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.