It was a good Christmas bash at the redesigned Salterns ‘boat creation facility’. See Greg’s note in this edition. The winter edition of the Newsletter is a good one to get in some reports about boat modifications and changes – and I’m very grateful to Mike and to Roy in particular for going over some of their (quite intimidating !) enterprise. The hope is that people will exchange ideas and their results and those who write about what they have been up to always reassure me that they are only too pleased for other Memory owners to use their membership list to seek further information and feedback. So crib away if you will. One or two ownership changes : the Scottish boat "San Souci" mentioned last time (name to be changed) has been taken on by Luke Fitzherbert,  who will be joining the south west fleet from Totnes and Peter Thomas’s "Souvenir" comes back to the south coast in the new ownership of Andrew Hind and Marion Shirley. Mike Townsend at the age of 80 has finally decided to come ashore for good and his Memory, called "Memory", has passed to Brian Kennel at the Downs Road Boatyard in Maldon. And it will soon be Easter again and then a summer just like last year, maybe……… ? (Ed.)

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From passing and overheard tips about things used, tried and recommended, the Screw Fix mail order company (part of B & Q it seems) produce a very economical and effective anti-foul called Flag Antifouling at around £38 for 2.5 litres. Also the Screw Fix Yacht Varnish is a good performer. Tonnicroix French (Navy) varnish has had good reports too. If anyone else has come across or used these products and has comments or results to share – or has other items to mention which could be recommended from experience – please drop me a line or email. Ed.

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We are about to have "Ruffler" taken out of the water after our first season with her. Sailing has been a bit sporadic due to family illness but we have begun to explore the mysteries of the Memory – and we have survived – so far.

I was always taken with the black hulls of these types of craft, having seen Neil Mordey’s "Dram" and in April we began the process of re-painting the green hull. Greg had suggested International Topcoat, but being a glutton for punishment I had opted for Perfection 709, a two part polyurethane system which, it is claimed, will last for four to five seasons. I followed the instructions pretty carefully, especially about cleaning off any remaining mould wax with International cleaner. In fact we did this twice. The first coat of quite light coloured grey undercoating covered very well indeed. The second (a 50/50 combined undercoat and finishing coat) seemed to end up the same colour, not darker, as I had imagined it would be. On a hot day and working pretty quickly, my friend John and I painted the final coat. John started amidships and me at the bow. We had previously tried laying off vertically but found that the brush strokes produced runs as they hit the faint horizontal plank lands left from the moulding. So we used the criss-cross application. The result looks pretty good we think – and we are rather hard to please. We had no runs, no thin patches and the result looks like a wooden hull that had been painted. After a season in the water, there are no chips or signs of chafing from times in the marina. So hopefully it will just be a case of washing down and polishing for the coming season.

At Greg’s suggestion I have replaced the shroud lanyards with rigging screws. These fitted well with StaLock terminals on the shroud ends and some natty Delryn spacers made by John. I also replaced the tufnel mainsheet blocks with wooden blocks of ash, from Classic Marine, which look nice but are a bit heavy. I bought a second-hand small Barton Tufnol sheet winch, which fits neatly on the side of the bowsprit, to tension the bobstay. And we made an oak mast table, to take the boom in its rest position – both ideas cribbed from Neil.

The Lombardini inboard engine awoke from a long rest without any prior attention and propelled us up and down the Orwell with a bow-wave only a trice smaller than a P and O ferry. True, on a 1 to 10 noise scale it rates at 11 but it goes, and goes, and goes…..

As I said earlier our sailing in 2003 season had been a bit restricted. But the grandchildren have had a go and seemed happy – particularly when under engine power ! Mainly we seemed to hit very light winds when the opportunity did arise for sailing. But I reckon this is the class of boat which needs a good force 4 or 5 to really see what she’s made of. And now there’s 2004……..

