Lift out at Larkmans

Checking her seams at Larkmans

After the launch, the bilge pumps were set and timed regularly – it all seemed to be going OK so we went sailing with James on ‘Kestrel’ with the East Coast OGA, setting out from Waldringfield for the August Cruise to Brightlingsea on 11 August. Andy agreed to keep a watchful eye on the bilge pumps, so Steve didn’t need to worry (much!) and could enjoy the sailing and a bit of relaxation for a week away . . .

On our return, the priority was to be the mast, but the bilge pumps were still running rather too frequently. Reluctantly, it was agreed this was more than just ‘taking up’, despite all the old tricks of sawdust under the hull . . . she needed to come out for a better look below the waterline. We could have had her lifted at the Tidemill, but a better option seemed to be the short motor up river to Larkmans, where James could have a look at her seams and do any work while she was left in the slings for 24 hours. The tides were just right, with high water around midday, so Steve motored up river on 23 August.

There’s still lots to do, but it’s not all work . . .

Poppy and Cachalette take an evening sail up the Deben

Round trip to Woodbridge and St. Osyths, 21 June 2012
Andy had cut the larch boards, and they needed collecting, but the weather was still too unsettled for a return to Woodbridge. Steve drove the car to St Osyths, to save on fuel, taking advantage of Martin’s kind offer of a loaned van to transport the larch to Woodbridge, returned the van to Martin and drove back to Derbyshire.

He did the 500-mile journey in the one rare day when it wasn’t forecast to rain! By all accounts, the trip was quite an epic, with the long boards tied to the roof, but the larch is now safely ‘sticked up’ and ready for the next trip to Woodbridge, when it stops raining!

Another wet month in July
It was another two months before we were in Woodbridge again, and the ‘summer’ continues cold and wet, with weather forecasters providing little optimism for change. Steve’s fortunes on the work ‘front’ changed though, resulting in five weeks gainful employment in Chesterfield during July and early August. Determined to get down to Suffolk for the OGA August Classics, we eventually made it, towing ‘Cachalette’ with both bikes on the back! A phonecall from Paul, saying he’s available for work, money in the bank from Steve’s Chesterfield job, so we can say ‘yes’, and there’s plenty of Old Gaffer friends dropping by to see how we’re getting on. There’s better weather forecasts than we’ve had all year, things are looking up!

Dropping the keelbolts!
We’ve been thinking about this for a while, so let’s do it today! Paul and Steve drop two of the bolts, and check them out carefully.

They came out clean, but will need replacing. This prompted us to call Adrian, the surveyor, and he popped round to take a look while there’s still some missing planks to peer through into the hull. We’ll be off to see Moray MacPhail at Classic Marine for the new ones in due course.

Final few frames
We’ve said it before, but these really ARE the last frames, and if the weather stays fine, we should get all the planks in, with Paul working as well. There’s four planks to do on each side, just hope we don’t run out of wood again!

With the return of torrential rain, we had to resort to working inside the tent, watching the puddles grow and closing up the van. Its passes over, and at least not too cold, so planking continues, ready for Paul to join us on the final haul. The boards from Andy at St Osyths vary quite dramatically in thickness, apparently he had problems with his saw. The rain has stopped though, and Steve’s getting on well with sorting out sufficient boards for the last few planks.

September sunshine
The weather brightens up and Paul starts work, there’s some careful planning about how to deal with the last few planks. With nailing up to be done as well, we need to get more nails, roves and screws.

Beverley’s set the task of working out how many more we’ll need, and converting the number of nails into kilograms for the order from Anglia Stainless! How many times did she revise her calculations before calling?

Steve and Paul get started in earnest, just two full lengths to do on port and starboard. Ben from Anglia Stainless arrives with the order, and getting the bill reminds us just how important it is to keep the scraps of copper and bronze. The screws are coming up at £1 each. The nails aren’t cheap either, especially when you think about the bit you nip off every time you put on a rove!

Measuring up for more larch

A week before Easter, Steve set off with (hopefully) the final few frames, made over the winter in Matlock Bath. He also towed ‘Cachalette’, freshly painted, varnished and a few little repairs completed. The plan was to stay down in Suffolk for a couple of weeks, but the weather turned horribly cold and windy, so he retreated home for Easter. Sadly this meant we missed the OGA rally at Shotley, where we’d hoped to sail ‘Cachalette’ over to Harwich, but he did have time to put the frames in place . . . so we’ll be off in search of more wood for planks, and then its the deck!

