My new book, The David Hillyard Story, will be published in the spring 2021 by Lodestar Books.
THE DAVID HILLYARD STORY
by Nicholas Gray
The life of a British boatbuilder, the boats he built
and the people who sailed them
David Hillyard, born in 1883 and starting from humble beginnings became one of the best known boatbuilders in the country.
Moving from Essex, where he was born, he set up in business in Littlehampton in East Sussex in 1906, where over the next 100 years his yard produced over 800 boats, over half of which are still sailing today. His chosen form of double-ended hull with a centre cockpit has become instantly recognisable the world over and the boats have established a reputation for seaworthiness, safety and excellence of build.
David Hillyard became legendry for his honesty and principle and customers would cheerfully leave him blank cheques in payment for their boats confident that he would not over-charge them.
The book not only describes the various boats he built but describes the major voyages undertaken by many of them, which include several circumnavigations and many long ocean voyages.
Several well-known people, including the authors Arthur Ransome and Neville Shute, were devotees of Hillyard yachts and their exploits are set out in this book, together with how their boats influenced their writings.
The book will be published in the spring of 2021 by LODESTAR BOOKS