No Progress......

Too busy at work this week to progress matters. I have had two days in the north looking at sites for new pubs so it could be worse. The Squeaky Chicken stowed away for the journey! Hopefully I will obtain some chopped strand mat and polyester resin later in the week.

The picture is of a rowing skiff bought for the Crown Hotel in Woodbridge for a daft amount of money. The interior designer insisted that it should hang over the bar from the glass roof. Thanks to the yard for the loan of a swaging machine and help from Purely Metal, the rotting hulk was suspended in place and actually looks quite good. I'm still worried about customers climbing aboard and the removal of any rubbish will be difficult.

Shiney thing

Why does anything to do with old boats take so much time? I have spent the past 2 weeks varnishing and sanding the bottom of Bobtail, with the final coat applied last night. All the following pctures were taken this morning now the varnish is touch dry.
The keel has been refixed with lots of epoxy run into the joint between the hog and the keel. The garboards were originaly screwed to the hog so I decided to reinforce the area further by carfully raking out the old filler between next to the keel and refilling with an epoxy fillet.

The seams are caulked with Saba "sealtack 751", this will stay flexible and alow the planks to expand and contract. It also very sticky and comes in mahogany. It hardly shows even with the boat upside down. 2 litres of Ravilakk yacht varnish and I think she looks quite good for 60 years old. Not perfect but good enough. I was quite worried that the planking was too far gone to varnish. There is still some staining around the fastenings, but what can you expect?

It is now time to buy some fibreglass and start making cradles for a new launching trolley.

If......

We have sold "Rising Damp" (N3232) to a good home and replaced her with N3434. A few adjustments to the rig were required so we accepted an invitation to race on "If", Peter wilson's splendid 1930s 8metre. A long race on a damp autumn day. Despite a premature start, line honours went to "If" with the Championship of the Alde. Tom learnt lots of new words, how to mix a martini and help sheet a spinnaker. He was relieved that cigar smoking was reserved for consenting adults. A great day out but looking forward to racing 3434 on Sunday.

Work on Bobtail going well . All the varnish is stripped and the planking cleaned up. Just the small matter of rexing the keel and filling all the screw and nail holes. She should be ready to varnish early next week.

Lots of mahogany dust to clear up before then....

Health and safety being taken seriously. I hadn't realised how good the hi-vis overalls are! No chance of being run over in the garage.

Latest Progress

Work has started again on the old girl again. The promise of ribbed 12s racing at Aldeburgh next year has me motivated again.

Bobtail is now upside down supported on some disguised fence posts in the garage.

After about 8 hours work over the last 6 days one side is now stripped and sanded. My finger prints are now nearly worn away from the effects of 60 grit paper.

I wonder how long the other side will take? I must remember to use some gloves..
The outside is much quicker than the inside.

A six foot straight edge shows how much rocker there is forward.

And how straight she is aft....

The only problem I have found is that the keel is fixed to the boat with steel screws . Not sure how to remove the rusty fixings or if I have to...
Just add some stainless fixings alongside?

How bored are You?

Nothing to do with boat building, but we were bored one evening and thought we would tease the dog!

How much fun can you have with a box, a dog biscuit and a Springer Spaniel? Dizzy is now very good at getting her head out of the box. Perhaps I should glue the biscuit to the bottom of the box? Large crisp bags are fun too!

Decking....

The reconstruction of the decks is now finished and 4 coats of varnish applied. Time to make some trestles to suit the deck profile so I can make a proper side on the outside.

The stern deck looks as if it has been painted with wood stain in this picture, but it looks much better in real life! Not bad for (relatively) cheap ply. The oak and mahogany is probably better timber than was available when she was built after the end of WW 2.

I have burnt the varnish off the top 2 planks and on the bow. Not sure how much more I can sand before the nail heads are worn away.

Aldeburgh Yacht Club Regatta

A week of sailing elderly boats, none of them National 12s.....

I have been crewing on "Harkaway" in the mornings. Not sure when she was built but it was the late 1940s and she is part of Peter Wilson's impressive collection of vintage and modern yachts.