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We certainly don’t have the challenges faced by the owners of old wooden boats but looking after the wooden bits is still important, especially with the quality of wood-for-purpose which Greg uses. But being one of those people who have sailing as the occasional escape rather than a single focus life-style, I freely admit that maintaining varnish in pristine boat-show condition is not one of my strong points. So the use of oils and preservatives, the working boat look rather than Edwardian yachting gentleman, was more me I thought. (I love Julie Brickhill’s old Looe lugger "Guide Me" - all done out in stockholm tar and bitumen. And she whips the pants off all the pretty ones at the biennial Looe Lugger festivities.) I was therefore a bit interested in a piece by Jon Wainwright in last December ‘Gaffers Log’ . He has been sailing wooden boats and looking after timbers used in the building trade, for decades. I didn’t reckon he would be spending a fortune on fancy proprietary boat oils. I got permission from the Editor to reproduce an extract from Jon’s observations ;-

‘So second rule of wooden boat maintenance is to get some linseed oil into bare timber. I mix mine with cuprinol – coloured perhaps to match the wood species. That mixture will penetrate better than anything else on the market. It can also be applied in conditions where paint or varnish can not. The colour in the cuprinol will give some UV protection, and the cuprinol will also help to keep out worm or fungal attack. But best of all, the timber will be stabilised – moisture will move in and out much more slowly. Once the oil has soaked in, it will be a much better substrate for other finishes. There has been some interest in using timber preservative stains, such as Sadolins, Higson’s Décor, Sikkens HLS, Cetol Filter 7 etc. I have used them for over 30 years in the building trade. The thinner ones such as Sadolins P 65, when used on planed or wrot timber, are not successful, although they look very nice when first applied. They were meant for large section sawn timber detailing, such as found on Scandinavian buildings, where there is a very high ‘soakage’ rate. Otherwise, the timber movement is too great, leading to shakes or fissures in the timber. A high build stain, such as the Sikkens system, works reasonably well. I have used it on my boat’s top rubbing strake and cockpit seats for many years. However, the stain is not that transparent and you lose the grain of the timber. It can look like brown paint after a few years’ maintenance. Where I have used it successfully is on the mast, which has been pre prepared with three coats of linseed and cuprinol. One coat of the HLS and two coats of Filter 7 were put on top – and that mast has been fine for six years to date. I have put a wrapping of glass cloth and epoxy where the gaff jaws wear, as well. On linseeded surfaces, for low maintenance bright-work, I apply very diluted varnish, 50/50 with white spirit or weaker. Two or three coats slapped on will bind the surface, and give it some impact protection as well as preventing liquid water absorption. It will give a sheen rather than a gloss (so forget about concourse prizes) but it will not form a film under which water collects. Being dilute, it is vapour permeable, and lets anything which gets in, out again. This also works well on wooden blocks.’

(P.S. The new look ‘Gaffer’s Log’ seems to have an increasing number of useful items, under the section ‘OGA Practical’. Old and wooden are still the dominant themes of ‘OGA’ one might think, and perhaps rightly so, but It’s still a fitting place for Memory’s to be. If you are not already an OGA member, go to www.oldgaffersassociation.org and sign up- now!!)

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About this time last year Molly Tring of Maldon described hilarious tales of rescue of "Dear Grace", with large lady and ailing septuagenarian from the mud banks of the Blackwater River, a waterway so aptly named. It would appear that a like rescue, by hollered at pristine motor boats, happened again this year. But I think it wise to pass over the subject of accumulating the subtle art of mud-bank avoidance and instead refer you to the mean fiddler on the party picture page – and thus Molly’s cottage industry, which will produce for you a painted portrait of your Memory. And customised, personalised mugs of full-some capacity, decorated with your pride and joy, for around £6 each.

