Asti V
International Six Metre
Designer
F. C. Morgan-Giles
Builder
Sagredo Hermanos, Bilbao
Designed and built
1930
Built for
Eduardo de Astigarraga
Original sail number
E31
Original purpose
Prospective Spanish 1932 Olympic campaign
Former name
Saxon
Construction
Honduras mahogany on oak
Original timber
Approximately 60 percent survives
Design, class and identity
Asti V is an International Six Metre. F. C. Morgan-Giles designed her in 1930 and Sagredo Hermanos built her in Bilbao for Eduardo de Astigarraga.
Her original Spanish sail number was E31. She was built as a prospective Spanish boat for the 1932 Olympic Games, although she did not compete at Los Angeles.
She was launched as Asti V, renamed Saxon in the mid-1950s, and returned to the Asti V name in the 1980s. The boat belongs to the classic era of narrow, deep-bodied metre yachts, where small changes to hull, rig, ballast and stiffness materially affect performance.
Peter Brookes first restored Asti V in 1982, aged eighteen. He removed the cabin top, restored the flush decks, painted the hull and converted her to gaff rig for East Coast Old Gaffers racing.
Peter then raced her in that configuration. Asti V won the East Coast Old Gaffers race three years in succession and the Britannia Trophy, then dominated classic racing on the East Coast for a number of years.
RESTORATION WORK
Keel-up restoration
Peter sold Asti V to Ross Perkins in 1996, and later carried out a full keel-up restoration for Ross. The work retained about sixty percent original timber while bringing the structure, deck and finish back to a standard suited to serious classic racing.
The restoration matters because it connects construction decisions directly with how a metre yacht sails. On a Six Metre, shape, weight, stiffness and rig are part of the same judgement.
Project enquiries
Every wooden yacht presents a different combination of construction, condition, history and intended use.
Speak with Peter Brookes about what should be retained, what requires attention and the right scope for the work.