Vindilis
Davinka Design : Published 1925
Photograph by Will Barnes
Vindilis : The Yacht Harrison Butler Had Built For Himself
Vindilis is the yacht that Harrison Butler had built for himself and in consequence she is well documented. She features in his book Cruising Yachts: Design and Performance where, in the fourth edition (published in 1995), there are five black and white photographs of Vindilis, including one of the interior. The building and launch of Vindilis is described in Yachting Monthly articles published during 1935 and 1936. Vindilis is also mentioned in detail in the 2008 book The Moody Legacy by David Moody as she was the first yacht they built for at least thirty years. Moody's built four Harrison Butler boats altogether, the other other three being Zingara, Lindy II and Edith-Rose. Lindy II is a sister ship to Vindilis, also built to the Davinka design in the same year. Yoldia was recently described as “the elder sister of Harrison Butler's own yacht, Vindilis” she being built in 1928 to essentially the same 1925 Davinka design, seven years before Vindilis and Lindy II.
Photograph by Will Barnes
Richard Farmer wrote in 2014; “Damon Kenneil deserves a lot of credit for Vindilis' recent excellent condition. He had a lot of work done at Adam Way Boatbuilders in 2002 when she was 70% reframed, refastened and fitted with bronze floors. He also converted her from a Yawl to a cutter rig, which we have retained”.
More recently, in 2016, she has benefited from a complete deck replacement by Andrew Oliver Shipwrights of Emsworth using the old teak thinned and re-laid on refurbished deck beams and a marine ply sheathed sub deck. See the article in Cruising Yachts entitled A new deck for Vindilis. She has new sails new for 2018 by Pete Sanders.
Richard is the HBA's South Coast Social Secretary.
Vindilis Statistics
Built : 1935 by AH Moody & Son, Swanwick Shore, Southampton
LOA : 30' 0"
LWL : 22' 6"
Beam : 8' 7"
Draught : 4' 4"
Displacement : 6.5 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 163672, Southampton
OGA Boat N° 3108
Vindilis Custodians & Home Ports
Richard and Helen Farmer (2009-2017...) Emsworth, Chichester, England
Anne Janet Keith Kenneil (2006-2009) Oban, Scotland
Damon Balfour Nelson Kenneil (1979-2006)
Dr Alastair Kerr James (1957-1979)
Fred Sewell Stevens (1956-1957)
Cyril John Cole (1949-1956)
Frederick Richard Hole (1944-1949)
Dr Thomas Harrison Butler (1935-1944)
Vindilis Links
• Photos of Vindilis being restored at A & R Way Boat Building
• A New Deck For Vindilis in Cruising Yachts, Spring 2017
• Boat Spotted : Vindilis in Cruising Yachts, New Year 2018 (forthcoming)
This page last updated : January 2018
More recently, in 2016, she has benefited from a complete deck replacement by Andrew Oliver Shipwrights of Emsworth using the old teak thinned and re-laid on refurbished deck beams and a marine ply sheathed sub deck. See the article in Cruising Yachts entitled A new deck for Vindilis. She has new sails new for 2018 by Pete Sanders.
Richard is the HBA's South Coast Social Secretary.
Built : 1935 by AH Moody & Son, Swanwick Shore, Southampton
LOA : 30' 0"
LWL : 22' 6"
Beam : 8' 7"
Draught : 4' 4"
Displacement : 6.5 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 163672, Southampton
OGA Boat N° 3108
Richard and Helen Farmer (2009-2017...) Emsworth, Chichester, England
Anne Janet Keith Kenneil (2006-2009) Oban, Scotland
Damon Balfour Nelson Kenneil (1979-2006)
Dr Alastair Kerr James (1957-1979)
Fred Sewell Stevens (1956-1957)
Cyril John Cole (1949-1956)
Frederick Richard Hole (1944-1949)
Dr Thomas Harrison Butler (1935-1944)
• Photos of Vindilis being restored at A & R Way Boat Building
• A New Deck For Vindilis in Cruising Yachts, Spring 2017
• Boat Spotted : Vindilis in Cruising Yachts, New Year 2018 (forthcoming)
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