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In 1888 Dolly Varden was sold to Thomas Ratsey, the co-founder of Ratsey and
Lapthorne, a very famous sail making company based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Thomas modified the hull in order to increase sail capacity and enable her to tack better. Following these modifications, the boat won almost
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when it was sold to Claire Lallow's
Boatyard on the Isle of Wight. When the boatyard was destroyed by bombing, Dolly Varden was drafted into service as the family home until the end of the war. After the war Dolly Varden disappeared, and there appears to be no record of the boat until 1965, when
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to sail, were both guests aboard Dolly Varden. Fox referred to the boat as the “Queen of the Solent” and “probably the fastest boat of her length in the world” in spite of the fact that she was then 65 years old. Ratsey lived aboard Dolly Varden in the summer of 1934 where King George V and
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where volunteers from a local youth club became her regular crew. Although Dolly Varden's full history was not known to this group, they were aware that it was nearing its 100th birthday, so in August 1970 they took Dolly Varden on a "centenary" voyage to Paris, from the Hamble River to
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Some of the boat's hull on one side was missing and damaged, but according to a surveyor, the hull was mainly sound and repairable. Following a change of management at IBTC the restoration Dolly Varden was moved to
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arm is hanging in Ratsey and
Lapthorne's offices. It is estimated that the cost of restoring Dolly Varden will be in the order of ÂŁ300,000 and a fundraising exercise is under way to get the boat sailing again.
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every race in which it was entered. Ratsey also used Dolly Varden as a test rig to try out several new sail designs, including those for the
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Dolly Varden was sold as a houseboat to John
Perkins in 1978. After a few years, Perkins took it out of the water for restoration in a
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279:"Dolly Varden Racing – "Probably the fastest boat of her length in the world in spite of her 63 years" – Uffa Fox, 1935"
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visited him. Ratsey died a year later in 1935. His son Chris continued to race Dolly Varden up to the start of the
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for the next 25 years. In 2016 the smallholding was sold, and the landowner considered setting fire to the
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as an historic vessel of national importance. Its original racing pennant is housed in the
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261:"Welcome to Ratsey & Lapthorn Classic Sails – -- Ratsey & Lapthorne (Cowes) Ltd"
47:. She was later converted to a racing yacht by Richard Grant, the then secretary of the
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into the centre of Paris where the boat was moored for a week before returning home.
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91:. Following extensive renovation, Dolly Varden was moored on the
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197:"Famous Itchen Ferry racer Dolly Varden to be restored"
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design, and used initially as a fishing vessel in the
243:"Name Dolly Varden | National Historic Ships"
31:The boat was built in 1872 at Whites Shipyard at
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225:"Dolly Varden · National Historic Ships UK"
319:Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom
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211:"BH4's amazing wooden boat collection"
139:Dolly Varden has been registered with
87:it was bought by a Dennis Riley from
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51:, who won many races with the boat.
183:"Dolly Varden – Classic Yacht Info"
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247:www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk
229:www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk
69:, who subsequently sailed with
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160:Dolly Varden's original
141:National Historic Ships
265:www.ratseysails.co.uk
145:Cowes Maritime Museum
49:Royal Yacht Squadron
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283:dollyvarden.co.uk
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302:Official website
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89:Southampton
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169:References
121:Portsmouth
80:Queen Mary
113:tarpaulin
313:Category
129:Weymouth
98:Le Havre
67:Uffa Fox
35:on the
27:History
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45:Solent
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33:Cowes
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