In the days before the record-breaking foilers and ultra-fast windsurfers things were a bit more homemade and experimental.

This invention from 30 years ago never made the big time; the propeller-driven catamaran had some problems with both speed and manoeuvrability.

The wing rig was to come later, and the rotating wing rig was tried – we won’t mention that.

Anyway, this gem from the YW archives is of an inventor, George Webb, from Winchenford, Worcester, on his lightweight rotor boat. Webb was an engineer and sculptor who was the first winner of a national competition for arc welded sculpture and put his skills into action on this somewhat whacky craft.