seems.

As a modest-living man, a devout Christian with few intimate relationships his individuality appears subsumed into his business.

He was clearly a man of principle, a good man.

(I occasionally felt I’d have liked a few more anecdotes of his alleged ‘difficultness’.)

The yachts, too, have a slight tendency to blur into 5-tonners, 9-tonners etc.

Not, of course, for their owners who enjoyed their individual characteristics whilst also demonstrating brand loyalty by up-grading through the different sizes, as their families, incomes or aspirations grew.

Nicholas Gray makes a strong case for appreciating – and supporting – these now elderly wooden yachts as part of our maritime heritage.

I think he is right to do so.

They, like their designer and builder, are neither flamboyant nor avant-garde but solidly representative of Middle England, in yacht-cruising terms.

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Sailing yachts

8 Ton Hillyard Sloop

• Designer: David Hillayrd
• Builder: David Hillyard
• Location: Hants
• Length on deck: 28'6"
• Tonnage: 8TM

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Full specification

Wooden Ships Comments on this 8 Ton Hillyard Sloop

28’6” 8 ton Hillyard, designed and built by Hillyards in 1967.

She was built for the present owners father but sadly he passed away the year after she was launched, so the current owner has had the boat since 1968.  Sadly health issues mean a new custodian is being sought.

Hillyards were one of the most prolific yards in the UK and produced a vast number of yachts during the time they operated.  The ‘8 ton’ refers to the Thames Tonnage of the yacht, a measure of useable interior volume.

Nicely maintained, this boat has 4 single berths and 6’ headroom with a separate heads compartment.

Length on deck                      28’6”

Beam                                       8’7”

Draft                                       3’

Thames Tonnage                    8TM

Construction

• A hard chine hull found in some of David hillayrds later boats, offering better internal volume for the length.  She has small bilge keels allowing her to dry out with ease.
• Carvel planked in mahogany all copper rivet fastened to steam bent oak timbers.
• External cast iron ballast keel with new keel bolts in 2007.  Internal lead trimming ballast.
• Steel plate bilge keels with new bolts in 2022.
• Sawn timber floors across the centreline.
• Original T&G pine decks sheathed in epoxy glass cloth and finished in non-slip deck paint.
• Mahogany toe rails all round.
• Varnished mahogany coachroof coamings with a T&G coachroof deck, now sheathed in Cascover.  Varnished mahogany grab rails.
• Large non-self draining cockpit with varnished mahogany thwarts and coamings.
• New stainless steel rudder hangings in 2021.
• Bermudan sloop rig on a deck stepped varnished wooden mast set in a tabernacle on the coachroof.
• Varnished wooden slab reefing boom.
• 7×7 galvanised wire standing rigging to internal galvanised chain plates.  Standing rigging replaced as necessary.
• Mainsail and Headsail from Batt Sails.  Hardly used and in good condition.  All new in 2018.
• Hanked on headsail.
• BMC 4cyl diesel fresh water cooled diesel.  Full overhaul in 2007.
• Shaft drive to a centreline fixed 3 blade bronze propeller, gives 5 knots cruising speed.  New propeller shaft in 2021.
• Steel fuel tank in the cockpit locker.
• 2 x 12 volt 120ah batteries charged from the engine alternator.
• Galvanised water tank.

Accommodation

• 4 berths with 6’ headroom in the main cabin.
• Port side companion steps down into the main cabin.  Chart area to port, central engine box and starboard side quarter berth.
• Single settee berth to port.
• Galley in forward port corner of the saloon.  Flavel Wayfarer 2 burner gas stove with oven and grill.  Fold down work tops to the port hand side.  Galley supplies storage to starboard under the deckhead.  Sink with manually pumped water.
• Port side passageway moving forward, heads to starboard with a Jabsco manual sea toilet.  Stainless steel hand basin to port with manually pumped fresh water.
• Forecabin has 2 single V-berths with forehatch over.
• Steering compass
• Seafarer Depth sounder
• Autohelm autopilot
• Whale auto electric bilge pump
• Manual bilge pump
• Radar reflector
• Flavel Wayfarer gas stove
• Jabsco sea toilet
• Stainless hand basin
• Bunk and berth cushions
• Mainsail by Batt Sails
• Headsail by Batt Sails
• Mainsail cover
• Pair of Tufnel cockpit sheet winches
• 2 x 12 volt batteries
• BMC inboard engine
• 2 x CQR anchors with chain and warp
• Cockpit cover
• Full winter cover

Wooden Ships classic yachts brokers have an extensive database of boats for sale. With a wide range of sailboats , classic yachts , motor yachts and small classic boats , Wooden Ships has one of the largest selections of traditional wooden boats and yachts for sale in the UK.

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.

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Hillyard 9 Ton for sale in Lowestoft United Kingdom

Lowestoft United Kingdom

Make & Model

Hillyard 9 Ton

MEASUREMENTS

Description.

Engine Count

Engine Horse Power

ABOUT HILLYARD 9 TON

The Hillyard 9 Ton is a 32 feet long that boasts a 8 feet beam. This 1967 diesel Hillyard 9 Ton, with 35 horsepower.

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