Built for Clacton beach
GRACIE was built by Aldous at Brightlingsea in 1890, originally as a half-decked pleasure boat operating from Clacton beach. She was not built as a conventional oyster smack. She was registered for fishing as CK81 in 1910 and later passed into the hands of the Cutts Avis family at West Mersea.
During the First World War the family covered her large cockpit to make her suitable for oyster dredging. Her altered shape earned the nickname “Sugar Scoop”. The conversion illustrates how an existing boat could be adapted for a different livelihood rather than replaced.
Changes of owner and registration
Between the wars Joss Wright of Maldon acquired GRACIE, raised her topsides by one plank and laid a flush deck with two hatches. Her Maldon registration was MN22, recorded by the Colne Smack Preservation Society from 1934. By 1947 Vic Herbert owned her at West Mersea and her number was CK46.
Substantial rebuilding followed a change of owner in 1967. The Essex Heritage Workboats account records wins in Class I in 1969, the NEVA trophy in 1972 and 1974, and the Sheave trophy in 1973 and 1976.
A working boat still racing
GRACIE continued into traditional-smack racing. Colne Match records include a Lowlands Cup for seamanship in 1972, the Hammond Bell Trophy for first over the start line in 1977 and again in 2020, and the small-smack prize in 2018 and 2021. This is a separate competitive history from her oyster-dredging years.
Boat and race records
Colne Smack Preservation Society: GRACIE · Essex Heritage Workboats: vessel history.