ANTIQUES Roadshow expert Rupert Mass was left in tears after he had the opportunity to value the sail boat from his favourite childhood film Swallows and Amazons.
A rerun episode of the BBC antiques show aired ahead of the 50th anniversary of Swallows and Amazons reminded viewers of the life-changing value of the classic movie’s main prop.
Rupert, 63, met with a gentleman who owned the impressive sail boat during an episode of Antiques Roadshow in 2021.
The antiques expert was absolutely blown away at having the opportunity to set sail on the famous Swallows and Amazon boat, which dates back to about 1930 when the book was originally published.
Amazed, he said: “I’m sitting on a boat and not just any boat, but the boat from the Swallows and Amazons movie released in 1974, which I saw aged 14.”
The 1974 film, which has since been remade, but Rupert said the original movie had a profound impact on as a teenager and inspired his love of sailing.
He then asked the guest how he came to own the boat, which is actually named Swallow.
The guest explained: “After the film, it was stored in a boatyard on the Thames and 35 years later, they decided to downsize and move so all the boats they were storing came up for auction.
“And the author of the book Arthur Ransome got to hear of this and a few of us decided we had to try and buy Swallow.”
He added: “So, my colleague Magnus started crowdfunding basically and there were about 85 of us who chipped in to buy her.
“The group of us paid £5,500 or just under and our objective is to keep her in the public domain to take people out sailing.
“I like to think [she was made] in about 1930 when the book was published. So that would be a nice coincidence.”
Impressed by the condition of the 90-year-old boat, Rupert said: “And she’s not overly restored or spruced up. She’s in this lovely workaday condition.”
He then asked: “So you can just take her out any time you want?” to which the owner replied: “That’s right and we take lots of people out. In the book, she was a rough-and-ready farmer’s boat, so we don’t want to over-restore her.”
Rupert then took the opportunity to have a closer look at the boat.
He said: “She’s got these lovely mahogany clinker-built planks here and I think they’re elm, these ribs, which are bent, aren’t they around the shape of the boat?
“They’re steam-bent and then clenched with these copper rivets. She’s just gorgeous. I’ve got to value her.
“Surprisingly, there are quite a few boats of this kind of vintage still around, really.”
“And if one comes up, you’d think it might be worth around £2,000, £3,000, or something like that.”
However, this boat has something the rest of them don’t, giving it a much higher valuation.
“The association of that iconic film, it’s just so powerful. It is to me and I think to a generation of sailors.
“And so, without hesitation, I’m going to put £20,000 to £30,000 on it,” Rupert said.
After the valuation, both Rupert and the owner started to get a bit misty-eyed as they took in the reality of what that means.
The owner added: “Well, I’m glad we crowdfunded and bought her because that’s incredible.” He also confirmed that even with such a high value, it won’t stop himself and the other owners taking her out on the water. “That’s what boats are for,” he said.
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.