C.M.Marine

Colin May and Norman Hack
Colin May and Norman Hack, Plymouth, 1975 (photo: P. Fullagar)
1994 C.M.Marine price list

1994 C.M.Marine price list

In 1978 Colin May, trading as C.M. Marine, obtained the GRP moulds from Zygal together with a licence to buid Seaflys, and in 1980 he obtained the design copyright. Based in Christchurch, UK, Colin May sailed at Highcliffe Sailing Club which raced a large Seafly fleet. He had won the National Championship in 1974 and 1979, in the latter year sailing his prototype GRP-foam sandwich Seafly 622 “Also Amazing”.

The C.M.Marine hulls were of good quality and were attractive in appearance. However, relatively few were built with sail numbers only increasing by about 30 during the 1980’s, and that included some Hoare built boats. The photos below show the hull of a foam composite C.M.Marine Seafly.

 

Racing Seafly controls

A Seafly set up for racing (prior to renovation)

The hull illustrated above has had all the control lines and other racing gear removed. The photo gives an idea of how complex these had become on Seaflys which were used for racing.  The Class Association attempted to encourage the development of a Cruising Seafly but, with few sales of the standard boat, there were not the funds to build a stock of new boats or to promote the Seafly commercially. By the end of the 1980’s and into the 1990’s C.M. Marine only occasionally built a new Seafly to order.

Dinghy Yearbook 1997

From the 1997 Dinghy and Dayboat Directory published by Opus Books (reproduced by permission)

There appears to have been doubt as to whether C.M. Marine owned the design copyright for the Seafly or simply had a licence to build them. The SDCA conducted protracted negotiations to obtain ownership of the design copyright, which was granted in 1996, but the hope of appointing a different builder was not fulfilled. The entry in the 1997 Dinghy and Dayboat Directory records the copyright issues which contributed to the eventual demise of the Seafly class.

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