One of the pleasures of writing this blog is to hear from other Folksong owners – in fact, that was one of the reasons I started the blog.

So, let me introduce Matilda.

Alex contacted me because he was looking for other Folksong owners for advice and comments.

He writes:

“Having recently bought my first cruiser, a Folksong called Matilda (Aug ’09) I am in the early stages of a major winter refit.”

“I was . . . hoping to find some other Folksong owners based on the south coast as it would be good to get in touch with them, with the thought of meeting up next year for a mini rally of sorts. Also I was thinking of setting up a Folksong website, but wasn’t sure how much interest there would be. What do you think? Incidentally do you know how many Folksongs were built and how many are still sailing in England?”

“One question that springs to mind is regarding the primary winch mounts you have. Currently I have large wooden blocks under the winches, which I found stop the water flowing along the deck whilst heeling and water comes over into the cockpit. I have tried to find some stainless steel mounts similar to yours but have not been able to find any. Do you know where yours came from?”

In answer to his last question I have sent the telephone number of the boatyard I use in Plymouth, but, like Alex, I would be interested if other people have a similar problem to his. As he noted from the images I sent, Blue Mistress has a stainless steel bracket for the sheet winches that allows for the free flow of water along the deck. We don’t have a problem with water entering the cockpit.

Out in the boat today, it seems that the boat has to heel at least 30+ degrees to bring water along the deck to hit the winch bracket.

Alex has started his own blog  and can be contacted here.