My BIG ( for me ) project

[TRITON]

One of my friends used to captain this schooner out in Grenada, till it ended up on the reef one fateful night.
Hell of a yacht to sail by all accounts.
A lovely yacht. Raindancer. The type of thing I'd love to spend my retirement on.

 

[Jameshow]

Did anything come of that classic ketch that went down off Australia a few years back???

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had been in the hot springs in Waiwera, NZ, and dressed before the others so I decided to go to look at the beach. It was out of season so not summer weather, and it was an overcast, dismal day. There is a large rock some way offshore and a brilliant beam of sunshine broke through the cloud, moving slowly across it. As it passed the rock the Russian sail training ship Mir (which had just left Auckland) came from behind the rock in full sail, the beam of sunshine tracking it until it was out of sight. I may well have been the only person to see it, and every time I hear Khachaturian's Spartacus (The Onedin Line) I'm back there. I've never seen anything so stunning.

 

[Kittyhawk]

Any pictures?!

Not much.


Me as a young man.

In Capetown after coming off the slip for antifouling.

Leaving Capetown. Alantic ocean ahead.

Down below: galley.

Pretty useless pictures but they do give the impression that a 17 foot boat is not so very large.
I must have been crazy.

 

[Jameshow]

Not much.

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Me as a young man.
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In Capetown after coming off the slip for antifouling.
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Leaving Capetown. Alantic ocean ahead.
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Down below: galley.
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Pretty useless pictures but they do give the impression that a 17 foot boat is not so very large.
I must have been crazy.

Tiny I had a kestrel 22 and that was small!

Sad I sold it!

 

[PhilipL]

Ah, there's always someone prepared to start on repairing a wooden boat. Hope you prove me wrong, but boat yards are so full of started projects which end up being cut up with a chainsaw. Wooden boats need salt water and the longer they suffer fresh water, the worse they get.

Good luck! Maybe you need a YouTube channel ...

I am currently anchored in Greece. No cold water sloshing over me and life is surprisingly cheap here.

 

[Blister]

Sailing : The fine art of making one's self wet cold and miserable whilst slowly going nowhere at great expense.

But..

There is a lot of satisfaction to be had in what Blister is doing.
Years ago I bought an old 17foot derelict yacht for $450 named Calypso but known far and wide as Collapse-o.
It took nearly two years before she was back in the water but when she was I single handed the South Atlantic, Caribbean and the Pacific in her.
In retrospect it would have been easier to build a new one but a new boat lacks any character for a few years - what I loved about Calypso, renamed Bo Peep was the few scuffs and scars of past adventures, the little idiosyncrasies of her past owners here and there and S. Ballard carved into one of the deck beams. Who he was I have no idea.
So Blister, you are going to need a bit of stickability here because there will be times when you ask yourself as I did just what the heck have I done, progress will be slow and sometimes painful, but one day when you don't expect it you're going to see her in a new light and also see just how far you've come. From that point on its all downhill to launching day.
I wish you every success with your rebuild.

Lovely story and thanks for the details, Yes it is a big job and hopefully I will get it done , Little and often , At my age I get tired easy now , But having the boat in my driveway is a massive bonus , Everything I need is at hand . Thanks you

 

[Blister]

Ah, there's always someone prepared to start on repairing a wooden boat. Hope you prove me wrong, but boat yards are so full of started projects which end up being cut up with a chainsaw. Wooden boats need salt water and the longer they suffer fresh water, the worse they get.

Good luck! Maybe you need a YouTube channel ...

I am currently anchored in Greece. No cold water sloshing over me and life is surprisingly cheap here.

Now that sounds like an adventure , Hope its nice and warm , We NEED photos

 

[Blister]

Ah, there's always someone prepared to start on repairing a wooden boat. Hope you prove me wrong, but boat yards are so full of started projects which end up being cut up with a chainsaw. Wooden boats need salt water and the longer they suffer fresh water, the worse they get.

