James Taylor Craftmanship

James Taylor Craftmanship
My Story
1900's to 1940's,
JAMES TAYLER. boatyard was Building Boats (yachts, river cruisers ect) for the gentry, Kings and MPs at Chertsey Surrey.
In 1937 he built, Express Cruisers including the FRAMAR LONDON.
We acquired the boat in May 2012 when we were looking for a boat to go up and down the rivers around Boston, Lincoln, Nottingham and
Yorkshire.
By chance, while we were moored at the Glory Hole in Lincoln, a passer-by noticed us and asked if we realised that we had a very special and very famous boat?
The local newspapers did a story on the boat for us as did BBC Radio Lincolnshire and with the help of the public we soon put together her history including her life as an RAF 'Flying Boat'.

It's fair to say that the Framer was in a pretty poor state when we purchased her. Being a 40ft wooden teak on oak boat with 2 big engines and streamlined hull, this boat was clearly built for speed.

We now believe she was used by MI5/SOE secret service to transport agents to meetings and submarine rendezvous.

With help we would like to renovate the framer and turn her into a floating museum to commemorate the brave men and women who gave and sacrificed so much for our freedom.

Debunking the Debunkers

Friday 21 November 2014

Framar turns out to be historically linked to Lord Baden Powell

We got in-touch with a museum in the hope of getting evidence to show that Framar was involved in the Dunkirk evacuations. But in our response we found out something new that shows the Framar is a boat that needs to be saved as the following email shows:


Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately I can find no record of Framar taking part in the Dunkirk Evacuations. I have found her in 1939s Lloyd's Register of Yachts (see below), which confirms that she was built by J. Taylor in 1937 and shows she had two 8 cylinder Chrysler petrol engines, so she would have been a speedy boat. Her owner in 1939 was Capt. F. P. Marshall. He was a member of the Hayling Island Sailing Club, The Royal Southampton Yacht Club and The Old Carthusian Yacht Club
(whose Commodore in 1939 was Lord Baden-Powell and was a club for those who went to Charterhouse School). This indicates that Framar was probably based on the Solent or around Chichester harbour before the War.




So now we have this information it proves this boat needs saving so people ever forget her history.
Click on donate button on the right or get in-touch if you want to sponsor the boat and help her get restored and seen by everybody up and down the country.


If we can have her fully restored before 2017 we could celibate her 80th Birthday by having the framar go on a sea Adventure or do something epic that can be added to her History.

I Dean Bradford have wrote eight chapters of a Novel on this boat, the novel will be called Sunset Dreams, about a creative young boy who travels to the Isle of sky to stay with uncle after he leaves school to get away from disturbing issues, his uncle shows him the island via a microlite, but while his uncle is away on a business conference, this young boy watches the sun set as he dwells on issues he has left behind, and he is sure that he can see another land in the clouds, so one day he flies up by himself against his uncles knowLedge and travels to another land.
And makes a special friend, but what has happened?
Did he goto another land or is it just a dream?
I am writing this novel in away that makes the story very interesting yet very un predictable.
I have also re invented ways to move around my story using crossing path events, of objects and nature and his uncle has 3 pets, 2 ferrits and a Maw cat that together with the whole adventure make a really compelling story.

So helping me save the framar, also helps me finish my book.