Hello Graeme,

You enquired about Aldo Cherini’s website. Here is a translation of the reasons he gave for it.

“Yes, why create this site? Was it really necessary?

In all these years in which we have been using the Internet, there have been countless times in which, by chance, we have obtained valuable information on sites created with little means by willing strangers. The information we can offer is restricted to particularly specific topics, so it won't be sought by a large number of surfers. But the Internet is big and let it never be said that, somewhere, someone is not looking for this specific synthesis, or the sketch of that particular pirogue, the drawing of that ship, etc…

The effort of transferring the information accumulated over the years into this medium, the web, is no small task. Also because we did not want to resort to external help or specific publication programs. The Word was everything that was within our reach. Please accept the spartan appearance of the site (and any errors) willingly.

If then, instead of homeland history, naval art, sailing archaeology, you came here attracted by the name and expected to see astronomical topics, then you were looking for the other Cherini site, that of the Barcolano branch of the family, Happy browsing!” 

Aldo Cherini is regarded with some affection. He was born in Capodistria, Province of Istria in Italy on 7^th February 1919. It’s now known as Koper & is the 5^th largest city in Slovenia. At the end of WW1, Italy annexed Trieste, Istria & part of modern-day western Slovenia from the defeated Austro-Hungary Empire. A convoluted history, I think you will agree!

https://en.wikiped1a.org/wiki/Koper  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Territory_of_Trieste

He attended the historic "Carlo Combi" Classical High School in his hometown &graduated in law from the University of Trieste. Called up for military service during WW2, he achieved the rank of second lieutenant & then lieutenant in the motorized infantry specialty. Married with two children, he worked in the labour & administrative law consultancy sector. Up until the moment of the exodus of the family, which took place in 1952, he lived in Koper & took an active part in the various sporting & cultural societies & other associations of the city (rowing, even at a competitive level, hiking and speleology, city orchestra as second violin, painting and drawing with participation in some collective and personal exhibitions).

He has been interested in national & maritime history since his youth. He published a book on his own & three books with a co-author. He collaborated with his own chapters on three other AAVV volumes & published about twenty pamphlets, as well as having written numerous articles for periodicals, magazines and newspapers. In 2008. he was awarded the HISTRIA TERRA Award by the Union of Istrians with the following motivation:

“For his decennial activity and for his life dedicated to historical research, to the collection of documents, to the production of studies and writings and to the masterly writing of drawings as evidence of Istrian culture”.

Final words to conclude:

This site is amateur, non-profit, responds to research & drawings carried out by the author, taken from original sources of various kinds (museum & archival collections, photographic collections, specialized publications, documentaries, newspapers & periodicals, what still remains to afloat preserved, abandoned or reduced to a wreck). Drawings started in approximately 1939 & finished in 2010. Aldo Cherini died in Trieste at the age of 91 on 11^th December 2010.

Cordially,

Perry

Welcome Perry.

I must say your Freeman 22 looks like a delightful little displacement cruiser, maybe if your sons want to restore her, you could all share the mooring fees?

Maybe the urge to build a boat is behind your choice. In the amateur boatbuilding world there seems to be a growing trend towards small open cruising boats and (perhaps an increase in such activity as retirement projects). This seems to be going hand in hand with a trend back towards simpler and more cost-efficient and effective dinghy rigs such as the sprit and especially the lug rig, after a decades-long affair with the much less suitable Bermudan sail. Less popular in small, open boats, but slowly beginning to appear, is the Chinese lug (junk) rig. For a dinghy, the junk rig still seems just too complicated for most people. However I believe that its relative complexity to understand and set up, is more than compensated by its greatest virtue: its simplicity to operate, in particular the ability to reef or hand, while still sailing and without having to stop or shift one’s weight. Ways of quickly setting up a junk rig at a launching ramp have already been put forward.

So, personally, I think you are on the right track.

From the sketch, it is not possible to evaluate the characteristics of the Asian-style skiff you propose. However, from your days of sailing lasers, I guess you are already aware of the importance of good hull shape, weight, stability etc.

What interested me most were the tiny sketches at the top of the website page: on opening these I found dozens sketches of old Japanese and Chinese vessels, rather reminiscent of the sketches of G.R.G. Worcester.

Could you please tell us a little more about Giappone, the story behind this catalogue of indigenous designs, and why you like this particular little boat?

Another possibility you might consider (a little closer to home) is the SIBLIM type of hull. The designer (David T) got as far as making preliminary sketches for a smaller version. Maybe he will be willing to allow you to take the design to the next stage, scaled up a little to a size suitable for three adults. 

Just a thought.

Good evening,

Having just received confirmation of my membership of the Association, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. Between ages 40 to 46 (1982-88) I was a member of Brightlingsea Sailing Club. I sailed a Laser & owned a couple of sailboards. Two more sons arrived in 1988 & 1991 & life's responsibilities caught up with me, so I came ashore. In 2007, I purchased plans to build a DE25 cabin cruiser, but somehow they sat on the back burner. In 2015, I acquired a 1967 Freeman 22 mk2 & spent nearly 4 months cruising it on the Thames from Bourne End to Oxford. Since then it has been sitting on its trailer outside the house, in dire need of TLC. Opinions are divided as to its future. I say sell to a Freeman enthusiast; my sons want to restore it. I have pointed out that it would cost £50 per day to refloat it on the Thames, for perhaps 4-5 hours use per weekend. Not a good financial investment.

I am now 80 & a trailable, junk rigged open skiff with yuloh to match is very appealing. My plan is they propel & I imbibe, whilst lounging midships on cushions. As July & August have been such a washout, I'm relieved I don't have my skiff, yet! However, preparations are in hand for next year. I envisage using a white 180GSM tarpaulin 6 metres x 3 metres & a bamboo mast, spars & battens from https://www.ukbamboo.com/product/guadua-poles-80100mm-x-5-85m/ to build the sail & the services of 2 carpenters to construct the hull something like this early next year. https://www.cherini.eu/etnografia/EO/slides/E0_0441.html

Cordially,

Perry