Elysian Boats
The Elysian 27 was and still is one of the UK’s most popular motor cruiser. The Elysian Register is a dedicated register, listing all the remaining Elysian 27’s still in use today. The register is also open to all the sister ships sharing the same famous ‘Hugh Easton’ hull design. This includes 27ft models built by F.W Carrington, J.G Meakes, Bounty Boats, Lytton Boats & other yards. The increasingly rare Elysian 34 model is also accounted for on the Elysian Register.
In brief, the original Elysian 27 was designed and built by Appleyard Lincoln & Co based in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The yard was run by Harry Lincoln who employed a young designer named Hugh Easton. In June 1962 financial backing was granted to build the very first Elysian 27. First launched in December 1962 for stability and performance testing, the boat was soon ready for the 1963 London Boat show. The public showed very little interest in the new ‘plastic’ boat. Not wanting to disappoint their financial backer (Shipping & Industrial Holdings) Harry Lincoln continued with production throughout 1963 without any buyers!.
In May 1963, Appleyard Lincoln received their first order and actually sold a boat. In order to keep the sales book looking good, Appleyard Lincoln offered the boats to the hire industry at heavily discounted rates. Determined to succeed, the boat was then displayed again at the following 1964 London Boat Show only this time it was to be a complete success and the order books were full. This was the start of a long and intriguing history of Elysian production.
Ely 1962. Hull no.1 reaches 15 knots during
testing.
