SeaHawk
Page updated 17 January 2005
This SeaHawk (#412) was ordered when the original owner visited the 1992 Boat Show. John Southey, the boat's second owner, bought her in September 2001 and understands that it was first registered on the Broads on 11 May 1992. "SeaHawk" was put on the bows for the show and the first owner decided not to give it another name. John sums up his purchase saying "It's a great boat to sail!"
The first owner only sailed on the Broads for about a year. After that he kept it at Aldeburgh and later at Wells. He slipped it in nearly every week which, John reports, accounts for why the trailer has suffered.
John believes that being a "show boat" accounts for its many other unusual "extras". Working from the bows, you'll notice that this boat lacks the usual pulpit. Although not noticeable in this picture, it is also rare, if not unique, to have the four sides of the window framing welded into a single piece and on the cabin top the tabernacle is of a type not seen on any older boat.
In the cockpit, circular hatches are something that is definitely out of the ordinary. The usual stainless steel cockpit guard rails are missing, replaced with wooden capping. At the stern, the mooring cleats are not of the design used on any other SeaHawk. The way that the outboard motor mounting is cut into the gunwale is also unusual, but not unknown on more recent boats.
All round the gunwales are finished with a capping which was not standard, but many owners do add sacrificial rubber or wood trim here as it can be more effective at protecting the boat than the traditional fenders on some moorings.
John, who turned 70 in 2004, spends a lot of time "living" on the boat. He travels from his home in Hertfordshire, about 135 miles from Hickling, and stays aboard with his dog Charlie, for three or four days at a time nearly every other week. He says, "At my age I wouldn't want to go trailing and launching the boat anywhere else. Where better could one want to be than sailing on the Broads above Potter Heigham."
Every winter "SeaHawk" is lifted out on "crane-out" day and put on the trailer and left at the boatyard.
Because of the information from Chris Jeckells that a tall masted version of the SeaHawk had been taken to the 1992 Boat Show and because John reported that the original brochure that came with the boat had the figure for sail area on the back page crossed out and 168 sq ft written in ink beside it, it was thought that this boat might be one of the rare tall masted versions.
However, there appears to be nothing unusal about the height of this mast and the increase in sail area indicated on the brochure can now be seen as simply reflecting the new specifications, shown in the price list, for 1992. It must now be assumed that Chris' information was in error.
