Question; When is a Star Yacht not a Star yacht?

Answer; When it was made for other toy companies under a different name.

Woolworth Britannia

One of these was the Britannia yacht which was basically an in-between size SY series. Made in the 1960s to 1970s, these yachts were manufactured specifically for Woolworth stores. Painted in plain colours such as French or Mediterranean blue or red and with the lining being simply scraped through to the undercoat. Fitted in a 2 sail design, on the mainsail, instead of the familiar Star emblem there was an oval emblem with the wording "Guaranteed to sail", "Built in England" and hidden in the design a couple of tell-tale small 5 point stars. The Britannia yachts utilised the same mast mounts and deck furniture as their Star equivalents and sail just as well.

Worth collecting? Yes, definitely, they are part of the Star Works history.

As well as the yachts, Star also produced speed boats for Woolworth, below a comparison, top red is Britannia, below green is the original Star item, exact copy except for the on/off switch lettering.

Hobbies Norfolk Yacht

Another yacht that was made for another company was the "Hobbies" Norfolk yacht, there is evidence of Star Productions having the sail emblem stamps so more likely the whole yacht was produced, around 1931 or 1932. The yacht followed very closely the hull shape and style of the first series BR and SB yachts. Hobbies of Norfolk have replied but their old catalogues are in storage and cannot give any further details as yet.

The Star Yacht Works supplied in small batches, basic unstamped yachts to other companies  that were then re-badged, one of these being Nelson. Nothing is known about the company now but there is one 16 inch example in blue paint and a smaller green one that we have for comparison. The finish of the yacht is the same standard of that of the Britannia with a good quality deck logo transfer.

 At the time of closure, there were 2 more versions of alternative Stars designed for other companies but alas never materialised.

After Star Yachts closure in 1990, their main distributor for North America, Reeves, commissioned a Chinese manufacturer to make exact looking examples of the previous supplied Star Yachts. They are sold under the name "Bosun Boats" and look very, very similar but the sailing qualities are nowhere near as good as the original Star equivalents with the Bosun Boats falling over in anything more than a whisper of a breeze. The mainsail sometimes has a bird emblem or can have the name "Bosun Boats" printed. Later ones had striped or brightly sectioned coloured sails. The hull pinstripe was sometimes thicker than that of a Star yacht and ferrules were cheap brass with an enclosed end, mast mounts were brass plated items, eyelets & staples were cheaply made. The deck overhang was exaggerated on the Bosun Boats. One quick way of telling on the larger yachts is by flicking a finger against the keel as some of these had fibreglass keels which were lighter in weight and was detrimental to their sailing. A quick visual comparison, Star solid yachts always had deck staples fitted, Bosun Boats had screweyes, Star hollow yachts had brass washers fitted under the screweyes. The same differences can be found on the Chinese "Wong" boats.

A very similar looking yacht to the smaller SY Series yachts, distinguishable by the lack of mast mount and the keel with different profiles to the front and rear corners. Made by Critchley Bros. Ltd., Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Out in Australia, a company called Southern Cross replicated a range of the yachts including the Dutch barges. On the barges the deck staples had flat tops and were fitted with a yellow / blue roundel sticker. The masts did not have any metal linkages and were tied to the spars with cord.

There are some American & Australian yachts for sale purporting to be genuine Star Yachts but after studying the photos, they do not seem to be. For one thing, Stars never had the bowsprit fixed into the bow of the hull below the deckline! The deck logo is circular and not of the usual badge shape, the bow name shouldn't be there and on this example, there is a hole in the rear of the keel. The mast is fixed into the deck through a brass collar and lastly, (I'm sure there are more anomalies) there was never a model called the "Star Bowman". If you are a pond yacht enthusiast, you will know, Bowman was a separate company over in Dereham, Norfolk. If anyone knows any different or has acquired one of these yachts, please let me know.

Update: These yachts are made in China and are clearly meant to look like a genuine Star.