Monday, August 17, 2015

The Legend Continues: Robin Fung (Part 2)

          The hunt is never ending as I search for and log Drumbeat's long history. Luckily, there is a small group of sailors that have been inspired by her as much as I have. One of those individuals is Cynthia, Drumbeat's second owner. She only was able to hold onto Drumbeat for a few years, but the relationship built in that time frame has lasted. In 1973, she was able to visit the builder who had the commission to build Drumbeat along with a series of other vessels. Here is a glimpse of that trip.

Outside the boat shed in Ping Chau
          Her story and trip inspired me to delve deeper into the life of Robin Fung, owner of R. Fung Company, the builder of Drumbeat. Sadly, Robin is not around to answer my questions and tell me stories of his amazing team of craftsmen, but I've been able to piece together bits and pieces from many sources (including Drumbeat's log book) and will present my findings here as accurately as I can. I want to clarify that though some of this information is unrefuted fact, some may be conjecture, but I have done my best with my sources at hand.

Robin Fung
          To start at the beginning, Robin Fung was born in Hong Kong in 1929 into a well-off entrepreneurial family. The younger of two sons, he could have taken over the family business, but instead persuaded his dreams to be a pilot. He moved to Miami and graduated aviation school in 1950. While he was in the United States he developed a love for sailing, which was attributed to the family that he rented from during his schooling. Unbeknownst to them, they would inspire a legend in the crafting of these vessels.

          Mr. Fung returned to Hong Kong soon after graduation and obtained employment with the Foshing Airline company out of Taiwan. His family and the owner of Foshing were good friends, and he was able to work for Foshing for a few years. Sadly, this was not to last for long with tensions between China and Taiwan still steaming. With urging from his family, Robin was let go and went searching for other employment opportunities. He found his calling though, and started R. Fung Co. Ltd.

          In his time there was an army of shipwrights in the area to feed the booming post-war leisure industry. Alongside the great names of the era, such as Cheoy Lee, Wing on Shing, and other lesser yacht builders, Robin set up shop. The craftsmanship coming out of his workshop was incredible, being performed completely by hand and to the highest standard. As a testament to this, Drumbeat has no broken frame or working planks, and even original decks that don't leak after 46 years of service. Fung was known for building William Garden designs: Foam, Wanderbird, and Porpoise, to name a few. He built mostly on speculation, though he did build some vessels to order (such as Drumbeat). In 1970, a fire ravaged his boat works along with a few others, destroying two nearly complete vessels that were not insured. It has been speculated that the fire was set by the Cheoy Lee company to remove their competition from the market.

          Fung was relocated to Ping Chau by the government and he sold everything he had to rebuild the vessels that were lost in the fire. It was the most intense trauma his family had to endure, but he held his professional ethics at a very high standard. Ping Chau was only accessible by ferry, being such a small island off the coast of Hong Kong. This caused great challenges for the business, as his employees could only work half days so that they could use the ferry system. Eventually, the cost of doing business on Ping Chau became too high. Robin attempted to reclaim the land where his original business had been located, but the government would not allow him to return and he was forced to stop building ships. His company remained in existence though, following other entrepreneurial pursuits. Fung's strong work ethic remained and he went to the office every day until his death in 1992.

The work crew gambling during lunch
A William Garden designed Porpoise under construction 
A deck view of the Porpoise
Vessel and construction crew
Cynthia  and  Ah Shing, Robin Fung's assistant

          So to that end, I want to thank Robin Fung for his contribution to the wooden boat community. He built some of the best Garden designs around. William Garden praised his work above all others in quality, as have the previous owners of Drumbeat. Though he may no longer be with us, his legacy will remain for many years to come through the stories his family tells and through his craftsmanship found in every vessel he constructed. Cheers!


          If you have fond memories of your R. Fung boat or know more about his life and would like to share, please feel free to comment below! I'd love to know more!!

3 comments:

  1. love your info. I have purchased a 34' 1965 fung that is in great shape for her age. I am in the scrape boat business and was going to cut it up for the lead scrap and diesel motor. do you know of any places I can try to list the boat for sale before I have to scrap this amazing built boat. thanks tyler@allworldgenerator.com or 562 201-6554 cell

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  2. Hey Tyler, I have not tried selling many boats, but I have used Craigslist successfully. I would hate to see you scrap her, and she may have a moderate value to the right person.The ballast (lead) will be worth a bit, but the real value is in the burmese teak (hull). I've never tried parting a boat for that, but the wood is irreplaceable at this point... so my guess is it is very valuable.

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  3. Hi there lm the owner of Morning Star, a Robin Fung built Porpoise 42 in 1968 Hull number 62. Have had no time to refit her as yet due to Covid 19 but looking forward to sailing her in the near future. She his still on her slip in Vallejo Marina California drop me aline if you need to know more Kind Regards M L Harper

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