16/06/2026
A while ago I managed to buy back the 10r I designed and built for myself and Nephew Mike Newman. This is a Panda, one of the two prototypes built before we extended the stern and made it the Mk2. The boat is pretty much original as it was when I sold it to Phillip Page (RIP) but looks like a 40 plus year old boat that hasn't been modified apart from some essential maintenance and repairs. Even the sails have not been replaced! It has its original 2 rigs. That is all we needed then. The Ten Raters then were heavier and with smaller sail plans. My idea is to get the boat sailing first and make sure the mast is in the correct place and then do a more complete restoration. The boat is very light for the time and has no solid deck. It used a Micafilm heat shrink deck which was both weightless and hard to hole. A side effect is that is is a drum and bangs when it sails in choppy water, and hums at speed downwind.