The second trip to Woodbridge this year was also thwarted by the weather . . . with forecasts of gale force winds, flooding and very low temperatures we decided to travel to Suffolk by car, just for the weekend. Grateful thanks to Sue’s Dad for letting us stay at his house in the warm and dry! It was great to meet up with Rik and Fred, visiting from the Netherlands for the OGA talk about the ‘Round Britain’ event, and to see OGA members at the Nottage Institute, Wivenhoe. 16 May found us setting off to Woodbridge for the third time this year, although the weather still didn’t look TOO promising with wind and rain continuing, but the wind dropped at last. It began to warm up, in the daytime at least. The aim is to fit all the frames and floors by the end of the week, and try to source some more wood.

Steve selects more larch from Andy’s stock at St. Osyths, May 2012

There’s another careful look at the depleted woodpile to sort out what is usable from the remaining planks. Steve checks it against the shift of butts plan to give the final list of what we’ll need. Hopefully this will be the last time we run out! A trip to St Osyths, and the wood is chosen from what Andy has on offer.

We took the opportunity to see how Martin is getting on with ‘Gwenili’. he’s sure she should be back in the water soon. Andy says the wood will be sawn in the next couple of weeks, ready for when we return to Woodbridge, and Martin has offered us the loan of his van to move the boards once they’re cut.

After an excellent week’s work, with all the frames and floors bolted up and painted, Steve thinks about what to do next. Waiting for the wood from St Osyths, we’re beginning to think seriously about what to do about the deck! Having carefully taken all the teak up, there must be a way to re-cycle and re-lay it, but that’s another research project.

Making good progress with planking, Spring 2011

Easter was late April 2011, followed by more Bank Holidays for the Royal Wedding and May Day, so Steve went down to Woodbridge for three whole weeks to make up for lost time over the winter. This paid off with excellent progress on the starboard side, but the decision to remove the garboards meant another extension to the schedule for finishing planking!

Another extended trip to Suffolk in June, and the purchase of some wide iroko boards from Buildbase in Ipswich, meant Steve was able to fit both new garboards. After carefully spiling, fitting, planing and securing the garboard on the starboard side, Steve decided to put in one last screw and was horrified to hear a loud bang. A three foot split had appeared in the for’ard end of the garboard. Following discussions with Paul, it was agreed that this could be repaired in situ.

First of the new garboards go in, May 2011

Several conversations over recent months have resulted in sourcing two more loads of larch. The first has been brought from Mel Skeets, purchased from JK. It transpires that some more good lengths, originally purchased to restore ‘Clytie’, and stored at Robertsons yard in the care of Clarkie for the past ten years, was also available. With assistance from Paul Batey, and two trips courtesy of Paul Masters and his trailer, Steve has re-stocked the pile beside the tent. He’s returned to Derbyshire, leaving Paul to catch up with the delayed planking on port and starboard sides.

After leaving Woodbridge in early June, confident that Paul would be able to complete most of the planking as he’d just finished his previous commission, there was a series of phonecalls . . . The strong winds at the end of June meant Paul left work early one evening, returning to find that all his power tools had been stolen overnight. He was then told to dismantle his own tent, since it was empty, and, to ‘add insult to injury’ in the process of struggling to do this alone, he fell from his ladder . . . fortunately, he’s not injured, and we hope he’ll be able to start work again soon.

Paint stripping by Process Media Tech Ltd., using the Farrows System

After long discussions and lots of research we decide to remove all paint and anti-foul from the hull. Kevin arrived on another bright Spring morning in March 2007 to start work. After a day’s concentrated work spraying with ‘volcanic sand, freshly heated water and low pressurised air’, ‘Cachalot’ was looking very different, there’s no going back now!

We spent the evening as new members at the East Coast OGA Annual Dinner, Royal Burnham YC, and had a most enjoyable time meeting lots of new people from the local area.

We return to Derbyshire, leaving Paul to do some exploratory work during March. As more planks are removed and frames inspected, it becomes clear that the problems extend to more than just the counter. We’ll always remember the night Paul phoned to tell us, with some hesitancy in his voice, the bad news as he took more of the rotten wood out: archboard, beam shelf, frames, deck beams and probably worse as we expose more of the hull. There’s been more long and anguished discussions about what to do: shall we just call it a day, forget about her and do something else, put it all down to experience? No! We all agreed to go ahead and restore ‘Cachalot’ – so where do we start?