19/05/2026
Our Week started with a quick construction of mast supports for the Harrison Butler 'Lindy II'.
Recently sold, she is to travel south to sunny Barcelona, where she will be based with her new custodian.
Lindy II has been in EYH for many years. She had an excellent restoration in 2015 with Tim Gilmore at Dolphin Quay, and until recently was in active use.
Harrison Butler was "a strong believer in the 'metacentric shelf formula' to achieve good balance and handling under sail. The theory held that as a yacht heels under sail, its balance will depend on the immersed form of the hull, with different sections exerting varying degrees of buoyancy and aft sections possibly being more buoyant than forward sections. Metacentric shelf analysis plots the shifts in the varying buoyancy as a net value to windward or leeward and serves as a guide to achieving equal buoyancy in the dissimilar ends of a design. The work can now be done by computer, but when it was applied by the brain, hand and eye of Dr. Harrison Butler it produced famously sweet-handling boats, in the age of heavy weather helm."
In the days before computers, Harrison Butler was known to cut out paper cross sections of his hulls in order to calculate lines of symmetry and centres of mass. Boats built to his designs are noted for their sleek looks as well as their pleasant handling.
Its always sad to see a British Classic Yacht leave for foreign waters, because once they are gone, they are gone. However the most important thing is they go to the right custodian, and that they care and enjoy them so they can be appreciated by future generations, wherever they are.
Fair Winds Lindy II!
