Built over 100 years ago by two generations of the Woods family, the 30ft (9.1m) gaff-rigged Bootlegger is one of Norfolk’s oldest charter yachts. She has spent the majority of her life in hire on the unique inland waters of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, with only a brief interlude as a private cruising yacht. Today, Bootlegger is the sole surviving member of the Upton-based Eastwood Whelpton’s original hire fleet.
origins date back to 1922 when her keel was laid by the Norfolk boat builder and designer Walter Woods in his Potter Heigham boatyard as the latest addition to its hire fleet. His career began as an apprentice in the Great Yarmouth shipyard of Wm Brighton followed by a spell working with George Mollet in Brundall. H Little & Co subsequently recruited Walter to set up and manage its new boatyard in Potter Heigham. He continued to manage the yard when it became part of the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company (NBYCo) shortly afterwards and went on to build several highly regarded Broads yachts including , , , and , as well as, six Great Yarmouth One Design half deckers. Walter finally became master of his own destiny in 1917 when he bought the Potter Heigham boatyard, after NBYCo went into liquidation, and renamed it Walter Woods & Sons. Thus, was one of his first designs to bear his name on the brass builder’s plate.