Unfortunately, "Panther" a more modern version caught her back stay on Dove Point, a large marker at the end of Halvergate Island, snapping the mast at the jumpers.

"Apache" was lucky to survive an attack earlier in the week by a frisky "Orion" who nearly suceeding in mounting her. Has anyone bred a Dragon in captivity?

Here we are in Tringa sailing through Orford. The pagoda building on the "Island" was part of the Atomic Weapon Testing Program, it is now owned by the National Trust (the Island and buildings, not the bombs!).

The wind picked up after lunch and racing, with a 38.2 mph gust recorded on the Slaughden Sailing Club anemometer. We sailed back under jib only, at times surfing on the waves, recording speeds of over 6 knots against the tide!

The Lapwing was designed by Morgan Giles and No1(Lapwing) was built in1947 for Jill Fowles who continues racing her.

How about some vintage National 12 racing against the Lapwings next year?

Fun on the start line earlier in the week. Perfect weather and some very close racing. Too close at times....The best we can finish will be second overall but third looks more likely.

No its not a National 12. It is a Lapwing an Aldeburgh Yacht Club One Design dinghy designed as an alternative to the "expensive" development class we are racing no 57 "Tringa" this week. No racing today so a few hours work on Bobtail.......

The original gunwhales were oak and as the Yard have run out of mahogany it was an easy choice to make when I saw some nice straight grained oak on a building site. A suitable 4 metre length was duly delivered by Mr Duggan in his mercedes SL convertable..

The Oak was too dry to bend cold so 10 minutes in the steamer ws required to make it nice and flexible. A quick turn in the front garden and the port side is now in place. Soon be time to get the varnish out.

Transom complete including spline to cover the end grain of the ply decks

Summer Sailing

We have spent too much time sailing N3232 and not enough time in the garage working on Bobtail.

Finally got all the fittings that will be hidden beneath the decks fixed , the remaining deck panels are now glued in place.

The wash boards are also finaly fixed in place. I am pleased with the jonit on the centre line of the decks. It is as good as my woodworking skills allow....I used the old ones as a pattern, Starting from scratch would have been impossible.

The mast is deck stepped in the little triangle behind the wash boards

Final clean up required together with some cover pieces etc.

Soon be time to roll her over and start on the other side.

Transom complete apart from spline to cover end grain in ply decking. Bronze horse plan failed so Purely Metal have made a very nice stainless steel one. Thanks Colin.

I need some nice gold lettering as seen on "Tessa". Where did you buy them Tim?

What's Going on Here?

An interesting looking structure ..... several National 12s could be lost in this large tent......

Or one very large Gentleman's Motor Yacht!

I am very pleased my little boat is only 12ft long when compared to this project. The starboard quarter of Mr Wilson's latest restoration project. A massive task, but then it is his Boat Yard!

Back to Bobtail who had a short spell in the sun at the weekend when I swept out the garage. The port decks glued in place and trimmed to fit.

Back inside and how to hold the decking down on the centreline required lots of string and pieces of timber. Fortunately nothing slipped and the cats cradle worked!

Cramps, string etc removed and the deck is nearly finished. The last part of the puzzle to be fixed when all the fittings are re fixed onto the transom later in the week.

A

Back to work

After a long bank holiday sailing at Thorpe Bay Yacht Club work has resumed on Bobtail.

The last two days of Burton Week(end) were very windy, but that didn't deter some of the vintage fleet taking to the water. Several broken masts but a fantastic event and largest fleet of National 12s racing for some time.

Back to Bobtail and some 4mm plywood obtained from the ever helpful Aldeburgh Boatyard Company together with more epoxy and the loan of a large bundle of cramps.

The new decks will made from 4 pieces of plywood. The joints at the junction between the side decks and the foredeck will be hidden under the wash boards.

The task for cramping the decking in place is quite straightforward with the use of plenty of sliding cramps and some left over staircase from a friends barn conversion.....

