Harbour Marine Services
Incorporating Southwold & Ipswich Boatyards
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Magyar is a 1939 Medina class motor yacht built by Saunders Roe in East Cowes, she is one of eight of her kind. In 2011 her now owner John Burgess read an article in Classic Boat about her sistership ‘Grailian’ who had been extensively restored by HMS it was then he realised this was the style of motor yacht he was looking for to go cruising with his wife. The search was then on to find another Saunders Roe for sale and a year later one was tracked down in the South of France, after a trip to assess the condition and numerous email negotiations Magyar was purchased and made the road trip back to Southwold with proud new owners.
HMS then carried out some major structural work and the lengthy restoration began. In 2015 tragedy struck and Mr Burgess lost his wife to a very short illness. The whole project was put on hold for two years as he came to terms with his loss. Magyar stood in the boatshed paused, she had been a shared dream and so it took some time before Mr Burgess could decide what to do for the best moving forward. So much careful time and planning had been invested and it seemed only fitting the restoration should be completed and in 2017 the project was started up again.
Magyar Update October 2024:
The running repairs have been carried out and the painting and finishing is now almost complete.
Magyar Update May 2021:
Magyar is receiving a freshen up of some of her varnish work and some routine maintenance and l was blown away by her beautiful shiny Davey & Co fittings the other day.
Magyar Update:
Best Structural Restoration, Best Traditional Appearance of Boat and Crew with emphasis on accessories and Best Restoration and Presentation. She has also featured in a Classic Boat article.
Magyar has become somewhat of a flagship restoration for HMS and a beautiful example of what can be achieved. She is currently back in the boat shed for some minor jobs before heading off to explore the waterways of Holland.
Magyar Update:
She was finished to a cosmetic presentation finish and it was only if the cupboards were opened you would see she was far from completed. She was very well received by the visitors to Henley and a constant stream of people went on board to have a look. She then returned to Southwold to be completed.
HMS spent the next 6 months completing her and the following year Magyar returned to Henley to the Thames Traditional Boat Festival 2019 and to the delight of Mr Burgess scooped three coveted awards.
Magyar Update:
With her completion the focus Mr Burgess decided he wanted to have her completed by the Thames Traditional Boat Festival in July 2018. HMS worked tirelessly to complete her and no expense was spared with the staggering attention to period detail. Mr Burgess being an engineer by profession wanted the best of both worlds, traditional period features but with the latest cutting edge technology and functionality.
This was an enormous challenge and often stretched the limits for HMS and the various suppliers.
As the project progressed more jobs were added to the never ending list and as the deadline for the Thames Traditional Boat Festival loomed it was clear she wasn’t going to be ready to go by water, but seeing this as no problem HMS took her to the festival on the back of a low loader!
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