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Invader's decks are Alaskan yellow cedar, for a subtle, golden blond tone that pairs beautifully with her varnished, dovetailed cherry cabin, covering boards, and toe rails. Setting off her decks and cherry rails is a tasteful marriage of traditional bronze and stainless steel deck hardware. Wooden Boatworks' large vintage hardware collection, plus customized details, made Invader's authenticity possible. Carrying the combination stainless and bronze theme elsewhere throughout the deck, stainless rails—instead of wood as Fife would have done—were positioned on the fore and after decks with bronze eyes.

The tiller is a work of art and can be described as no less than deck jewelry. Fife's original tillers were usually iron pipes covered in canvas, then painted. Wooden Boatworks chose to have the tiller made of highly polished 316 stainless steel, and mounted it uncovered. Simon Grillet, who worked with Costanzo on Kentra and other Fife rebuilds, fashioned Invader's tiller in the Fife shape, adding an ebony wood handle grip, finished with a turned polished bronze end cap. The end result completes a harmonious and elegant mixture of bronze and stainless fittings.

Edradour 10 Year Old Distillery Edition

The rig and sail plan were designed by Theo Rye (Classic Boat magazine's Technical Editor), very closely to yacht designer George Cuthbertson's mid-1950s modifications. Rockport Marine in Maine built the Sitka spruce 66 ft. mast and boom. Maloney Marine Rigging of Southport, Maine, fabricated the standing rod rigging.

Invader's sails are Dacron cross-cut sails to conform to the Neptune Trophy specifications in the 8-Meter Class. They were built by North Sails. The headsails are hanked on to a Bartels Roller Furling system which keeps the furling mechanism below decks to preserve the classic look. At the owner's request, related to enjoying the yacht in often light-air conditions of her home port, Oyster Bay, New York, the boat flies a masthead asymmetrical spinnaker, and also has a Code Zero on a furler. A fractional symmetrical spinnaker, which will meet the Neptune Trophy specifications, will be added for this upcoming summer.

Invader didn't compete against other 8-Meters in her first season. She does perform beautifully, however. Her helm is very sensitive, light to the touch, and balances extremely well. She accelerates quickly out of tacks and is very sea kindly in following seas. In all, Invader exceeds expectations, moving along beautifully in very light air and, of course, points well; all expected of a 1930s racing machine.

Invader's interior is completely varnished. Spartan but elegant, Costanzo describes it as "a combination of a lot of Fife trademark signatures from many of his boats." These include Fife style fiddles, raised panelled doors, and open straightforward simple styling. Costanzo compiled years of experience on many Fifes to incorporate them into Invader's interior. Deep green leather seat cushions with a shallow, leather button tuck, "for a sporting look," explains Costanzo, were made by Perry's Upholstery, a Long Island company specializing in antique and classic yachts.

Wooden Boatworks placed a 16 horsepower Beta diesel in Invader, with a Danish two-bladed folding propeller, offset to port. The weight of the engine, fuel tank, exhaust, and associated controls and piping was calculated ahead of time so lead could be subtracted from the ballast keel to compensate. Invader came to rest beautifully on her lines when launched.

Building this type of yacht requires intense dedication to yachting history and depth of research. Brian Hunt Lawrence and Wooden Boatworks share the common belief that restoring yachts and building historic new-builds perpetuate skills and dedication to fine craftsmanship.

Whether restoring an original yacht or building a historic replica, they keep history alive and promote an important art form. That said, it seems natural that another 8-Meter would follow.

Defender, an exact sister to Invader, was also commissioned by Brian Hunt Lawrence. Defender is on the construction floor at Wooden Boatworks at this writing, due to launch in the spring of 2017. When completed next year, the two sisters will be sailed against each other in Oyster Bay, New York, in the true match racing tradition.

The only difference between Invader and Defender will be their tillers. Grillet made the handle grip on the tiller for Invader in ebony; black. The handle on Defender will be holly; white. Pleased with this notion, Costanzo adds, "That should be the only way to tell them apart."

Deciphering Fife's Calculations From His Original Notebook
Text and Drawings by THEO RYE, Technical Editor

My involvement with what became the Invader project started when Donn Costanzo of Wooden Boatworks spoke to me at the 2013 Fife Regatta; a week which saw, among other highlights, two of Fife's prettiest Bermudan-rigged yachts from the 1930s, Latifa and Saskia, racing together. Donn had a client looking for an untouched, original, late 2nd or 3rd International Rule 8-Meter to restore; a well-trodden quest. In the end, we concluded there was nothing suitable on (or off) the market; they had all already been restored, heavily modified, or lost; it seems that the days of "barn finds" of original classics are fast receding.

When attention turned to possible replicas though, there was a stand-out candidate in Invader II. Once Donn had negotiated for copies of the plans, we had a bit of homework to do, which involved corresponding with the ever-helpful John Lammerts van Bueren of the International Eight-Meter Association, followed by a trip to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto. This was Invader's home for most of her life, and despite having been sunk in the mid-1960s, she was remembered well; not least by David Howard, an ex-Commodore of the RCYC and Invader's skipper from 1945 until 1953, and his friend George Cuthbertson (of C&C Yachts fame), who made changes to her rig.

We were also very kindly shown the impressive fleet of 8s at the RCYC; the owners of the 1929 Fife Quest copied her specification for us, and the archivist Beverly Darville was very helpful. A fine, fully detailed period model in the clubhouse was the finishing touch.

Continúa... *_*