Canfly is an unusual boat. Rather than being fitted out with an engine to suit the vessel, it was designed to house a particular engine: a 1917 Rolls Royce 85 HP Mk 1 Hawk Engine, serial no. 332. The engine was originally used in a First World War airship when was then decommissioned in peacetime. It was purchased from the Royal Air Force disposal board for £75, by Harold Pattinson, uncle of George Pattinson.  

The engine has been modified for use on a boat by fitting a large flywheel operated via direct drive onto the vessel’s propeller shaft. Started by hand, it has no gearbox. Canfly is dangerous to operate and difficult to control within the Windermere speed limit. The boat must be pointed out into the middle of the lake before starting and can only be stopped by cutting the engine. 

Between 1922 and 1937, these high speeds meant that Canfly regularly raced on the lake. It was frequently used to carry officials during water speed record attempts and was transporting the timekeeper on the fatal day in 1930 when Sir Henry Segrave’s attempt went terribly wrong. Canfly raced to the scene of the accident in time to rescue the sole survivor.   

Harold Pattinson eventually gave the Rolls Royce Hawk engine to the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club at Broad Leys and in 1960 Canfly’s hull was also sold by his estate. In 1977, the engine was restored to working order by the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust. In 2012, Lakeland Arts received a generous grant from the PRISM fund to purchase the original engine from the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club, ensuring that the engine and the hull could remain together. The engine is too rare and significant for it to be damaged in operational use on the water, so both have been conserved for display in the main exhibition gallery at the museum.