Tyrian of Truro is a custom-built off-shore cruising yacht designed with a ‘go anywhere’ policy in mind. She is a steel hulled long keel vessel of 13.7 metres long, based upon the Saga 40 design and launched by Morvoren Seacrafts, Penryn, in 1998.
She is a cutter-rigged ketch giving her a wide range of sail options.
Tyrian was commissioned by Peter Flutter, a sailor of some 20 years’ experience as a live-aboard sailor, whom also raced Dragon class yachts for many years and first became a member of the Ocean Cruising Club in 1980.
He wanted to commission and build his own blue water yacht into which he could put the wisdoms learned in his long years of experience upon the sea. The foundation of the design was the Saga 40 which Peter has found to be an excellent balance between sea-kindliness and performance. However, he wanted larger side decks than the Saga 40 to permit easier access across the deck and felt a longer boat would provide a improve motion at sea.
To realise his plan, Peter chose Alan Pape to design the boat and John Thomas of Morvoren Seacraft in Penryn, Cornwall for the build. Both designer and builder were personal friends of Peter and had earned excellent reputations for creating quality vessels. They would spend the next three years, from 1995 to 1998 working with Peter towards the launch. During that time, Peter reduced his work schedule so that he could spend 2 – 3 days per week on the project immersing himself in every detail of the design and construction.
The hull was built in such a fashion as to minimise the likelihood of water traps at bulkheads and a myriad of clever design features resulted from the close working relationship between Peter and John Thomas. Once the steelworks were complete, meticulous attention was given to its protection with the internal spray works being undertaken at high pressure and in multiple layers. This type of careful preparation have served to keep Tyrian’s hull in excellent condition to this day.
Morvoren Seacrafts also arranged for a foam insulation spray, engine installation, and the fitting of all hatches, port lights and tanks. The full build process to this stage took around 9 months.
The boat fit out was undertaken by Peter and his friend, Brian Hodge, previously of Rustler Yachts, over an 18 month period.