Harbour Lights

It’s a TV programme and it’s really West Bay in Bridport. Greg and I were coming back from delivering Susan to her new home with Geof Jacobs on the Dart when we stopped by for a cuppa. It has a harbour entrance like the narrow end of a funnel , and with the usual on shore wind the swell rolls up the funnel so that everyone stands on the side walls to watch any boat that dares to point its nose into the entrance only to be taken up and surfed in by the rollers. Bets are taken on whether it will be crashed onto one of the big bollards at the other end of the funnel or not. Well, may be it was just a bad day when we were there – but weather didn’t seem anything special generally speaking, except in the ‘funnel’. Anyway, whilst rummaging around, we saw another Memory up on the harbour wall obviously being worked upon. We found the real harbourmaster from among the crowds looking for the TV version (Nick Berry) and established that it belonged to Steve and Janice Lanning, Steve being the producer of this particular network broadcasting epic. The boat is Little Millie and Janice later wrote ;-

‘We bought Little Millie last summer from our friend Martin Sharland. We were so delighted that he’d decided to sell her as she was for us the most attractive boat in West Bay harbour. Unfortunately, we could not sail her last summer as we were complete beginners as far as sailing is concerned and Steve was busy with the programme. Hopefully, with the second series due to start in July, the basis of filming is well established, so with any luck it won’t interfere too much with our lessons ! Martin has taken us out a few times to show us the ‘ropes’ so to speak and another experienced friend is always on call. We will get there in the end. The harbour is pretty tricky at the best of times. A millpond sea with a breeze is a pretty tall order, but as the weather, we hope, improves, practice will make perfect.

We seem to have a niggling problem with the mainmast in that every time it rains the water runs down the mast through the wedges and into the cabin below. At the moment, we have a collection of old towels wrapped around it, not very attractive, and we wondered about any waterproof sleeve that would work. I went to the boatshop in Bloomsbury, Covent Garden; they knew what I meant but couldn’t help. Can you ?

Little Millie is green and cream, with a Yamaha outboard and rust red sails. We sail her in Lyme Bay, and yes, she was once owned by David (Lord) Owen – but he was a few owners before us.

(The water down the mast was one of my early irritations too – but cured it by putting a tight fit section of a car tyre inner tube rolled up the mast when it was taken out and rolled down over the mast housing on the foredeck when it was put back. Sharp edges in the wedges put a limited life on this solution because they split the rubber, but globular wedge heads are the next refinement. Ed.)

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Long Nanny

In this edition last year Long Nanny (great long bowsprit and cutter rig) was up for sale by Clive Frost – and was purchased by Phil Pafford in Lower Swanwick,Southampton. From first experiences Phil wrote ;-

‘Long Nanny will remain the name of the boat as the name has been carved into the transom board. She is cutter rigged, also with a genniker available. I have a topsail but no topsail yard, although I am in the process of making one. She is painted grey with varnished spars and currently sports 6.5 hp Yanmar, which is currently awaiting a new clutch assembly for the worn out gearbox. The rig on the boat is a bit of a mismatch of bits and in the coming weeks I hope to have the boat rigged properly. So perhaps I can then give you a full report on sailing the boat from a newcomer’s point of view. Should be quite interesting as I’ve mainly sailed tall ships and larger gaffers.

PS I have made the topsail yard 1 ¼ inch round; the same as the jackyard. Is this about right ? Also there seems to be more ropes than pins on the pinrail. I’ve toyed with the idea of putting another rail forward of the mast or changing the jaws on the boom for a gooseneck fitting with some pins on the mast band. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

(And later) Long Nanny is coming along quite well. I sailed her for the first time with the topsail up in light airs the other weekend and she really went well. We ghosted up the river with the tide and I was quite pleased that we overtook quite a few modern boats who were struggling to make some way. I’m having a little problem with the balance of the boat. The tiller is very soggy with quite a lot of lee helm when hard on the wind in lightish airs. Even with the traveller well in along the bowsprit, it doesn’t seem to make much difference. I am considering altering the design of the rudder to give it a little more grip up wind, which might make a difference. I would be very interested in a get together with other owners and compare rigs as I think mine is somewhat different to the standard. Whether this is a good thing or not – I’m reserving judgement !

