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Nearly 50 years after buying his own first little lightweight Pied Piper one-design, the now 67-year-old Tim Snedden was winning the most recent two-handed race in Auckland’s SSANZ shorthanded series on the borrowed Motamouse; if you are going to borrow a boat to revisit your old class silly not to borrow the immaculate eight-time class champion. That’s proper old-timer’s respect for you
course. ‘The boat was going like a rocket on all points of sail. I was totally chuffed with the day,’ says Snedden. ‘To realise I was competitive was a real buzz.’ Initially he had recruited another sexagenarian to crew for the
double-handed event in the form of Tony Rae, who has multiple America’s Cup and round-the-world races on his CV. Sadly Trae, as he is widely known, contracted Covid at the last minute. Snedden called on Ian Darby as a last-minute replacement. ‘Ian is another top bloke on a boat. Trae was incredibly jealous, but he is still signed up for the next two SSANZ events over the winter.’ Meanwhile, the refit of Snedden’s own boat, Animal House, is
progressing at pace, which includes a new keel and a major overhaul of the existing mast. He has also had a new mainsail and headsails built by Doyle Sails, which he was able to use to good effect on Harrison’s boat for the 38-miler. Sail dimensions, materials and annual replacements are class-
limited, while keels, mast sections and shroud positions are all to restricted designs. Regular spinnakers are used for windward - leeward races and national championships, while prods are permitted on some passage courses, but the jury is out on their efficacy. The ‘gun’ boats have stuck with spinnakers. ‘It is a one-design class but as in any class that is 60 years old
some variations have crept in and have to be accommodated,’ says Snedden. ‘What has changed is that the sails are so much better than they were 40 years ago. Along with decent rope technology, we no longer have to contend with everything stretching and dis- torting. The boats can and do race with much more rig tension now – and they hardly use the running backstays any more at all. ‘We used to think the runners were essential for keeping the rig
upright. Now, with the rig tension so tight, all the load goes through the spreaders. It is only in heavy air downwind that the runners are a bit useful…’ What has not changed is the pleasure in sailing them: ‘In a breeze
they get up and go. They are stiff, powerful little boats with massive form stability and, by modern standards, a fair bit of lead in the
26 SEAHORSE
keel. They are definitely weight sensitive. In light downwind conditions it is important to get weight forward. In the old days we also used to hike out. My first boat had toe straps in the cockpit. Now that is illegal under the safety regs! ‘Probably just as well,’ Snedden adds ruefully. ‘I could probably
still get out, but might not get back in. But,’ he continues, ‘they are still really exciting boats to sail. I reckon they were Des Townson’s best keelboat.’ Townson was one of the great stylists of New Zealand yacht design and the Pied Piper bears his hallmark features of gentle sheer and pleasing window shapes. Designed in 1964 for easy and economical building in garden
sheds, it is a typically pretty boat – which somewhat belies its hell- raiser sailing qualities and reputation. Alan Warwick, who was part of Chris Bouzaid’s Rainbow II crew
when it won the 1969 One Ton Cup, built the first one in his backyard. It drew so much attention from young kids in the neighbourhood he named it Pied Piper, which was subsequently adopted as the class name. Performance credentials were quickly established when Pied Pipers blitzed much larger yachts, particularly in wild spinnaker rides, usually accompanied by much yahooing. Over the years more than 80 Pied Pipers were built, most of them
in sheds as intended. In the early 1970s the Pied Piper Association was established. To boost numbers 10 were professionally built between 1974 and ’78 and Snedden ordered a bright orange example. He named it Quandary and campaigned hard for several years. Given the youthful demographic of the class – which mostly spans
teens to twenties and early thirties – the yahooing frequently con- tinues long after the wild spinnaker rides on the race course. As noted by Brian Peet, who wrote an authoritative biography of Des Townson, when a fleet of post-race Piedies sweep into an anchorage and raft up alongside each other it is a signal for those of a more sedate disposition to up-anchor and leave. ‘Many cruising yachtsmen were left with the impression there
was only one anchor shared between the entire Pied Piper fleet,’ wrote Peet, who added: ‘Folklore also dictated that responsible
IVOR WILKINS
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