1908 Fife 12MR CINTRA19m

Cintra ,built in 1909 is the oldest 12M Racer still ready to race. Before Cintra, Fife designed and built Alachie in 1908 ( no more existing ) , both yachts for the Coats family.Few months later William Fife designed Magda VIII for Alfred Larsen and she was built at Anker & Jensen shipyard in Norway.

Scandinavia was the geografic area where the first rule metric yachts were very much appreciated and there have been many races before the first world war and  Cintra raced with great success in Norway and Sweeden . She came back in UK in the 20’ies but the rules of the metric class had changed and Cintra passed out of racing .

In 1956 CINTRA seemed to have disappeared, only to be discovered many years later in a shed on the east coast of England, having suffered ugly changes by turning her into a cruising yacht. She was then brought to Italy where the 12 Metre collector Alberto Rusconi decided to bring her back to the original beauty by eliminating the pitiful changes and restoring the original layout. So in August 1991 she returned to the race course as beautiful as ever in Fiumicino at La Bussola Boatyard under the direction and management of naval architect Franco Giorgetti  

Construction

Giorgetti & Magrini  where able to trace the original sail plan, the general plan of construction and several sketches of the spars designed by Fife. The yard started with the  demolition of anything that looked not original, drawing a plan of what could be saved or at least restored. At the end, about 50% of the Honduras mahogany planking had to be changed. Eventually to increase the life expectation it got almost completely replaced, as well as all the Acacia frames,  and  of galvanized iron intermediate ones . The keel appeared fully recoverable, even the stem and the sternpost, all made of elm. Since the restoration work aimed at a reconstruction absolutely faithful to the original design, the work was planned with great care and a unique attention to detail, using the same materials indicated by Fife even when these were difficult to find. The work begun with the removal of bad planks, replaced by new ones in 35 mm mahogany. Using a technique approved by the Lloyds for the metric yachts construction, the hull of CINTRA presents a frame with alternating acacia and galvanized iron structures that ensures maximum strength without too much weight. All frames and floor timbers were removed and rebuilt as a model. The deck was completely dismantled and rebuilt with a base of 20 mm plywood, covered with planks of 15 mm douglas fir (the original essence of the deck), while deck stringers, and hatches where redone in mahogany with maximum loyalty to the original. In the same spirit the stern and the lead keel where rebuild, similar to the original.

Accommodations 

Designed as a racing boat, CINTRA originally did provide a minimal  internal cruise equipment,following the International Racing Class rules . During the restoration the accommodations plan and decor was   rebuilt in  a minimalistic but very elegant and respectfull style: a living room entrance with the chart table, two banks with leather seating, followed by a galley and a toilet. The bow section was left completely open spaced, optimized for sail handling.  The boat initially had no engine, but the modern requirements of port manoeuvers imposed a small engine, a Perkins 40 HP, housed in a small engine room which also houses tanks and batteries. The mast and sails were completely redone since the boat in the course of its history had repeatedly changed the type of rigging. Everything had to be reconstructed as provided by Fife.  All made of hollow douglas, which was probably the original material. All the necessary hardware equipment of the rig was redesigned using the original and forged construction. In the beginning of the century the manoeuvring of sails were all by muscle and hoists. On CINTRA this was eased a bit by adding 6 small winches (two halyards, mainsheet and foresail), but basically the layout is unchanged and offers all the precious details such as rod genoa blocks covered in English leather, all splices handmade and also covered in leather.  The total sail area adds up to about 217 square meters, plus the 190 square meter gennaker.

SAILS AND RIGGING

1 x Main sail;

1 x Jib top;

1 x Jib;

1 x Fore stay sail;

1 x MPS (Multi Purpose Sail);

8 x Baron brass winches for sheets and halyards.

MACHINERY

Engine: 

Perkins M35 Perama 35 hp (25kW) installed in 1991, complete revision in 2006, indirect cooling system and mechanical gearbox with three bladed feathering MaxProp propeller.

Mechanical:

1 x Whale manual bilge pump;

1 x Electrical pump for fresh water;

1 x Manual pump for fresh water;

Safety And Fire Protection;

1 x Life raft (capacity: 6 passengers).

Fuel capacity 200 liters;

Fresh water capacity 200 liters.