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When I first rebuilt Merganser, I found a pair of new pine 10 foot sweeps at the Beaulieu boat jumble. They fitted into holes in the rear bulkhead and lay along the top of my bench seats, pushed to the back, one on each side. I put rowlock points on the side decks and a pair of bronze rowlocks to finish the job.

I had the idea of standing amidships, facing forward and using muscle power. This worked OK but the sweeps bent alarmingly and for the amount of effort needed we didn’t seem to get very far. Working in confined spaces and harbours – it wasn’t very practical either, even though only used as a last resort in calm conditions and when rendered engineless. So sculling was the next thought.

I read an article in one of the boating magazines about the way larger boats were propelled by sculling in the far east. I found a stronger sweep, which was old but much better suited to the purpose. I mounted a rowlock pad on the aft starboard deck. It could be sloped at an angle aft but it is not essential. I have hardly used it over the ten years I have had Merganser but it’s there if I need it and I know that it does work.

In sculling, the action of the sweep is a figure of eight from side to side in turn with the blade pushing the water away aft but with the effort forcing the water downwards. The effort in rotating the blade as well as back and forth is very tiring. However, I found the following method reduces a lot of the effort and produces a better angle of blade at each sweep.

A cord loop is put around the hand end of the sweep, so that it can rotate freely but not slip down the sweep towards the blade. Find the best angle for the sweep, dipping in the water, so that about three quarters of the blade is in the water. Fix the other end of the cord to a fixed point on the cockpit sole. For this, I drilled two holes in the floor, threaded a small piece of rope through them , knotted, and then fixed a shackle to the other end of the cord.

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Ground Rules

Nick and Sue Hillman of Chelmsford have recently taken over Letty May from Nick and Jill Dance. Nick writes ;-

‘After taking ownership from Nick and Jill, we went up to Walton backwaters the following Saturday to collect her, with the intention of having a day getting to know the boat on the Saturday, staying on board overnight and sailing her to home waters on the Blackwater the following day. Raising sail was not a problem as I’ve been sailing all my life in all sorts of boats. Perhaps I was overconfident, but I decided to sail off the mooring without even putting the outboard on the back. Within 1 minute we were aground on the bank. Sue had let go the mooring and I sheeted in the main and the jib. Within minutes I had learned that sail trim is not just advisable to help steer the Memory but an essential part of any alteration of course. This had not been a vital element of sailing Dragons or of the various dinghies that have been my entertainment in recent years. Having got her off the bank, we tacked out against the tide to Hamford water (‘Secret Water’, for those fans of Swallows and Amazons). We then headed for Landermere, having sailed there only 2/3 weeks before in the last sail with our 12 ft. clinker Tideway dinghy, before passing her over to her new owner. Missing one of the channel markers put us aground for the second time. We re-floated fairly quickly only to find that mud had jammed the centre-plate. While Sue helmed, trying to tack down a rapidly narrowing channel with no plate, I got to work with a screwdriver undoing the screws on the top of the plate-case so that I could tap the plate free. After all the excitement, it was time for lunch ! A quiet anchorage was found at the edge of Hamford Water, the kedge went down and we had a pleasant lunch washed down with a beer. We were anchored in only about 4 ft. of water with the bow towards the bank, so I instructed Sue to back the jib and I hauled up the anchor. This was when Sue learned the lesson I had learned earlier. This time we were aground on a shallow bank with a falling tide. We had intended a nice meal ashore that night, so hadn’t planned to eat on board. After a meal of tomorrow’s breakfast therefore, we settled down to watch the wildlife and the sunset, planning to set an alarm for midnight to motor off to an anchorage in deeper water. The anchoring in the dark went well and after a wash and brush up we set off for the Blackwater in a dead beat force 3 rising to the top of 4 later. A reef was put in as we approached the mouth of the Blackwater and we made fast to a borrowed mooring after about six hours of sailing. Since then, I’ve had a few more outings and am now beginning to appreciate the advice ‘reef early, you’ll get there faster’. I’m also beginning to realise how devilish fast that can be ! I’ve not been aground since. I have been pleasantly surprised at how well balanced the boat is when not over-pressed. Letty will happily sail herself to windward without a hand on the helm. I’m now hoping to get in touch with the other ‘East Coasters’ for some more tips and hints during the winter.

