month's RG Magazine for the Bermuda 35, a fishing boat being built "in Bermuda by Bermudians for Bermudians.'' It will be the first boat of this sort to be built in Bermuda for more than a decade, according to Bermudian designer Patrick Dill. Although primarily being built as a fishing boat, Dill says the fibreglass boat will be equally suitable for diving or as a pleasure boat.

The idea for the boat came from avid fisherman James Pearman. He initially planned to have one built in the US and asked Dill to draw up some designs.

Now, three years later,with the backing of a syndicate headed by Four Winds Tackle shop owner Robert Jones, construction is set to get underway this summer on land behind No.1 Construction Equipment off Serpentine Road, Pembroke, with the first boat due to be completed by next summer. Bermudian boat builder Peter Rego has returned from New Zealand to head the project with Herbie Adderley acting as consultant.

Originally, the syndicate had planned to build the boats in the US but decided on building them here to avoid the hefty 55 percent customs duty. The Bermuda 35 is expected to sell for about $167,000 instead of the $200,000-plus it would cost to land a similar US-bought boat.

The Bermuda 35 will feature a glass bottom, a large aft cockpit, live bait wells, fish boxes, sleeping quarters for two, a galley, and will be powered by a single Cummins 400 diesel engine which, with a 250 gallon fuel tank, will give the boat a 14-hour range at an 18-knot cruising speed. Dill's design allows for three different interior layouts and three flying bridge arrangements.

Dill, a 24-year-old naval architectural engineering student at Memorial University, Newfoundland, says the boat is designed to be adaptable. "It's possible to take it from a single to a twin-engined boat. We were looking for a low maintenance boat that it is easy to use and is a comfortable ride in rough seas. It had to be fuel-efficient and have ease of access to anything that goes wrong. We were also looking to make it as attractive as possible to different people.'' The boat is also something of a first for Dill, better known as a sailboat designer, having designed the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's fitted dinghy Contest III and whose grandfather Sir Bayard Dill, was renowned as one of Bermuda's best ocean racers. "I've designed a boat like this before but never built it all the way through,'' admits Dill, who says more than 150 pages of calculation went into the design. "They (the syndicate) are taking a chance really, especially with me not knowing too much about fishing!'' Meanwhile, there is more bad news for footballer Kyle Lightbourne (RG, No.3).

Following the departure of manager Ray McHale, the man who signed the Bermudian international striker to English Third Division club Scarborough, Lightbourne has discovered he does not figure in new manager Phil Chambers' plans. Lightbourne was released in April and at press time, the 24-year-old was considering legal action to force the club to honour his 1993-94 contract, which he says is worth about $25,000. He says Scarborough offered him about $1,200 to buy out his contract.

Bermuda's first electric car, the Solectria Force (featured in RG, No.3), arrived on the Island on April 19. Will Cox, chief general manager of PWs, says the response has been "fantastic.'' He adds: "Consumers are very impressed with its performance and there has been a lot of interest.'' Environmentalist MP Stuart Hayward is among those who have test-driven the Force, which costs $33,900.

RG MAGAZINE JUNE 1993