The Luzzu was stripped bare ready for the work to begin.

One of the engines was discarded because it would have been vastly expensive to get it to the required standard.  The main
engine was removed, serviced and painted.

As all this work progressed to bring St Joseph up to British Standards I could not help but wonder what the Maltese
fishermen would have made of it!  Life belts, life jackets, fire
extinguishers, and safety switches - what a long job it was!

All the old lead based paints were removed.

It seemed an endless job rubbing down the woodwork in preparation for the re-paint.  It was extremely messy and noisy, with long hours of sanding down.  I was very pleased to find that there was no significant rot, and none at all in the main structure.  I was also pleased when I could finally start the re-painting, but first the now very smart engine had to be re-fitted.

In temperatures well below freezing point Michael fits the now gleaming engine.

It was a long, hard job restoring St Joseph, made far worse by the cold English winter.
The very low temperatures made painting difficult because the paint was too cold and would not go on properly.

The "Ghost boat" in white primer.

On sunny days we were able to work outside. This made the job far more enjoyable.  Many people would stop to ask questions and admire the boat.

The "tappiera", the carved hardwood panel that runs the full length of each side of a Luzzu, proved an enormous job to restore and, even after two weeks' work on each side, I still did not regard them as totally satisfactory.  In truth, the "tappieras" both needed partly replacing, but finding someone here in England to do this would be impossible.  With the carvings painstakingly re- cut with a file,  as many sections had worn away over the years, the end results were reasonable. 
I wanted to leave the Malta registration number (MFC 217) on the boat, and after some negotiation with the authorities I was permitted to do so, so long as I displayed the UK registration alongside the Maltese one.

Stunning!  Finally she was finished - a fine example of a Maltese Luzzu.  I only wish that the original builder could see her now! 
I would like to think we would make him proud of his boat.

The Mermaids shown on the bow were a trademark of the builder.  The originals had long since rotted away, but replacements were very kindly provided by the builder's son at Tar-Ratal, Birzebbuga, Malta.