At the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in the late 1960s, a slim kauri sloop started turning heads for all the right reasons. She was narrower than the fleet, lighter than the fleet, and faster than almost everything on the water. Her name was Namu, and over the years that followed she built a racing record that people at RNZYS still talk about.
She is currently for sale at $29,000.
Jim Young designed the Young 37 around a simple idea: slim is fast. At 2.85 metres beam, Namu is roughly 25% narrower than a modern production yacht of the same length. That is not an accident. Young was chasing light displacement and low drag, building boats that would cut upwind rather than muscle through. In 1968, with fibreglass beginning to reshape the industry, a well-built kauri Young 37 was the performance edge of her era.
Her first owner understood exactly what he had. He had previously campaigned a Lidgard boat with solid results, but when Namu arrived in 1968 the results became something else entirely. In the B Class Championships he won by 29 minutes. The fleet that day included Santana, Southern Star, Susan Jane and Secret, good boats, competitive boats. He kept Namu flying until around 1979/80, when she eventually became too much to manage, and she passed on to new hands.
Widely regarded as one of the most successful racers ever to compete at RNZYS. That is a big claim. By most accounts, it is also a fair one.
https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/young-1968-young-37-1070005
Walk the boat today and she presents well. White hull, bright blue canvas, clean deck with moulded non-skid. Tiller steering. Stainless ladder at the stern for easy boarding. The old dorade vents are still doing their job, pulling air below without letting water follow. Rigging is tidy. There are a few minor nicks in the woodwork here and there, the kind of marks that come with a life well lived, nothing that would concern a practical buyer.
Over the past four years she has been converted from racer to cruiser, and the work has been done properly. The tired old engine is gone, replaced by a second-hand Lombardini diesel that starts every time. The prop shaft has been upgraded to 25mm. New laminated floorboards in Kahikatea and Matai. Electric Isotherm fridge and freezer, electric anchor winch, new VHF radios fixed and handheld, new certified gas system, 240V shore connection. The forward double has been relined and fitted with an extra mattress. Stack pack, cockpit Bimini, five berths. She passed survey with flying colours in December 2024, fully sanded and antifouled at the same time. A marina berth is rented and may be negotiable.
At $29,000 this is not a project. The survey is done, the work is done, and the history is real. What you are buying is a proven kauri yacht, 57 years old, still narrow, still fast, with a racing pedigree that most modern boats could not dream of.
Contact Parker Marine Group for more details.
https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/young-1968-young-37-1070005