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We bought a Memory in 1990. It was built in 1977 by Eric Bergvist and sold to a guy in Shepperton, to tootle around on the Thames; very odd. The boat was roughly finished off by him, with chipboard flooring and he called her ‘Penny’. A few years later he sold her to a Chris Schubert who used to be the manager of the famous London chandlers, James Watts. He had it fitted out with new floors and four corner boxes to sit on. But it was still a simple open boat. She was moved to the Solent and into the membership of the Warsash Sailing Club (WSC). After a couple of years here, Chris Schubert emigrated to Australia and the boat passed to the ownership of Bob Gaskin, also a member of the same club, in fact its commodore at the time. He changed the name to ‘Pennylopy’ (!!) - (the original name was unboatylike enough ! ) However, the next few years were very bad for Bob; his wife had become terminally ill and most of Bob’s time was taken up caring for her till the end, so that the boat inevitably suffered neglect and decay. The year was now 1990 and change was a-blowin’ in the wind. Having sailed dinghies in gravel pits in Guildford, my job moved to Hamble on the coast in 1986 - ‘what luck !’. I became interested in the local working boats and the gaff rig in particular. I was a member of the WSC and owned a Cornish Coble called ‘Tigger’, a 16 foot lugger rig day boat. At this time I met Geoff Skinner with his well-known Memory called "Daisy" and I started to crew for them in the Thursday night club races. "Daisey" was fast, powerful and in Geoff’s hands a formidable boat winning many of the OGA and club races. This, I thought, was the boat for me and it came to pass that Bob Gaskin put his boat in the club pound alongside "Daisy" for the winter. By then Bob’s boat was in a poor state; no wood on her was unaffected by rot, apart, thank goodness, for the spars. And the hull, of course, was still sound. Over a drink in the club we came to an arrangement for sale at £2000, which was somewhat over-priced perhaps – but I wanted her. So we towed her back to our drive-way and there I totally stripped and re-built her. It was a great learning curve full of curses and joys. The hull had been painted with black gloss and was very difficult to strip off using GRP stripper, to get back to her original green colour. She was re-launched in 1991 as "Merganser", which is a type of duck that frequents rivers and coastal estuaries. And she has won us various trophies, eleven of them over the thirteen years we have had the pleasure of owning her. By 1998 we wanted a bigger boat in order to go further afield and for longer but after a great deal of thought we decided to re-build her once more, to my own design but with a great deal of guidance from Greg at Salterns. So back to the drive-way she went to be stripped out once again. It was a rather harrowing period of our lives when came the time to mark out and cut the deck out in order to accommodate a new cabin ! (Details in a back number of MOA NL. Ed.) "Merganser" re-entered the water again in 1999, as a little pocket cruiser, going from strength to strength as an even better little boat. Over the years, the weather has really caught us out sometimes but we never felt as though we were in any real danger of losing control or being over-pressed – as long as one reefed in time. She would always go better anyway in a force 4 plus when appropriately reefed down. Maybe it isn’t so surprising that we have yet to find a boat we like as much as "Merganser" – and not having one now makes me regret selling her in the first place ! We had nothing but good times and good luck in "Merganser". But she has, happily I’m sure, now moved on the Colin and Katie Outlaw and their three children, and they as current custodians shall have great summer adventures in her too. Anyone know where I can buy a nice boat……………….

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I think I might try that mast-lifting frame, as illustrated and described last time. "Sif’s" mast gets heavier as the years go by, and it is always a problem organising helpers, cranes etc.

Also, I was impressed by that photo from "Susan’s" cockpit. When I try something like that, half the boats always seem to be out of focus or somehow not just there in the final print.

I am trying to write up a description of our combined reefing plus broad-reach-jib-sheet gear. It is rather difficult to describe; needs illustrations, which are equally difficult. Meanwhile, here is something ex Olaf, Ulricke and "Namib Tern" ;-

We have a small jib for "Sif", used as the next step down from double reef and standard jib, when the wind rises. It was given to us by a friendly sailmaker and I think it’s the flying jib from an original Cornish Crabber. Measurements are 4.19 metres (13’9") along the luff (sewn to a very substantial wire), 2.82 metres (9’3") down the leech and 1.98 metres (6’6") on the foot. There was a time when I used to set both the standard jib and this storm jib from the end of the bowsprit (but not at the same time….) which of course involved lying out along the bowsprit, risking life and limb and getting very wet. More recently we have had a roller fitted for the big jib. Changing down in bad weather now involves rolling up the jib but leaving it in place just behind the forestay – and then shackling the small jib onto a strop round the bowsprit immediately ahead of the gammon iron. It is then hoisted on a second jib halyard (the one we also use for the ‘5 acre’ running sail) ; it has sheets already attached. These are led through a set of duplicate fairleads on the deck, so avoiding the need to un-thread the sheets to the large jib. "Sif" seems to balance well under these conditions, better I guess than she would with a third reef in the main and a large headsail still there. We have, however, albeit in light weather, tried sailing her under mainsail alone and the jib alone. Believe it or not, she went to windward under both configurations, though was of course less easy to manoeuvre. I hope all this might be of some help to Olaf and Ulricke; if the worst comes to the worst I discovered with some alarm that you can run for cover under bare poles ! (Derek Toyne)

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"I’ve bought a Memory !" – I told my ever-loving wife Julie, who hates boats. This after a number of ‘enforced’ holidays when we were in our twenties with three children, a tiny house, no stair carpet and a very large 10 ton cutter called ‘Hyacinth’, which included a pipe-rack, bread locker, Stuart Turner and constant leaks. When the engine actually started the three children and me all cheered. When it did not, Julie clapped hands in glee because that meant we would not be sailing that weekend ! So Julie’s reply to this grand announcement of the latest purchase was that she had loads of ‘bad Memorys’ already thank you very much and that I could have them all for free !

