In the not very distant past, the subsistence farming and fishing economy of the Bahamas employed large numbers of sailing dinghies—small, wholesome boats used for all manner of fishing and transportation. On Man O’ War Cy, one of the barrier “out islands” of Great Abaco, brothers Willard and Benny Albury started out building sailing dinghies. In the early 1950’s they saw their first outboard motors, introduced by some of Man O War’s winter visitors from the States, and it wasn’t long before they were being asked to build outboard powered boats. At first these were just sailing dinghies with a five or ten horsepower motor clamped to the transom. But it soon became obvious that the power and weight of these machines, concentrated aft, required boats with wider transoms and straighter running lines. By building lightweight boats with nearly flat bottoms it became possible to build a boat that would plane with the tiny power then available.
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Jeffrey Wright says:
Let’s talk!
Jeffrey Wright says:
I’m hoping OCH will build a Albury and film its construction just as you did for the Caledonia yawl.
Steve Stone says:
If someone were interested in commissioning an Albury Runabout. Eric would love to build it, and we’d film it for sure.
Christopher Wick says:
In the late 50’s and 60’s there was a period with many partially decked sailing type hulls with single cylinder engines. Sailing hulls often carried a Seagull Outboard on the transom.
Christopher Wick says:
I can provide a series of picture of the building of my Albury 19.
David Tew says:
Chris- Who built her and when? I’d like to see your photos. I’ll send my e-mail via FB message.