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Alf Smythers was one of the very last boats built of wood specifically for oyster dredging on the River Fal. A typical Percy Daulton design, very similar to the Meloris that was used by Martin Heard’s father Terry to make the now famous mould for GRP hulls. She is a 26ft Pitch Pine on Elm and Oak, Gaffer, built by Alf Smythers and Peter Mayes between 1966-71. Sadly Alfie died before she was complete, so Peter finished her of at Cowlands Creek and as Alun Davies once said in Martin’s kitchen, its was he that suggested Peter named her after his friend.

It was in fact Martin Heard who acted as the agent for Peter Mayes and found him a suitable young man to restore and work the Alf Smythers. With the help of many friends at Tregartreath in 2008 Ranger stripped her right back to replace the deck and beams and totally rebuilt her during the summer.

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