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MOA Middle East Branch

Through the MOA network, Phil Craven working in Abu Dhabi, contacted the HQ about the possibility of finding out more and a possible purchase of a Memory. We were, of course, able to put him in touch with David Sutton and Troost out there in the Arabian Gulf. David wrote subsequently ;-

’Met up with Phil and family at our weekend. They came for a sail and I put Troost in for a race with the Abu Dhabi light cruisers. Phil was sailing on another boat in the ‘Heavy Cruisers’ for the race but was with us later. It goes without saying that the Memory won, both on handicap and line honours, so Phil was very impressed. He need not have been, since the course was perfect for a gaffer and all the other (bermudan) boats seemed to be having a slow day. They have introduced 'personal handicaps' to try to even out the combination of boat and sailing skills. Troost now has the fastest handicap in the fleet (the only gaffer and the rest are cruisers and cruiser/racers up to 25 feet) which is totally unjust and can only be remedied by me getting on the Handicap Committee ! (This is getting to be a sore point world-wide ! There is blatant design discrimination taking place against the Memory, which we are thinking of taking to the International Court of Justice at the Hague. See elsewhere in this edition ! Ed.) As you may guess, Committee’s are anathema to me so I guess I will go back to cruising only. Underneath it all, it is fun having a ‘Q Boat’ which, on the day, can slaughter boats that are bigger and should be faster in a race where the preposterous posturing of the yottie fraternity is left totally deflated. But all Memory owners enjoy that pleasure.

We had a glorious sail home with five adults and four children on board, getting home late and unsteady on out feet from a great day out. Phil and (more importantly) his family are very keen to find a Memory and will be looking to try to export one in the coming months.

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Boom modifications

There may be some interest in boom mods. My boom started as a pole. Rather than have jaws that may chafe the mast, I went for a very jazzy gooseneck from GD Boote in Germany. This is heavy duty bronze with loads of attachment points for the topsail sheet, reefing connections etc. Their catalogue is a truly wonderful collection of bronze fittings for traditional boats but all in German. (GD Boote Dauelsberg, 2870 Delmenhorst-Deichhausen, Ochsenweideweg 6, Germany ) I screwed two cheek blocks on for the reefing lines that are led along the boom to a bronze cleat (one on either side). I never liked the way the mainsheet led to the end of the boom, so I got Moray McPhail to knock up a pair of bronze boom bails. This results in better leads and less line hanging over the transom.

But the best tweak was to change the clew outhaul arrangement. Davey and Co provided a short length of 1 inch track which was screwed to the top of the boom. Two dinghy blocks from Jack Holt lead the outhaul into the top of the boom and back out of the bottom.

This simple block arrangement increases the purchase so that the outhaul can be adjusted, from close to the base of the mast, without the need to luff up or get a Tarzan type to help out.

David Sutton, Abu Dhabi

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I have been co-opted onto the Solent Area Committee of the Old Gaffers Association and hope to do a bit for us owners of smaller craft. To my partisan mind, too many people on the Committee have big standard 28 foot, deep keeled cruisers, all built in the year dot ! Nothing as individual as our unique craft…………

Hopefully we will clear up the silly classification business we have had in local racing. Talking of which – there is now a splendid ‘Memory Shield’ with a beautiful brass Memory logo made by Mike Brackstone and nailed onto a piece of old wood which we couldn’t find any use for.. This is to be presented to the first Memory home in the Solent OGA Annual Rally and Race in late August.

Solent OGA events worth supporting are ;-

YOGAFF – the Yarmouth Festival, which is excellent but often very cramped. Book early for 2nd to 4^th June.

There will be a special ‘Hamble Week’ Old Gaffers event 8^th and 9^th July.

The Marchwood Sailing Club event, a good Gaffers race always in flukey conditions on the 15^th and 16^th July.

Solent Area Annual Rally and Race will be from 9^th September.

Warsash Sailing Club Three Creeks Race – an excellent event for Memorys - will be on 17^th and 18^th June.

All dates are provisional but don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at the Boatyard (01703 407606) for more information. Visiting Memory Owners, crew, girlfriends and/or partners etc. can be found places on a local craft where we can squeeze them in.

And the Solent Memorys will be cruising in company (not the faintest chance of any ungentlemanlike racing mentality) to Newtown Creek on the weekend of 13 and 14 May. More to follow on this one, with ref. to tide times and heights.

Likewise though, if any others of the Memory fraternity/sorority feel like roading it to the south coast for this little outing – they would be joyously welcomed aboard with libations.

