As a small child I was always fascinated with toy sailing boats, the traditional summer seaside holiday was never complete without me at some point gazing in awe at the seemingly endless range of models offered, alongside the obligatory children’s buckets and spades, in the typically colourful seaside gift shops that were a prevalent feature of all 1960′s British coastal towns.
One name in particular – “Star Yachts of Birkenhead” stands out and brings all those wonderful memories flooding back. Their beautifully crafted models, which proudly boasted “guaranteed to sail” on the deck emblem, had been in production since just after the first world war when a Belgian refugee, Franz Marie Denye, set up the company and over the years they’ve manufactured a vast array of model yachts until, sadly, the company finally closed its doors in 1990.
There were other commercial makers of course – Ailsa, Albatross, Alexander of Preston, Bowman of Norfolk, Gamages and KyleKraft – to name but a few although, again, all these traditional iconic names have suffered the same fate and their products have now become highly prized as collectables or evocative and decorative pieces for display as props commercially or around the home.
Fortunately another manufacturer – Skipper Yachts, who’ve been in production for over 20 years now, are still producing just such traditional wooden pond yachts for children of all ages… Their yachts are beautifully crafted, they have solid wooden hulls fitted with steel keels and their genuine sailcloth sails have adjustable rigging which enables kids to experiment and learn the basic principles of sailing boats. Such timeless designs allow a child to experience the excitement of sailing their very own little boat across the uncharted waters of the local pond and are an ideal introduction to model boats for any budding young skippers out there…!
For those who love the idea of vintage model boats, we’re constantly on the lookout for beautiful examples of those mentioned above and we endeavour to offer for sale a regularly updated selection on our website. Although these models should no longer be considered as toys suitable for children, they were designed for sailing and anyone who’s interested in finding out more about this addictive pastime should enjoy visiting the small sail boat section of the Vintage Model Yacht Group website.
Additionally – if you have an interest in Star Yachts and require display stands for your treasured models then please view another of our threads – Star Yacht model sailing boat display stands.
Mark
I have just made new copies of the old torn sails of my husband’s Bowman model sailing yacht and reattached them. I am now looking for a stand for it. Do you have one or can you tell me where I can get one?
If there are no vintage ones, I thought perspex might be an option.
Thanks for any information.Vanessa
Hi Vanessa
If you’d like to email me details of the Bowman yacht, size, etc. then I’m sure I can sort something out.
I’m not sure if you’ve seen the Star Yacht Stands I’ve made recently? I’m fairly certain that the medium sized one would be suitable for your yacht and, although I don’t have Bowman transfers, I could put “Bowman Yachts – Norfolk” (or whatever text you’d like) on the side of it instead of the Star Yacht logo…
I could obviously make something up in perspex for you if you’d rather but using the stands I’ve already made would certainly be the most cost effective solution.
Hope this helps and if you require any further info. then please don’t hesitate to ask.
Mark
Hi Mark. I have just purchased what I think is a star yacht identical to the one pictured against the three coloured stands. Mine doesn’t have a name on the hull….Endeavour is it ? or the transfer on the deck. As with other enquiries, could you supply me with a Star yacht deck transfer and how much would it cost. Have just bought two of your stands. Thank you. Richard
Hi Richard,
Good to hear from you and many thanks for your order.
The yacht you have is almost certainly an “Endeavour I” and the image you’re referring to is viewable here.
Your stands and transfers should be with you by now, if you require any further information about the model, or the restoration of it, then please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll do what I can to help.
Kind regards,
Mark
I have an old Endeavour MK IV that I’m looking to slowly restore. It was bought for me about 35 years ago. I’ve sanded the hull down to bare wood. Would you know what sort of paint was used on the hull? Secondly, I used to sail it at the marina (in the salt water) so the fittings are a bit corroded. Is there anywhere to get replacement parts? I would also like to order a Star decal and the Endeavour IV side decals? How would I go about doing that?
Thanks for the reply.
Hello Peter,
Good to hear that you’re restoring your old Endeavour IV” Star Yacht.
I’m not entirely sure what paint type the factory would have used originally but I’d suggest refinishing your yacht with a product like Japlac as it’ll give you a similar, hardwearing, high gloss finish to the original.
Unfortunately there isn’t a readily available supply of spare parts, nor “Endeavour IV” side decals, so I can’t help you with those I’m afraid but if you’d like to purchase one of my Star Yacht stands then I’ll include a deck transfer for you.
The stand most suited to your yacht is the medium size green version available here.
I hope that this helps and good luck with your restoration.
Kind regards,
Mark