The cramps are the perfect length to catch on the top strake. All the other panels are cut roughly to shape and will soon be glued in place.

Some bronze bar also obtained to make a new mainsheet horse ( yes the ABC again!). There is no way the rusty old mild steel one will be reused. I need to persuade Colin and Martin at Purely Metal to bend and thread the straight bar into the required shape.

A picture of N76 (Coot) sailing at Aldeburgh Yacht Club is some inspiration to keep me working hard and get N760 back on the water....

Hard at work

After a rather a rather enjoyable holiday and the completion of annual maintenance on Bobtail's younger sister, the old girl is back in a clean and tidy workshop.

Progress was delayed by unscheduled repairs to N3232 after an unfortunate incident with a small keelboat which was all my fault!

There are 384 little squares of plank, 46 ribs, 14 knees, 2 side beches, a thwart and a centreboard case to sand flat, then 2 more coats of varnish to apply in the search for the perfect finish..... Thank goodness she is only 12 feet long.

The ends of my fingers are worn smooth from sandpaper but I think the results are worth it.

This will be the last chance I have to work on the majority of the inside planking as the new decks will be fitted when we come back from racing at Thorpe Bay.

Now for something slightly different.......

Several litres of International original yacht varnish splashed on the inside of the hull.

Surprising how long it takes to apply a coat on

both sides.

Bobtail will now be storage until her younger sister is repaired and decorated for the coming season. This will also allow the varnish to time to harden before a light sanding and a final topcoat (or two...)

Varnish

Finally all new oak ribs fixed in place, all the deck framing secured and the transom replaced. Fixings for buoyancy bags glued in place, thwart and side benches reassembled.

Ready to varnish at last! I decided to use International Original Yacht Varnish - because that is what I have in the garage. The new oak ribs are much lighter in colour than the old ones.

1st coat of very thin varnish has soaked in very well. Amazing how much soaked and very quickly. 60 years since she was last given her base coat at EC Landamore Wroxham. New transom looks very good, a much better job than repairing the original.

A few more coats required over the coming week.....

Bored!

Bored having run out of glue and nails so decided to remove centreboard. This involved carefully hanging Bobtail from the garage ceiling and lowering the board enough to fee it from the pivot.

Very surprised to find such a high aspect "foil" maximum 10" wide, weighing in at only 25lb! Some slight corrosion but in pretty good condition.

Will get some more materials for the weekend and should finish riveting ribs and refixing frames by Monday.

Steaming Ahead

Green oak for ribs and copper nails obtained from the Boatyard. Green oak stored in a carefully controlled environment to prevent sawn small section 3/8 x 5/8 timber drying out - long wet grass! Oak planed and cut to length and correct cross section, remembering to clean corrosive sap residue from tools.....

Steam box built out of wall paper stripper, laser bottom mast and some gaffer tape worked very well. Ribs steamed for a good 30 minutes and then they bent easily into place . I didn't break any!

Pilot holes drilled with 1.5 mm ( I haven't got any imperial drill bits) before driving 14 gauge copper nails. I can now remove and replace the remaining broken ribs and finish riveting the nails mid week. A very productive days work.

Steady Progress

Knees and deck framing now epoxied to transom. The boat is starting to feel much more rigid.

Suitable oak for ribs found at the Boatyard. Should be ready to start steaming at the weekend. I need to connect the wall paper stripper to a piece of broken RS400 mast (I knew there would be a use for it) .....

Need to progress work as garage required at the end of February to repair Bobtail's much younger sister ready for the coming season.

A New Year

This year Bobtail will be 60 years old. I hope to have her back on the water for a party but there is still a lot of work to be done. However today saw a big change in her appearance.

With the loan of a bevel gauge, sharpened plane and chisels her new transom has been cut and shaped to fit. An easier task than I expected. Even carving the number wasn't too tricky. Must be the choice timber supplied by Aldeburgh Boat Yard.

Must go out and clean of the excess epoxy before it goes too hard. Next on the list are new ribs. Another trip to the Boatyard to find the right materials and advice.