Greg Dalrymple, Salterns Boatyard.

Dear Grace of Maldon

Every now and then your Ed. gets a letter which includes bits of history and experience with a Memory, which I think others will appreciate also. There are always comments to note or which could prompt a reply or suggestion. Molly and Tony Tring now have Dear Grace in Maldon. Molly wrote ;-

‘ We bought Dear Grace in July 1995. She sold herself to us, having no ‘For Sale’ notice attached. But our friend Jim Titmarsh, who then managed the boat-yard at Maylandsea, sailed us home to Maldon in her. That commenced a love affair that has continued and grown. She really is our sort of boat because she feels so safe but performs well, even with reduced sail. Seated, I can see over the cuddy when on the helm and I love wandering around the broad decking and sitting by the bow dangling feet in the water when crewing. We do have a problem though, for which I would very much welcome the advice of other owners.

When we bought Dear Grace she had a Dolphin inboard engine. It was the original, so was 13 or 14 years old. I didn’t work very well, especially the electrics. It stopped when we let it get too wet. We were able to replace it with a cheap second-hand engine (£150 !) but that never worked properly either. We tried to keep it dry but it did the same thing.

We then bought a new Mercury 4 h.p. outboard, which is brilliant but does have some disadvantaged ;-

It needs to be pulled up, and down, when we are sailing so that Tony has to lie beside the tiller, limiting steering and threatening to throw him overboard. He is of a certain age (tactful editing by Ed. here) and very accident prone.

It is fixed to the port side of the transom and restricts movements to port very severely

There is no chance of an odd winter sail – because the engine is in the shed !

It spoils the look of the boat.

Should we think about another inboard engine ? It would have to be another Dolphin or the drive shaft and screw, which are still in place, would have to be replaced. A proper Memory boat-cover should keep it dry but unfortunately an inboard is such a lot of money, which would have to come from our savings as we are both pensioners.

So any advice based on other peoples’ experience would be very gratefully received.

We have found that we are the third owners of Dear Grace. The original owner built her himself from a kit around 1979.’

(This is a good debate to start rolling. There are two types of people in the world, inboarders and outboarders. I have an old outboard which has never let me down, though I have let it down more than once with some near disastrous results. Which reminds me ; it might be that awful human trait of being fascinated by observing the dreadful things which happen to others, but the one bit of the sailing mags which it seems people love reading is the ‘Learning from Experience’ page. They are always near disasters (there but for the grace of God) which sailing types get out of – but duly quote the lessons learned and never to be repeated. Might be on a slightly less dramatic scale than some but I know it happens to Memory skippers too. So could we have some contributions please, next time and regularly, about your most awfulest experience and what happened in the end. But back to Molly’s dilemma. Cost, noise, taking up space, all the little bits that could go wrong and those holes in the boat’s hull – have contributed to nobody yet convincing me I need an inboard. Mucking about in the melee of the Hamble, it’s more than useful to be able to spin the boat around on its own length. If it really does go wrong, there is always the little 2.5 h.p. job carried under the side-decking which can be used to chug along, such is the ease of pushing a Memory. If one is in the middle of the ocean, then there is invariably enough wind to do the right thing and sail it, even if arrival is a few hours late. On the other hand…… (Go on, convince me then, next time)

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Message from the Vice President

I know that one should never, ever, under any circumstances volunteer for anything……and I didn’t !

And….I know to keep my head well below below the parapet….

So, I was somewhat surprised to find my volunteer status assumed and to read that I was the Vice President of the MOA.

Now, this for some may be seen as a great honour, a step towards mixing with those supreme beings the Il Presidentoris, Terry and Tony. Maybe Hon. Teamaker and Sweeper Upperer would be acceptable, but ‘Vice’………what do I know about ‘Vice’ ?

Those of you I have met in various – usually traumatic - circumstances, know I am sober, hard working and have no practical knowledge of the deadly sins, hardly knowing them even in principle. OK, so I’ve mentioned my neighbour’s Ass from time to time but never to the extent of a full covet. I touch neither the juice of the grape nor the hop (it was mineral water) and I am always kind to children (sic) old ladies and animals. I have no idea there is a back room in Sid’s Exotic Bookshop for Discerning Customers and my Astra 2L GTE mega car never does more that 30 mph, even on the motorway.

