MARTHA PRIMROSE

In 2012 Ashley Butler was in Cornwall to be found building two comparable yachts, one for himself and another for a client more or less in parallel, though no surprise that his client’s commission took priority when it came to meeting the completion date. By then Ashley, a versatile boat builder had developed his design and building skills from a variety of sources of inspiration and boat yard experiences.

He wanted to create a semi custom family cruising yacht, drawing particularly on the experience of his earlier LYRA, a beautiful evocation of the traditional Itchen Ferry design, which had won accolades from admirers – and among them the yachting press. On the back of this achievement and inspired also by the success of the Hoek Truly Classic – yet modern yachts, Ashley developed the Mayflower 50 – and in defining the “50” he has also very deliberately opted for what many agree to be the optimum size for a family cruising boat.

The hull design is the common feature – but the rig and interior arrangement can be customised as is already evidenced by the Bermudan cutter rig of BONAVENTURE OF SALCOMBE compared with the gaff yawl that is her sister MARTHA PRIMROSE - also with a different general arrangement down below.