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Tideway:
The Tideway began life as the Walker 12 in a firestation in Leigh-on-Sea.
Twenty two years on and the dinghies remain as popular as ever, with
new ones still being built. Vanessa Bird reports.
There are not many traditional clinker dinghies which have achieved
such enduring success as the 12ft (3.7m) Tideway dinghy. The design
was first exhibited at Olympia in 1957 and 44 years on the Tideway
still gets stand space and grabs attention. During that time the design
has hardly changed, although there are now glassfibre versions of
the Tideway being built. The wooden Tideway, however, dubbed by many
as the ‘only real boat’ at the London Boat Show over the
past few years, is still scoring highly in popularity.
The Tideway dinghy began life as the Walker 12 in the yard of LH Walker
& Co in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Lew Walker, the proprieter, began
building dinghies in 1946 when the Admiralty granted him a licence
and £90 to set up himself in business. The first boats he built
were 8ft (2.4m) flatties, but before long these were moved aside in
favour of ‘real boats’ — the Walker 12s. No lines were
drawn for the design, Walker worked on the principle that “if
it looked right it was right” and built the dinghies totally
by eye. It was only when the Owner’s Association formed in 1964
that the design was set, the boats registered, the class affiliated
with the RYA and the name changed to the Tideway — so called
because the boat handled well in tidal waters.
The Tideway is 12ft long on a beam of 4ft 10in (3.7 x 1.2m). Originally,
their construction was 3/8in mahogany on Canadian rock elm, with 12
planks per side. In the mid-1960s, however, this was changed to 11
planks and more fullness was given to the bow section. Oak replaced
the rock elm timbers and iroko the oak used for the stem, keel and
sternpost.
Three versions of the Tideway were built in the 1960s: the Popular,
the Deluxe and the Super. All followed the same hull construction
and sail plan — gunter or bermudan sloop — but additional
features distinguished the models. The Popular was the standard Tideway,
simplicity being its key feature. It had an open plan hull, three
mahogany fore, centre and aft thwarts and galvanised fittings. The
Deluxe version had an additional stern locker and mahogany ply foredeck
and the Super, the top of the range, combined all these features with
slotted side benches and ply sidedecks. Bronze and stainless steel
fittings were standard on this model, as were a pivoting rudder blade
and Terylene, rather than cotton, sails.
Sadly, in 1979, LH Walkers & Co closed. Interest had dwindled
and so production of the Tideway ceased. It is rumoured that during
1966 a ply plug was built to be used to make glassfibre Tideways,
but demand for the wooden dinghies was so high that there was no time
to develop the glassfibre ones. In 1991, however, the first glassfibre
Tideway was produced by Tepco Boats of Leigh-on-Sea. Paul Gray, a
employee at Walkers from 1963-71, extended the Tepco range to include
a glassfibre Tideway and due to it’s popularity later produced
a glass version of the Walker 14. A change in direction of Tepco’s
operation (see Fleurette, CB123) led to a break in production, but
Paul is now a partner at The Boatyard in Maylandsea, Essex, producing
both versions of the Tideway. It is his immaculately built wooden
Tideways that now grace the boat shows.
Tideways have a good reputation for being sturdy family boats, and
it takes quite a lot to capsize them. They’re not the fastest
of dinghies to sail and their rig is uncanvassed compared with others
of their size — 77sqft for the gunter-rigged Tideway compared
with the 90sqft (7 & 27m2) which the Twinkle 12 and Firefly dinghies
set — but they do handle well and are forgiving of mistakes.
Excellent boats for the beginner to learn to sail in and great for
pottering in. If the Tideway’s popularity continues with such
panache then its future is definitely assured.
Tideway
Built high and dry?
The building sheds of LH Walker & Co were two fire stations in
Wakering.
Rising tide?
Lew Walker kept one Tideway back for himself — Tideway No100.
Walker and his family regularly raced her and she was used in all
their advertising and brochure material for the dinghies.
Non tidal Tideway?
In 1966 and 1968 Tideways, 14 and 16ft skiffs were supplied by Walkers
to be used as hire boats on the Serpentine in Hyde Park and on Coniston
Water.
Tidal race?
At the height of their production, Tideway turnover was so large that
the Walker yard got through one new plane blade every month.
High costs?
In 1971 a Popular Tideway cost £210 and a Super £245.
Now, a new wooden one costs £6,495 and a new standard GRP one
£4,495. Second hand Tideways in a good condition usually cost
around £2,000-£3,000
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| Tideway |
12ft (3.7m) |
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4ft 10in (1.2m) |
3ft 4in (1m) |
200sqft (18.6m2) |
LH Walker |
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