So I ask you, why me ? All this means is that, to get up to speed in this new post, conscientious like, I now have to research ‘Vice’. Perhaps the Hon Secr could produce a bit of research funding and I will report back next time –or maybe I’ll be too busy, hic, hic byyeeee (Notice ? She didn’t exactly resign though did she ? All power corrupts. Ed.)

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Response to previous items

David Sutton Troost writes ;-

‘Many thanks for the latest newsletter. It continues to be excellent. (I thort I’d include that bit, Ta ! Ed.) In the previous newsletter, there had been a call for info. on outboard wells. I had started to thump the keyboard on this subject, having been involved with two such Memory conversions. However, I misplaced the original sketches that I made which gave all the dimensions to the boatyard – and then I got distracted with work. I realise now that my outboard well clashes with the concept of a skeg for improved windward performance.

One of the difficulties of having a boat in the Middle East is that there is nobody who understands the way they work ! ……I asked a local company to apply two coats of anti fouling. To do this they lifted the boat from the trailer. The Walt Disney way in which this was done resulted in the bronze fairleads being bust, the chainplates being distorted, and the forward bulkhead to which the sampson post is bolted being split. Don’t ask me how this array of damages was achieved !

By the way, the easiest and quickest way I have found to fit or remove the mast is to do it in the water with the boat parked next to a bridge or a dockside in a marina. The boat is moored so that the hole in the deck is right next to the edge of the dock. This requires the foredeck to be under the bridge or dockside. The mast can then be lifted vertical and dropped straight into the hole. It takes two minutes and two or three strong blokes. (I have a vision of a Mike Peyton cartoon coming on….. Ed.)

One of the points claimed in a previous newsletter was that it is better to hank the jib onto the forestay for windward performance. If the jib has a wire luff – I cannot agree. I do not think it makes any difference at all. The critical issue is luff tension. Hanked or unhanked does not come into it. I originally ‘hanked’ but have found it more convenient now to run the jib out to a turning block at the end of the bowsprit and fly the sail unhanked. The question of achieving that luff tension has had me considering the need for running backstays. On occasion, when ‘swigging’ has been very serious, I have noticed a bow in the mast. The other issue was clew outhauls. I have found over the past five years with Troost that tweaking the outhaul makes significant difference in performance, to the extent that I will soon be taking off my boom for a series of modifications to improve the outhaul arrangements. I’ll let you know how I get on.

(I know it takes a long time, between issues, but until we have the MOA website with its interactive chat line – its good to see these different views coming in on any on-going subject. E mail addresses would suggest we have around a third of members who surf the www as well as the wind with tide. I gather it wouldn’t take too much £ and effort these days to set up the MOA Website. Any other comments about that. I’m pondering. Ed.)

Have just finished the paperbacj reprint of Maurice Griffiths’ ‘The Magic of the Swatchways’ (Adlard Coles Nautical). Although written back in the 1930s, its cruising cameos capture the essence of the East Coast and its hidden creeks. Tales of some hairy sailing, without echo sounder or flares, fire the imagination and admiration of this guy. The nice cover made me buy it.

Also found that ‘Nathaniel’s Nutmeg’ by Giles Milton (Hodder & Stoughton) a great true life adventure. A tale of the deparate race against the Dutch to gain control of the spice trade in the Banda Islands. Lots of nautical detail and skulduggery in the 1500s. But, must get back to the real world and peel the spuds……….

Keith Davidson, The Kitchen, Billericay

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The River Teign Chapter

There are three Memorys on the River Teign. Haldon is a sloop, large cabin and black hull. Amnesia is a yawl rig with a small cabin and dark green hull and Valindra is a sloop with topsail, flat deck and navy blue hull. All three have inboard diesels.

Valindra had been out of the water for three years when I discovered her languishing in a back yard in Shaldon slowly accumulating mould and gently shedding her layers of varnish. Prior to this, she had been in Kingsbridge. I believe she had the name from new, as a Liverpool Boat Company Memory. I have been told that she was built in 1985. If anyone has any further information about her – I would be pleased to hear from them.

Sailing in and around the Teign is a great experience. Although the river has a fearsome reputation (its shifting sand bars and raging spring tides) you will find that most of the time it is a gentle giant of a river. Treat it with respect and be prepared at all times and all will be well. Most locals spend the spring tide evenings in the pub, with the beer-garden spilling down onto the beach. The entertainment is second to none as one boat after another, filled with novices or grockles, bounces from one mooring to another as they desperately trying to gain control of their vessel.

