'K Class'

'K Class'

The inscription reads, Presented to Major Frank White by his friends in the 'K' Class, Cowes 1953.

The K Class Half Model is in the 'Centenery Room'

The Ks came about from an RNZYS design competition in 1944.  The Squadron were keen to entice returning service personnel to get out on the water, and they wanted to be able to offer them a boat that would be suitable not just for racing, but also for cruising around the Hauraki Gulf.  

Some of our best-known designers and boatbuilders were involved in developing the K-class fleet. Expat Arthur Robb won the competition, and Bob Stewart came second. Bill Couldrey, Col Wild, and Jack Brooke also entered designs. Ten boats were built between 1948 and the early 1960s, and three other similar boats were redesigned to fit within the class criteria. They were initially intended to be a one-design class but as most designers wanted to build their boat, they quickly became a restricted class.  As the Hauraki Gulf’s first racer-cruisers, the Ks and their owners were fiercely competitive when racing, but great mates when tucked up in a bay at the end of the day.  

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