To be honest, I can't smell anything. At least not what every "little crown" (as Coronet translates into German) is supposed to have: its very own scent. I'm not talking about mustiness, the kind of vapour that old boats can give off. No, it should be a special breath, this coronet scent. Promising, a promise as it were. Ingo Reichwald will certainly help me get started. He is a member of the Coronet Club Germany and has organised the meeting here at the Motor-Yacht-Club-Geesthacht. Around a dozen of these classic boats have turned up, from the 21 to the 32. Enough for a taster.
"You can go into any Coronet, it's always the same odour," says Ingo Reichwald. It smells neither of plastic nor of paint. But it doesn't smell like stink either. "I find the smell pleasant. Because I know it. From before." Ingo, born in 1970, grew up with Coronet. His father always said that all Coronets smelled the same. But how then? Ingo Reichwald thinks about it and then shrugs his shoulders: "You can't describe it." Perhaps the typical coronet scent is the absence of other odours. Exposing odours. Aromas that reveal interventions in the original condition, unavoidable, but also painful (Coronet fans politely speak of tinkering).
Ingo tells us how he once had a look at a Coronet. So he goes over, folds back the tarpaulin, sticks his head into the cockpit and turns round. "What's wrong?" the salesman wonders. Ingo Reichwald waves him off: "You've varnished all your wood in there. The smell is gone." "What smell?" asks the owner. "Coronet odour. I don't buy..." That sounds like a fad, but it's not. The right scent is the scent of authenticity. Ingo tracks it down. And painting the fine mahogany interior of a Coronet is not an option for him.
In 2009, Ingo Reichwald acquired his current Coronet, a 32 Oceanfarer. Smell, substance, everything was just right. And above all: the almost ten metre long boat was unmodified. The first set of light bulbs are still in some of the cabin lights today. In working order, of course. That's saying something, since Ingo's "Daydream" is from 1971 and the engines, two 170 hp Volvo petrol engines, are from the same year. Of course, there was (and still is) a lot to be done to the boat. Ingo Reichwald has renewed this and that "in the background", the electrics for example.
He has also carried out a few discreet modernisations. There is now hot water on board, as well as a faeces tank. And yet there is this quiet sorrow. A sadness that every collector of a valuable item will recognise. A small thing is missing, perhaps just an inconspicuous screw. A quirk, the environment assumes. But the person affected looks at the inadequacy day in, day out and, let's be honest, it bothers them.
Like most of the Coronets at this meeting, the "Daydream" has a marvellous detail: stretch curtains, just like in the old days. They complete the seventies elegance below deck. But there's the dilemma. "I have a huge shortcoming here," Ingo lets slip, "my curtain poles are gone." He now uses ones from the DIY store, but they don't hold. The originals were a completely different calibre. Sturdy brass rods, made to measure. Having them rebuilt would be "an act of about 1500 euros", says Ingo Reichwald. There it is again, the proverbial Coronet quality. Perfection, down to the smallest detail.
The brand had what it took to become a classic from the very beginning. The materials and workmanship are of the finest quality, the lines are timeless. Even today, the Deep V hulls can still take a big wave ride like nothing. The best of the best at the time were responsible for their development. One of them was James R. Wynne (1929-1990). The American engineer is a legend in his own right. Wynne set milestones in boat building, winning titles and setting records. In the sixties, he supplied designs for Donzi, Chris-Craft, Hatteras, Trojan and many others. When it came to the hull design of the Coronet 32, for example, he was also at the drawing board.
THEENTIRE REPORT CAN BE FOUND IN THE CURRENTAPRIL ISSUE OF BOOTETHE ITFROM 25 MARCH IN TRADE THERE ARE