The South Devon coastline is stunningly beautiful with plenty of coves, ports and rivers to explore. The area has a lot to offer; long rivers like the Dart and the Exe, the exhilaration of the open sea off Lyme Bay and the sheltered safety of Torbay, with the harbours of Torquay, Brixham and Paignton. For those who like a bit of a challenge, Plymouth is not too far away.

Valindra is currently undergoing a major overhaul and refit and should be ready for the coming season. Any day throughout the summer, Valindra and Amnesia can be seen out and about and, hopefully, Haldon too. If any MOA members are passing South Devon way – please give us a ring and drop in for a pasty and glass of cider (not that you’ll catch any of the locals drinking that muck) – and if you’re sober and we’re afloat, a trip round the bay Zer ?

Eddie Holden (01626 872638)

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From Ray and Liz Evans in Arran

Ray and Liz have given up the two dozen ducks in a bathtub life of home waters and taken Saorsa to sail free range off the Isle of Arran on a permanent basis.

Ray writes ;- ‘Happy New Year to all Memory Owners and if any MOA members find themselves up here in Scotland on holiday, they will be very welcome. They will not even need their boat !’ How about that for an offer !

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New Memorys are emerging from the damp gloom of the boatshed at fairly regular intervals. Our latest Bob looked very handsome, as they say down Cornwall, in a splendid dark Oxford blue. I’m quite tempted to paint Flugel this colour.

Construction is well under way on another cabin version Memory which will join the Solent fleet, clad in what now must have become ‘Memory Green’ – certainly our most popular colour to date.

We were sorry to lose John Atwill as one of our local Memory owners but pleased to welcome him back into ‘Tela’ ( our 16.5 foot gaffer) ownership. Best of luck sailing from Chichester – John. John’s Memory Ruffler will be in familiar surroundings having been taken over by Andy Holden who will be keeping the boat on its old moorings in the Hamble. We were delighted to have someone seeing the light and buying a boat with the correctly shaped mainsail; those triangular things will never really catch on you know.

Greg Dalrymple, Salterns Boatyard

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Story and pictures from the indomitable Keith Davidson and Kate, as follows;-

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The Joy of Jets

At the yard I was easily persuaded to have Kate jet-washed to see off Barnacle Bill and his friends, for about £20. But never having had this done before, little did I realise how thorough they can be. Sure, barnacles and weed vanished in a flash but so did most of my last two coats of antifouling, the two coats of barrier priming and some of Haydn’s (the previous owner) Swedish antifouling as well. Never mind – the finish is beautifully smooth now. I just hadn’t bargained on the effort and cost of doing her bottom all over again this year – you live and learn. Do other Memory owners antifoul religiously every year ?

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Making the cabin for Merganser

The last edition of the Newsletter contained photos from Mike Brackstone’s home based job to build a cabin for a ‘basic’ Memory. The descriptive text to go with the picture (there were a lot more) is given below from Mike – which might ensure no-one else is foolish enough to try the same thing. (I don’t really mean that of course….Ed.)

‘I had an idea to put a cabin on Merganser for two or three years, the picture constantly being changed as I drew it in my head. When Greg at Salterns came up with plans for a cabin version, I could see he and/or his customers were of the same mind. As my forward bunks are lower than a new Memory, I could afford to make the cabin an inch or so lower and have it three inches wider. This could provide comfortable sitting headroom below and an acceptable loo posture, whole- family tested.

Greg provided endless advice and supplied drawings and all the prepared wood as ordered. He acted as the general consultant for this dicey DIY effort – and thanks are due to Greg and Annette for all their help and support; a great couple !

The moulded deck sides which give strength and were bolted to the coamings were cut away, so new carlins of one inch by two mahogany were bonded and screwed to the undersides of the side decking edge, using Sikoflex. These also had to be shaped so that they matched the natural curve and angle of the coamings, and the straight edge of the cabin sides and the sheerline of the deck. There was also a heavy learning curve !

