Design and Construction
The Diamond is a multiple-chine sailing yacht nominally 30 feet in overall length, drawn for racing and short-range inshore cruising. R&W Clark in East Cowes built the prototype Zest, and that boat was thoroughly tested in the hard winds and seas of the autumn and early winter of 1960, surpassing the highest hopes of her testers. Early hulls were timber, with plywood examples such as Black Diamond built by Coombes of Bosham in 1962 and Dianna built of plywood in Tasmania in 1961. Around the same time Bristol Aeroplane Plastics Ltd began to mould GRP yachts, and in 1962 introduced a GRP cruising version. From the mid-1970s Diamonds began to be built from fibreglass, and the resulting lower weights allowed improved performance. In the early 1980s GRP foam sandwich boats came onto the scene, though they generally only replaced ageing wooden yachts. Sources differ on beam: one records 2.10m and another 2.03m.
Rig and Handling
R&W Clark tested two rigs on the Diamond — a masthead and a three-quarter fractional — before the testers reached a compromise with a 7/8ths fractional. The original designs called for three or four sails and could be raced with a small crew. The first GRP Diamond, Bristol I, helmed by Jack Knights, was the overall winner in the Round the Island Race that July. In the mid-1970s the Port Phillip yachts began experimenting with twin trapezes to help them cope with the typically windy conditions, and it was not long before trapezes were officially adopted nationwide. The prototype Zest carried on her sail the identification number 1 below a black diamond.
Accommodations
The original design called for two sleeping berths forward and potentially two inflatable mattresses aft for overnight trips, with rudimentary domestic facilities. Sitting room forward was enabled by the fairly prominent camber of the fore-deck. The GRP cruising version had a cabin-top to accommodate two berths, and two more berths under the raised aft deck. Later conversions for cruising expanded this considerably: Dianna was previously converted with a four-berth cabin, an outboard well, a centreboard and a transom-hung rudder, while Saltash II received a cabin and self-draining cockpit during its 1985 ocean-racing conversion.
Refits and Ownership
Individual histories show extensive modification. Eclipse, a 1963 plywood boat, had its cockpit tweaked to be more like an Etchells, a spinnaker chute fitted, and hull weight reduced by 80kg by an owner report. Bristol I, the 1961 race winner, was converted into a cruising yacht with a cabin and diesel engine before falling into disrepair, then purchased in 2012 by Dartmouth sailors Peter Boote and Kit Noble who restored her to original configuration and added two trapezes after Noble sailed a Diamond in Australia. Dianna later had her cabin extended, a teak deck laid, spars painted gold anodised, an electric winch added for the centreboard, and a new rudder in a cassette fitted further forward. Saltash II, a 1966 plywood boat and the most accomplished example, was converted to ocean racing in 1985 with more robust bow frames, a cabin, self-draining cockpit and inboard engine, and is currently being restored by the Wrights who are replacing all hull skins with new plywood and incorporating epoxy coatings and a lightweight carbon weave.
The Verdict
The Yachting World Diamond is a Jack Holt design that has proven remarkably adaptable across six decades, from prototype planked Zest to foam-sandwich cruisers and trapeze-equipped racers. Its 7/8ths fractional rig and multiple-chine hull delivered a boat competitive enough to win the Round the Island Race on debut in GRP, while the Australian fleet pushed the class into twin trapezes and offshore racing. The survival of timber examples is limited, but the class shows a current resurgence of interest with weekly racing in Victoria.
Pros
- Jack Holt design with continuous devotee following 60 years on
- Proven racing pedigree from prototype testing through Round the Island win
- Adaptable to trapeze racing, cruising conversions, and foam-sandwich construction
- Active class association and weekly racing in Australia
Cons
- Relatively few of the 130 timber versions are believed to survive
- Original accommodation rudimentary with only forward berths and aft mattresses
