MYC 50th anniversary, JB Sayer Yachts

On of the life’s true characters, MYC member / solo racer / two-handed racer / yacht builder and designer, former New Zealander Jon Sayer arrived on the Sunshine Coast in about 1981…

JB Sayer Yachts, Ahoy August 14^th-20^th, 1989, Author Unknown.

Slowly but surely, JB Sayer Yachts has been producing some fine yachts on the Sunshine Coast now for eight years.

Arriving from NZ, Jon Sayer and girlfriend Marie decided on the flip of the coin, whether to stay in Mooloolaba or Southport as a base to attempt building in Australia.

Being a son of NZ’s most famous ferro cement boat builder and designer, John’s first boat in Australia was a very pleasing to the eye ferro cement 35-foot yacht called Slippery Sidewalk.

After completing the Trans-Tasman Single Handed Race aboard a previous boat called Floating Footpath and winning the race, he cemented a relationship with fellow MYC members that maybe he can build and sail a reasonable boat.

Starting with a cold moulded 3- foot yacht friend self, his business snowballed from there with the very successful Troopship which was designed as a fast cruiser for a rich Mooloolaba magnate.

Soon after, he started the introduction of specialised convex – concave edge nailed, epoxy sheathed, timber yachts having good durability and strength. John has developed and specialised in the building method now for over five years and has perfected a rather moderate budget, strong efficient type of construction to build up a fleet of top yachts on the east coast of Australia.

Being a one-off type of construction, it enables the client to custom design alongside the builder with the added advantage of designing program and computer system to facilitate a modern approach to the technology needed to build a successful racer or cruiser. This computer analysis enables the yacht to be modified from boat to boat, a year to year. The end result is a yacht such as the likes seen on the cover, owned by Ian Griffiths of Mooloolaba. Ian’s years of owning a yacht with cruising capabilities have gone into the thoughts of John’s design with his own personal requirements apparent.

Ian’s main requisite was to have a yacht that was extremely roomy to allow his demand in the creature comforts needed for cruising yachts with family and friends, but restricted to 40 feet for budget reasons and ease of handling for shorthanded sailing which Ian has taken a liking to. Wild Honey’s length was accompanied with a very large beam at 13’8”. This beam requires a lot of draft, around 8’6”, so a drop keel was incorporated from 5’6” – 8’6”. To get the weight down, a wind form bulb was used to give endplate effect as well is leverage.

A fractional aft swept rig was used for ease of headsail handling, but because the boat is fully fitted out for cruising, mast head kites were incorporated to get the heavier yacht downhill a little quicker in the light.

Three years of service and design feedback, Allyacht Spars of Brisbane have produced a strong easy rig to handle to both Jon’s and Ian’s requirements.

As to its sailing ability, the photo says it all; it is definitely a leap ahead of all 40-foot cruising boats nationwide with exceptional performance around the buoys as well as being primarily set up for shorthanded sailing. This is the type of performance the GT-type owner needs in his cruiser.

Currently building is a faster version of the very successful Wild Honey.