Readers of this blog spot no doubt appreciate my addiction to all things Moth Boat and Europe Dinghy related. One little mystery that I've failed to work out is the identity of the builder of my all wood Europe dinghy, GYPSY. A previous owner thought that she was built in Italy but offered no proof to back up that assumption. I'm fairly confident that my boat is NOT a Roland or a Christalli (the excellent craftsman who took over Roland's shop in Belgium) for reasons which I will advance in the following photos of both GYPSY and a genuine Roland-built boat.
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| First, let us exam a boat known to be a Roland |
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| Note the athwart-ship frames running across the cockpit sole of this boat. The aft one serves as an attachment point for the hiking straps. |
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| Here we have GYPSY prior to her restoration. Note the absence of those athwart-ship frame elements. Instead GYPSY sports a pair of fore and aft stringers on either side of the timber keel which the Roland-built boat does not have. Another distinctive feature between this boat and the Roland is the shape of the hatch cut out in the main bulkhead: triangular on GYPSY and rectangular/oval on the Roland. Finally, although not visible in this photo, GYPSY's toe straps terminate at a clam cleat on the keel just ahead of the transom. Thanks in advance for any help identifying the builder of this boat! |
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