But "Greensleeves" is a great boat and I will probably keep her for ever. I must tell though, that my first sail was indeed ‘memorable’. It was a Wednesday evening race on the River Crouch at Burnham. From what I had heard about the Memory, the other yachts didn’t stand a chance. My crew was very experienced; I love racing; it was in the bag – even before the start. As it happened, "Greensleeves" would hardly go about, my crew was not as fit as he thought he was and I ended up in the water. Patrick had said ‘Hold this tack for another 5 seconds !’ So I did, and we ran hard aground on a lee shore. I jumped over the side and three times tried to push her off, only to be blown back on again. And yes, the sheer pin broke as soon as we tried to motor off. Eventually – I was able to push her far enough out and I pulled myself back on board, rather like trying to mount a galloping horse. When we finally got back to the Royal Burnham, they were on to the port and the cook had gone home. My position on the race sheet was marked not as ‘DNF’ – but ‘Missing !’

She is sailing much better now. The improvements so far are :-

~ All sheets lead back to be cleated aft

~ lead sheet as ballast replaced by lead ingots (at about £300 !)

~ the mast raked back as far as possible (governed by the mast-step)

~ replaced the rigging lashings with bottle screws

~ brought all lines aft into the cockpit, in rope bags

~ a treble purchase for jib tension

~ designed and fitted a new light-weight jib, very flat (after sailing with Nick Hillman on "Letty May")

~ small extras, such as a Nasa combined speed and depth indicator

~ fitted stainless steel bridge from under the aft section of keel to overlap the bottom of the rudder (to prevent mooring lines, nets, weed etc. fouling on the rudder)

~ reduced the outboard well by 2 inches with a bolt on filling piece (the engine is a 3.3 Mariner and is nearly flush with the deck. Also very light and can be lifted out with one hand to stow under the cockpit seat )

~ made a plug for the outboard well (this fits well (!) – held in place by a mahogany wedge, the whole bung being tightly held in place with a lanyard)

Sailing results so far have been mixed. When the tide is foul in the Crouch, we lose out badly to the other boats, all bermudan rigged. Our best results were 2^nd in the Burnham Classics and a 1^st in The Swale Match over in Kent, lifting their treasured cup ! And we were placed in the Mersea Regatta and the OGA Race. I have slept aboard for quite a few nights and the 7 foot long bunks are very comfortable; the head-room is quite the reverse ! I’ve found her to be quite a good sea boat too, but still have a lot to learn. Best investment – two buckets, one red and one blue ! For this coming season I have designed a mainsheet horse, modified the rudder (see pic.page. Ed.) and, most important, will be sailing with and against other Memorys. Nick, who is a very good sailor, informs me that it takes about 3 seasons sailing to learn how to get the very best from a Memory. I’m inclined to believe him. All these small ‘improvements’ may work and if they don’t, it was great fun making small sketches on scraps of paper. And after the initial costs, the running costs of a Memory, I find, are very low, especially compared with the enjoyment this boat affords.

Post script – It was strange going back to Bursledon to visit Salterns. I bought ‘Hyacinth’, my first boat, from the Elephant Boatyard in the 60s. I still have the old mooring bill from Mr Richardson senior - £22.10s.6d. for the whole summer season ! I’m keeping the current one to see what it will be like in the 2060s…….. Good sailing !

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It was heard said along the Dart last summer that "Nilla" with Peter Burr sitting astride his brand new extremely satisfactory from experience inboard Yanmar diesel (see last issue.Ed.), but on this occasion of Regatta using the sails instead, had flown past the ubiquitous Shrimpers, into a second place of the first race. And all that being single-handed and never done dog fights like this before. And upon the second race he did it again only to fall behind "Susan" - which happens to be another Memory of course. Sadly, the later famous passage race down there in the South West had to be called off though, due to the very rough weather, or else what new feets might have been trod into this heady brew. But the Memory parade of sail happened at least. "Nilla" will rest preening herself on the trailer till mid May and then Peter intends to deposit the mast in order to waft down the Brecon canals.