I made a template out of hardboard for the cabin sides and played with the dimensions until I thought it looked right. I laid the template on the planks for the cabin sides and marked out. The cabin sides were made by epoxy-ing two eight inch wide planks edge to edge, with a rebate to contain a one inch by a quarter strip of ply. This is when I found out that the side pieces, which included the cabin side and the new coaming in one length, did not want to gently tilt, rise and flow – to follow the sheerline of the deck. I had to compensate and thus lost three quarters of an inch from the front of the cabin. As it turned out, it needed this loss.

The old bulkhead had to be cut back and the bench type locker seats were cut back eighteen inches to give the position of the new bulkhead. This would give enough room for the cooker, the wash basin and the loo, between the old and new bulkhead positions. There was still enough leg-room in front of the lifting centre plate. The new bulkhead was made in two halves of double thickness ply, epoxied together with an overlap joint, giving a three quarter inch finished thickness. The new bulkhead is glassed to the hull, so that in this area the hull had to be cut back again with a grinder. Great dust clouds again. The bulkhead was positioned in place, on small pieces of half inch wood and foam sprayed into the gaps all round. The foam was then trimmed away and both sides were glassed over, using a minimum of three layers of cloth.

The cabin and coaming sides, in one length of three quarter inch mahogany, were bonded and screwed to the side deck carlins with sikoflex. The cabin roof was fabricated from three sheets of quarter inch ply, epoxied together and roped down into place. To make out the curve radius of the roof, I laid out the sheet of ply for the bulkhead flat on the drive-way and used a piece of string with a pencil tied to it. It worked out as an eighteen foot radius. The same principle was used for the mahogany planks for the front of the cabin.

I started the whole job in March 99, working evenings and weekends when I could. Merganser went back in the water in August ready for the OGA Rally at Bursledon. An excellent sail, balance felt better, possibly because the new gear is amidships instead of with us in the rear of the cockpit. So, we were all very pleased, but I tell thee – never again !’ 

(Post-script from the ‘consultant’ at Salterns "He did a b - - - - - good job !" )

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This section is for people with proper masts which go down to the bottom of the boat. Keel-stepped I think is the phrase if one wants to get technical. So those of you with wobbly ones perched on the top of a box cabin can skip this bit. He is definitely not the only one with the problem but David Sutton out in the middle east produced the solution as well. David wrote ;-

‘I have been having continuous problems with mast wedges working loose. This was particularly after outings when the boat had received a hammering in choppy waves.

The hole in the deck of my boat (Troost) is five and a half inches in diameter and the mast is four inches in diameter. So I set about filling the annulus (‘the area of space between two concentric circles’, Collins English Dictionary, Ed. !!) between them with wooden segments. These are not tapered like wedges but are designed to fill that gap.

I have sixteen segments that are each 100 mm long. They have a section of 27 mm across the bottom flat and 20 mm across the top flat. The height is 18 mm. 

They fit nicely around the mast but ,as I should have expected, the mast hole was not quite circular so there are a couple of small gaps. However the mast is securely held and the segments do not usually work their way out. I anticipated the hole not being perfectly circular and used a mixture of softwood and hardwood segments. I suspect that softwood is just fine though. These were made by setting up a planing machine and feeding in a length of timber from which each 100 mm segment was cut. So I have a bunch of spares for the next time I take the mast out. The segments are installed from inside the cuddy, holding them around the mast with a big jubilee clip. They were then eased up the mast into the annulus and tapped up the mast into place. Actually, to get them flush with the top of the hole took some encouragement with a large mallet ! They are a snug fit. The tops of the segments are flush with the top of the collar on the deck and look quite neat. I leave the jubilee clip on the bottom of the segments in case the wood shrinks and they become loose.’

(David’s sketch says 75 mm in length, though he describes above 100 mm. Depends on the thickness of deck plus collar. I suppose one could put the big jubilee clip over a wood or rubber collar underneath the segments o stop them falling through but allowed to wobble to the stresses and strains. In a previous edition of the Newsletter, Jan Lanning wrote about how could she stop the water running down through the mast hole and soaking all sorts in the cuddy. I had the same problem and suggested, when the mast is out, rolling a short length of appropriately sized car tyre inner tube over the thick end. When the mast is in place it can be rolled down again to stretch over the deck collar. No water at all and it works fine. The usual bit of gaffer canvas over the top preserves the ethnic look. The problem with wedges though is that the lip which hangs over the collar wears the rubber and it splits. With David’s solution that wouldn’t happen. So I shall certainly try it. Ed.)