GRP rowing skiffs tend to be big, heavy and tub-like because they are usually designed as hire boats, but the new 16ft skiff from
River Bank Boats on display at Beale Park is slim and elegant. The hull shape was copied from a 1936 original, updated with flotation fore and aft, and it is nicely finished in hardwoods. It cries out to be rowed by a chap wearing flannels and a boater, steered by a gel under a parasol. At £2800 plus VAT it is not particularly expensive given all that varnish.
