Welcome to the Axe One Design website. The Axe O.D. is a traditional 12 foot clinker built Bermudan rigged dinghy. The boats were designed in 1951 specifically for the Axe Yacht Club, based at Axmouth in East Devon. The A.O.D. was designed principally as a two man dinghy, but could be sailed either single or two handed. Races for the class were held both in Seaton Bay and on the Axe estuary, launching from the club’s open beach or onto the tidal Axe estuary. The class was designed by amatuer boat builder Jack Drew, who was then Vice Commodore of the A.Y.C. Jack constructed the first batch of eight boats in the early 1950s. The fleet continued to grow and in the 60s numbering almost twenty. Sadly most of these boats have either perished or disappeared, but one of the original fleet survived intact- Whimbrel, No.1. During the last decade three new boats have been built in Fowey for A.Y.C. members and two more of the original fleet have been restored.
Each summer the boats now return to Cornwall to sail on the Fowey, Fal and Helford Rivers, but primarily attend Fowey Classics where a separate class has been organised for the Axe Ones Designs. The small fleet of dinghies invariably attract attention, the sight of varnished dinghies cannot help but draw inquiring and admiring comments.
By coincidence, rather than any specific ruling each of the boats has adopted the same colour scheme - varnished topsides with cream coloured paint below the waterline. This now makes telling them apart somewhat difficult when drawn up on the beach together! Unfortunately, Swallow is the odd one out since it has been impossible to remove all traces of paint from inside her hull, so she is the only A.O.D. with the interior hull painted.
The original sails were white, however the class has now adopted cream coloured sails throughout, with the panels cut in half width, reflecting the narrower panels of the old cotton sails.
It is quite remarkable that a class of dinghy which had all but disappeared should re-emerge. Even more so that after a thirty five year gap a new Axe One Design was built exactly 50 years on from its original inception; rekindling interest in the class. Now that two more of the original boats have emerged, leads to the question; are there any more surviving out there?
Since 2005 the A.Y.C. has organised a separate class series for the A.O.D.s within the summer River Races. Appropriately the Axe Ones now race for the ‘Jack Drew Cup’ donated by Jack in 1960.
I for one find great pleasure in seeing the fleet slowly re-emerge and feel we are indebted to Jack for his enthusiasm and attention to detail in designing and establishing such an incredibly pretty and pleasurable classic boat to sail.
The class continues to expand, No.23 is due to commence build in May 2009.
Nigel Daniel
