Puff
Puff is a Puffin Pioneer and my first boat, given to me when I was still a kid to mess around in and she did me proud.
Built by Polycell in the 70s to help market their products, she’s around 10 feet long, has very little sail area, even fewer sail controls and some rather fetching plywood foils. Still, I thought I was in Swallows & Amazons, so that’s all that mattered.
She’s constructed entirely from a single piece expanded polystyrene moulding with wooden fittings for the seats, thwart, transom, rowlocks and mast support, with metal running strips on the bottom of the hull to protect her in a beaching. This does make her very light, but unfortunately expanded polystyrene is not a closed cell foam, so she really needed to be kept in the dry or she’d soak up water quickly if the paint wasn’t very good. We reinforced her with some chopped strand mat glass on the floor and a little glass tape around the gunwales to protect from knocks.
Puffin Pioneer Dinghy
Puffin Pioneer Dinghy
Puffin Pioneer Dinghy
I sold Puff to a kid who was learning to sail and become a boat builder in Summer 2009.
Also had the pleasure of owning one of these fine boats. Sailed all over the continent with her, no wind too strong great memories.
Upgraded to 11ft 3in polystyrene boat think it was called a Topper anyone remmember, still have the boat.