Good luck! Maybe you need a YouTube channel ...

I am currently anchored in Greece. No cold water sloshing over me and life is surprisingly cheap here.

The hull is fibreglass, Only ( I say only ) the topsides are ply / timber This is what needs attention , then trying to start the engine , going through the steering , wiring, electrics , navigation equipment ,
radios ( vhf ) etc etc

 

[PhilipL]

The hull is fibreglass, Only ( I say only ) the topsides are ply / timber This is what needs attention , then trying to start the engine , going through the steering , wiring, electrics , navigation equipment ,
radios ( vhf ) etc etc

Don't underestimate that. I know of a boat which was bought with a previous survey. Grp hull and wood deck. The new owner spent 7 years trying to sort it before he gave up and sold on. Never had it in the water.

Here's a pic. Not my yacht, though. This one came in this morning and I looked it up €800,000 a week to hire + expenses.

 

[Jameshow]

Don't underestimate that. I know of a boat which was bought with a previous survey. Grp hull and wood deck. The new owner spent 7 years trying to sort it before he gave up and sold on. Never had it in the water.

Here's a pic. Not my yacht, though. This one came in this morning and I looked it up €800,000 a week to hire + expenses.

Thanks my yacht!

 

[cerro]

Then today started removing the timber from the side deck ,
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I have a lot of sailing gear for sale winch blocks not the cheap plastic ones proper lewmar, Winch Handles, Ancors, and loads of bits and bobs

 

[Blister]

I have a lot of sailing gear for sale winch blocks not the cheap plastic ones proper lewmar, Winch Handles, Ancors, and loads of bits and bobs

ebay or facebook , those items will sell easy , not needed by me as my Colvic is a fishing boat , No mast or sails.

 

[sawtooth-9]

I once had a Laurent Giles Virtue - called Julia Jane - she is on the Laurent Giles register
Had a lovely P2 Kelvin diesel, Burmese Teak decks and coach house.
Of all the boats I have had ( and there were quite a few ) she was the best and I regret letting her go
Fond memories !

 

[sammy.se]

I'm doing my RYA 1 dinghy sailing course soon. For fun... I've never sailed before

 

[Blister]

The Ply has arrived , All £1000.00 of it

 

[Blister]

I had a look along the top profile of the bow section leading along to the bow ( Prow ) and it looked straight. I thought great that's going to be easy , Err no , After cutting a 4" 8' foot long strip and trying it in place resulted in an epic fail , Its far from straight .Used the track saw for the straight cut

Back to the drawing board
Cut a section of Ram board ( Stencil card ) and clamped it in place with 2 F clamps , Marked the profile with a felt tip pen, Then cut out with scissors

Even this needed lots of further trimming , Why ? Because the first plank / board has to fit under a lip on the inside of the hull , Not sure why the lip is there but though I had better work with the lip rather than cut it off .

 

[Kittyhawk]

I once had a Laurent Giles Virtue - called Julia Jane - she is on the Laurent Giles register
Had a lovely P2 Kelvin diesel, Burmese Teak decks and coach house.
Of all the boats I have had ( and there were quite a few ) she was the best and I regret letting her go
Fond memories !

Indeed! The Virtue was a magnificent vessel. Possibly you remember her as being a bit compact - I met up with a Canadian single hander in Panama, sailing the Vertue 'Bonaventure de Lys'. We didn't sail in company but were both bound for NZ. Alongside my boat she was cavernous by comparison and I desperately wanted to own one.

 

[Blister]

Cut the card as seen in this image

During this work it rained twice so had to rush and put everything away , and then get it all out again
Also it was cold and windy !!! , When is summer arriving ????

 

[squib]

Nice job Blister, those side decks are a true horror and not even needed. They were always going to cause more problems than be useful!
The stripping out is always brutal but there is a huge amount of satisfaction in the rebuilding and you will find you never knew your body could work in such contorted positions