Three weeks ago, we moved from lofting to Big Boat Boatbuilding, starting with making and fitting new quarter knees and refashioning some floors on Lilian.
The Lilian is a 25ft. open motor launch built in 1932 by Hincks Boat builders of Appledore in North Devon. She was commissioned by Mr. Plumber, the owner of the Anchor Hotel at Porlock Weir, to take guests on sightseeing tours of the Exmoor coastline, pick up passengers from the paddle steamers Waverley and Balmoral and bring them ashore for cream teas etc. Later, she was used for commercial fishing until 1984, and has been in private use since then.
She is of Carvel construction, and was built with Larch on Oak with a solid Elm stern and was powered by a three cylinder diesel engine.
With a new keel, new planks, and new timbers (ribs), there is little left of the original boat, but she still has her frames and some deadwood structures.
Our first job was to fit a pair of Quarter Knees. Think of the hind quarters of a horse or cow, and you can understand the nomenclature and siting of these knees (brackets).
After making a plywood template for the required shape, wooden blocks (cleats) are bolted to a worktop, and the laminates are coated with glue, and then clamped in place for 24 hours.
To fix the knee in place, pilot holes were drilled, and thick copper nails driven through. We used three 6 inch nails from stock, but needed some longer ones as well, so I made three longer nails from 6mm copper rod. Domed copper washes are then driven down over the nail, and excess material is cut off the protruding nail, which is then ‘peined’ over the washer, creating a rivet-like fixing.
If knees aren’t what you’d think them to be, then floors are still less so. You don’t stand on the floors of a boat, you stand on the deck. The floors are strong structural timbers that lie across the bottom part of the boat, to which the planks are screwed.
Due to the movement of the shape of the boat in its restoration from a very dilapidated state, the floors and frames are no longer fitting properly. The gaps under ‘my’ floor were up to 10mm in size. In addition, the Limber Holes, that allow big water to flow along the boat and not collect in pockets, were too wide. By scribing a line parallel to the inside of the hull, the floor was re-shaped, and Graving Pieces were fitted to reduce the size of the limber holes, so that there was sufficient wood to take a screw through the plank below.
Having got a good fit, I drilled a hole through the frame and keel, and made a bolt out of 1/2 inch silicon-bronze rod (using a die to make a thread for the first time in over 40 yrs!).
These were two projects that were veery challenging at times, but equally satisfying to complete. I have gained lots of useful experience in various techniques: laminating, fitting to complex bevels, making copper nails, roving copper nails, scribing wood to fit curves, making bolts, drilling 8 inch holes accurately ….
In the last few days, I have started working on another boat: Tom Sherrin – a Poole Pilot Launch. This is another long-term restoration project. I have been tasked to undertake a repair on her keel.
Don’t be thinking that this wood is rotten. The wood is solid, despite the large defect. In fact, the central part of the knot is as hard as bog oak. Just goes to show that salt water alone doesn’t rot wood – it’s being left in fresh water that rots wood.
A new arrival
Hello
Lovely to see Lillian being restored. I am on Holiday at Porlock Weir at the moment and remember Lillian from my childhood when she was used by Preston Ley and his brother Arthur Ley the harbour master at the time. A pretty boat. As a classic wooden boat owner myself it is interesting to see Lillian like my boat had a knotty Keel though fortunately i cannot see through mine (yet!)
Keep up the good work.
Kind Regards
Richard
Thank you Richard. Sadly, BTC Portsmouth ceases to exist in Feb 2023 when the current cohort of students complete their courses. PNBPT did not feel that they could continue to subsidise the annual shortfall in income vs expenses. I did try to lobby the CEO and Trustees, but to no avail. I don’t know what will become of Lilian. All very sad. I am glad that my earlier-than-planned retirement meant that I was able to do the course I had long dreamed of doing, and it is great to be able to apply what I have learnt as I build a small clinker dinghy an make other wood projects. There are many IBTC Portsmouth graduates who are working in the trade, which is super. Best wishes,
Stuart
Thank you Richard. Sadly, IBTC Portsmouth closes in February next year when the current cohort finishes their course. PNBPT decided that they could no longer subsidise a loss making college and, despite my lobbying the CEO and the trustees, the decision to close went ahead. I do not know what is going to happen with Lillian – I think there is still a lot to be done on her. It’s all very sad.
Thankfully, my early retirement and allowed me to complete the course that I had long dreamed of doing, and I am enjoying building a small clinker dinghy and completing other woodworking projects. It is great good to know that many of the graduates of IBTC Portsmouth are working in the trade.
Where are you based and what boat do you sail?
Best wishes, Stuart
Hello Stuart
Many thanks for your reply, much appreciated.
Sad news re closure, hopefully a home can be found for Lillian an advert in Classic Boat is an option if sale is feasible, she has good provenance. I had a 14’ launch Hinckley by the same builder as Lillian which I brought from someone in Porlock, due to lack of time I sold her to someone who lived on the Thames. Glad to hear you are building a clinker boat or clinker sinker as they are known in our family! I have a 16’ clinker day boat built by Vic Pratt in Kings Lynn in 1972 with Stuart Turner, a pretty boat with a high bow for short choppy north sea waves. Ihave done a fair bit of work on her over the years, always a joy! Stored out of water in winter, we take it to St Just every summer where it attempts to sink every year, hence clinker sinker! This year I have sealed seams with Polysulphone sealant, a travesty i know but it made this years holiday a joy!
I have been involved with boats from the age of 5, my father had many, many boats over the years. And for a time converted trawlers into trawler yachts and then built grp fishing boats which were sold all over Europe. I worked doing this for a few years mainly on engineering side, great times and visited many timber fishing boat builders, I remember visiting Herd and Mackenzie in Buckie and watching them steaming and fitting 3” x 10” oak planking from the steamer on a new build 70’ trawler, quite an operation, they made it all look so easy though their accents were so strong it was difficult to tell what they were saying at times.
I hope you enjoy your retirement and some boating
Kind Regards
Richard
Thanks Richard,
Sorry for delay in writing, but I have been swamped with spam all of a sudden. Hopefully I have managed to get an effective solution in place. It must have been a fantastic sight, seeing those 3′ planks being steamed and fixed. The Sail Cargo project is on Instagram and well worth a look as they are really building big!
Best wishes
Stuart
Hi Richard,
Just to let you know that the blog is up and running on a new server. Just type talesfromtheboatshed into Google and you will access the blog. I’m not sure that you can register for notifications at this stage, but if not I will ask Steve to see if that can be arranged.
Best wishes
Stuart