Colin Whitehouse Floats.

My friend and colleague Colin Whitehouse started making floats for sale in about 1993. I’d made quite a lot of floats from 1989-1990 and they featured in my first catalogue. A few turn up from time to time, along with very early Rolex watches, massive uncut diamonds and outsized white truffles. I didn’t really have time to make floats though, what with the rod making and youthful carousing that I had to get on with, so I gave my stock of materials to Colin, along with a very good book about float making.

In no time, Colin was making exceptional floats. We sold them at the workshop here, and he did a brisk mail order trade too. It isn’t well documented or adequately acknowledged, but Colin single-handedly started the renaissance in hand-made floats in this country. Float connoisseurs are aware of the importance and rarity of Colin’s work, I’m glad to say, and they command higher prices than any other floats.

This collection represents a very nice cross section of Colin’s patterns and a rare opportunity to buy twenty five of his superlative floats.

This collection of twenty five consists of:

2 x balsa bodied curved goose quills c1995

1 x Nofolk reed insert waggler c1995

1 x Goose quill 2BB carp float c1996

1 x cane stemmed champagne cork perch float c1996

1 x cane stemmed champagne cork Avon float c1997

1 x cane stemmed balsa Avon c1997

2 x cane stemmed balsa Avons c2000

3 Norfolk reed wagglers c2000

4 x goose quill wagglers c2000

2 x fat topped cane stemmed Avons c2000

6 x cane and balsa chubbers c2000

1 x balsa bodied goose quill c2000