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Despite the superb weather this last summer, didn’t manage as many days on the water at Brancaster as I would have hoped. Enclosed picture gives a flavour of North Norfolk. sailing though. But bad news I’m afraid; I’ve gone and bought a Dauntless - because it’s a 170 mile round trip from Lincoln and a roomy cabin means I can weekend in Norfolk. Which means that "Déjà Vu" is up for sale. I’ve only got one mooring and can only sail one boat at once….and really… but well you see …I…

CHRISTMAS SALTERNS’ GET TOGETHER

Many, many thanks to those of you who turned out for what has become the annual Salterns Boatbuilder’s Mulled Wine and Mince Pie-Noshing "Do". We were overwhelmed by the turnout and it was great to see so many people coming from so far away. A very big "thank you" to Mike Brackstone and his accomplices who were absolutely splendid, giving a wonderful folk music ambience, assisted by various Memory owners who were even seen dancing at one point..... we know who you are and we have the photos! (Censored versions – see picture page, Ed.) The mulled wine flowed, mince pies were noshed and blood sugar levels soared as the boatshed bulged with people (who were beginning to bulge themselves, or is it just me that put on weight over Christmas?).

The only downside is that there were so many people, old acquaintances and fresh faces eagerly looking forward to receiving their new boats in the spring, that I am sure we didn’t have time to say hello to everyone, let alone spend a decent amount of time with them. Sorry, we hope to catch up with everybody later in the year.

NAVIGATION LIGHTS

I am a big fan of those simple, self contained units sold as emergency navigation lights for yachts.

They seem to me to be the logical, modern, miniature version of the old paraffin lamps; no wires, no charging system, great stuff! Even better they clip in place so can spend 99.9% of their life out of the way in a bag in the after-locker where they won’t get broken, we hope. The batteries, D-cells (or U2 if you’re old-fashioned) last exceeding well and interchange with both the cabin lantern and the torch; yes, we are on a one-size electric standard on the Flugel. This means, if anything goes flat, one can rob the batteries out of the other units. I’ve not upgraded to rechargeable batteries but these are available to fit....... the next move?

SALTERNS BROKERAGE

We are desperate for older Memorys for our listings. We are always being asked for second hand Memorys, and have a waiting list of prospective owners. If you are thinking of selling, please ask us first; we can get you higher prices with less hassle and sell 90% of all Memorys that come onto the market. We have sold 9 Memorys since end September.

MAST COATS

Well, what can I say? (One might well ask – see pic page ! Ed.) Yes, another weird idea to create a truly waterproof mast coat...... Anyone who has a keel stepped mast on their Memory probably knows all about waterproofing that wretched hole in the foredeck and stopping the water running down the mast: We usually use acrylic canvas and self-amalgamating tape, and often a cable-tie as well; this usually does the job.

However, Annette spotted these natty looking rubber jobs in the local agricultural store....... no, it’s not our normal yacht fitting supplier. These gadgets are sold for horses, quite what they are for I’m not sure, but apparently they are stretched over their hooves, so they should fit over the mast and are perfectly formed for the job. We’ll let you know how well they work! Failing that, they make pretty distinctive head gear (I must get out more often!).

THE GREENSLEEVES PLUG

Roy’s outboard-well plug (this edition Ed.) is a nice idea for an extra turn of speed and would be even more efficient if it was extended at the bottom to form an integral skeg which filled the void left by the (removed) propeller, thus directing a good deal more of the water flow over the rudder blade. Boats always move sideways on any sort of reach and the less flow, which swirls between the aft end of keel and the rudder the better. Incidentally, we use lead ingots in new Memory build but the price of lead has gone up some 30% since the Iraq thing; perhaps they used it all up for bullets ?

TRAD. BLOCKS

The new line of wood blocks in ash are beautifully made and now available from Salterns. They have a lovely egg shape, have tufnol sheaves and stainless steel pins and frames. They work out at about £22 each – plus VAT

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