'Helix' a tall Twister
Helix was commissioned by Chris Attlee in 1967, his previous boat was a Stella and he wanted a bigger version of the same, so the obvious choice was a Twister.
Changing the rig on Helix
The only problem with the Twister design was that it was mast head rig, the Stella being 3/4 rig. Chris preferred the Stella rig, as sailing the Medway he had found that short sharp tacking was necessary and a large headsail did not lend itself well to this type of manoeuvre.
So the answer was to have a three quarter rig put on his Twister. At the same time, to complete the transformation, he had the main sheet transferred to a post in the middle of the cockpit.
Removing the guard rails
A further belief of Chris’s was that guard rails were dangerous, in that they lulled the crew into a sense of complacency and that they were knee high and easily tripped over, so he requested all guard rails except the pulpit be omitted and the sheet track be moved inboard to give a better sail slot.
Increasing the mast height
Helix was commissioned by Chris Attlee in 1967, his previous boat was a Stella and he wanted a bigger version of the same, so the obvious choice was a Twister.
Changing the rig on Helix
The only problem with the Twister design was that it was mast head rig, the Stella being 3/4 rig. Chris preferred the Stella rig, as sailing the Medway he had found that short sharp tacking was necessary and a large headsail did not lend itself well to this type of manoeuvre.
So the answer was to have a three quarter rig put on his Twister. At the same time, to complete the transformation, he had the main sheet transferred to a post in the middle of the cockpit.
Removing the guard rails
A further belief of Chris’s was that guard rails were dangerous, in that they lulled the crew into a sense of complacency and that they were knee high and easily tripped over, so he requested all guard rails except the pulpit be omitted and the sheet track be moved inboard to give a better sail slot.
Increasing the mast height
These modifications meant that the mast was increased to a height
of 38’ 6” the boom was increased to 12’ 9” and
although the foresail is slightly smaller than standard at 168
sq. ft. the main sail area is increased to 219.2 sq. ft. This makes
the decision of when to reef the mainsail quite critical, also
the mast must be set up perpendicular or tremendous weather helm
is experienced.
Chris and his sons sailed the boat extensively in and around the Medway, across to France and Holland both racing and for holidays. He presented a very fine cup in honour of Helix, to the Gravesend sailing club and I am reliably informed that it is still in their race calendar.
Helix moves to the North East
In the mid seventies Chris had a problem with his hip and found it difficult to sail often so he gave the boat to his son Dick who was living in the North East at the time, and so the yacht was sailed North in 1977, making a new home at the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club in Blyth.
Chris’s son Dick also owned a Stella in partnership with another club member, they agreed to sell the Stella and sail Helix as a new partnership. This they did for a number of years, until Dick’s family and business interest meant he had less and less time to sail and with only one active partner Helix began to decline, until in 1993 the partnership decided to put a new engine into her and rebuild the cockpit and it looked as though she may begin a new lease of life.
Helix is sold
Unfortunately this was not to be and Dick decided it was time to sell. She was bought by Geoff Foulger a Master Mariner and a deep sea Skipper in 1995, with the intention of restoration and family sailing but again fate took a hand and due to pressure of work Geoff only managed one season sailing before she was laid up in the yard for a further 3 years and obvious more deterioration.
A partnership is formed
Geoff found that, due to the nature of his work he was rarely at home and so could not do justice to his aspirations for Helix, so he reluctantly put her back on the market. I wanted a yacht but could not afford one on my own so I offered Geoff a partnership and he agreed. That was 2 years ago now and in that time Helix has still not been in the water!
A refit is planned
Why? On first looking at her I thought that a good winter’s work would put most things back into reasonable working order. Then a year’s sailing and another winter’s work and so on to complete a full refit, but once started it was obvious that things had gone too far and we would have to embark on the full refit straight away and we may as well include any modifications that we thought necessary at the same time.
Two years on and we are almost there!
Rebuilt cockpit, (again, installing hatch to get at stern gear),
sealed wooden top, (thanks to tips from association member), installed
fully gimbled oven under chart table, stripped and repainted inside
and out, (from Blue to Ivory, looks a bigger boat altogether now!),
new instrumentation, complete rewire, new toe rail, stanchions
and upholstery. The only major thing left to do is to check the
mast and install the electric cable inside it.
Help from the Twister Class Association
Geoff has been away quite a bit so I have been left largely to my own devices, although we have consulted and Geoff has been round when he is at home. Also joining the association has helped in finding well tried remedies for some of the more common (and not so common) problems encountered on this type of yacht.
I am looking forward to the new season as I have only really had one good sail in Helix and that was in 1994 when I went with her previous owner to Berwick for an overnight stay. We motored most of the way there but got a little bit of downwind sailing across Berwick Bay, where I experienced the famous, (infamous) “Holman Roll”, dipping the boom in the water on each roll, very exciting!
Paul Winter - Geoff Foulger, Helix