Restoration
Projects
Gallant Maid
circa 1969 11 Ton Hillyard Ketch Restoration
Gallant Maid is currently being restored by John Hamilton and June
Cockton at the River Brede Moorings, Rye, East Sussex. All being
well the plan is to have her back in the water by the spring 2008. As
you can see by the photos punctuating this article there has been
plenty of hard work put in to the project to date. June and John write,
"I'm sure lots of other Hillyard Owners will only understand to well
the love they have for their boats. Love, sweat and tears....."
" Who says Hillyards can't fly...." A photo of Gallant Maid being
craned from the hard standing at her moorings to a nearby field whilst
work was carried out By the Environment Agency on local flood defences.
Note the trustee tyre on her bow that kept her covers on throughout the
recent bad weather.
A further picture shows John ' King of the Corkers (sic. Caulkers) hard
at work.
I am sure all Hillyard Owners reading this will offer their best wishes
and support to this fine looking restoration project.
Ancient &
Unknown 3 or 4 Ton Hillyard - Project
Please find below some photographs of an ongoing project submitted to
the site by Brian Cooper. (ex Lady Pamela J)
Brian writes:
I have been to the
boat again and searched thoroughly for a name or number but no luck.
The bilges are
painted black-possibly tar? Most planking is sound but some work is
needed on port side/forward twixt hog and adjacent planking over a
length of about 3 feet. Most other work-although extensive-is cosmetic
plus complete recaulking.
Keel bolts need
tightening but seem in order inside hull (those which I could access).
The mast appears
solid. The sails are there, with a tare repair needed near the peak of
the mainsail.
I have not so far
been able to find a (free!) resting place for the yacht. There is the
usual yard accommodation down here (but at a price!).
LETONA
Twenty years ago I persuaded my friend Howard Nixon to partner me on
the restoration of a tiny little cutter called TEXA, which had been
under a tarpaulin on the beach at Tayvallich in Argyll for as long as
anyone could remember. The project took us nine months – that’s another
story – but I am happy to say that TEXA is still very much in use, and
that Howard and I are still friends.
Having spent the last few seasons skipping around Loch Sween in a
petrol-powered Shetland, I was beginning to have notions about
returning to the glory of sail. I was half-looking at GKs and Sonatas,
thinking how much fun my family could have off Scotland’s west coast in
something fast, safe and comfortable enough for overnight stops,
without having to worry too much about maintenance.
I don’t spend much time on the internet, but have been occasionally
compelled to scour the Projects section of boatsandoutboards.co.uk in
the vain hope that something very useful might be going very cheap,
very close to home. And in June, it was. FREE TO A GOOD HOME the advert
announced – seducing me into clicking for more information.
The last thing on my mind was another wooden boat in need of
restoration, but sometimes one must listen to the heart, rather than
the head. A Hillyard 9-tonner awaited a new owner, 15 miles away in
Ardfern. We went to look at her. All I could picture was the image of
her anchored off Tiree sent to me by the heartbroken but pragmatic
owners. All my wife Mandy could picture were the other images sent by
email: sections of planking missing from sheer to waterline on both
sides, afterdeck removed and hood ends sprung from the sternpost. All
our daughter Niamh could picture was a vision of herself at the helm,
dressed as a pirate captain and muttering nautical nonsense. She’s
eight.
We had a week’s holiday in Cornwall (where it is almost impossible to
escape from boats) during which Mandy agreed to let Howard assess the
project’s viability, and to be guided by his opinion. Well, you’re
reading this in the HOA Newsletter, so we reached the right decision.
LETONA has now been moved to A&R Way’s boatyard in Lochgilphead,
where I will work on her as time, inclination and money allow. There’s
a lot to do, but I’m confident that I can do most of the work myself.
If I get really stuck I can call on the professionals, and I will
certainly be very grateful for handy hints from Hillyard owners.
Letona on The Road
Wanted Portholes
Detailed
below is a request form member Xavier Kormann owner of 9 Tonner Sarkl
who is currently based in France
Hello,
We are
French and we own a 12 ton sloop build in 1964 .Is name is
SARKL.
We
complete restored the boat: 60% of the hull is new,we used 5000 copper
rivet,we also changed the decks and roofs.
I like to
change the portholes but I have difficulty finding them.
Maybe would
you be kind to help me for the search.
They can be
in stainless steel or brass.
The
dimensions are 600 x 200 4 units and 400 x 200 4 units
Thanks you
in advance
M. KORMANN
Please contact Xavier via evasport@wanadoo.fr
Hillyard Ketch -
SYLVIG ex. Gyngleboy
Please follow the attached link to see some stunning restoration images
and associated story.
An inspiration from new member
Arne
Sylvester
http://sylvig.dk
Alice - 2 1/2
Ton
Part One
Owner - Will Fennell
Just to let you know my plan for my lovely little hillyard 2.5!
last year I purchased Alice, believed to be 1936, but definately a
Hillyard
2.5. She was owned by the secretary at Aldeburgh boat Yard, Suffolk,
where I
am a boat builder. She hasn't been afloat for 3 years but I am in the
process of giving her a quick spruce up so i can enjoy a summer with
her for
the first time.
At the Aldeburgh Boat Yard we specialize in classic restoration, mainly
in
the meter boat classes. Recent projects include 8 meter 'If', 6 meters
Maida, Jo, Abu and Houri. 5 meter 'Indian', 50 sq seafart cruiser
'Hiltgund'
and Alfred Mylne yawl 'Gudgeon'. Yard owner Peter Wilson is also
currently
building a modern (wood composite) 8 meter for himself.
A quick look over 'Alice' reveals that although she is a delightful
little
boat, she suffers from what I am told is a common problem in the 2.5
ton
class, that of low standard joinery and general finishing. The hull
however
is in superb condition. The entire back bone is sound, no cracked
timbers or
floors and all well fastened.
Therefore my plan for winter 2006 is to 'lift her lid!' and replace the
deck,
coach roof and any deck beams which refuse to part company with the
current,
rather flimsy deck. I also plan to fit a very small inboard diesel
engine
with offset prop, and maybe if my budget and spare time will stretch to
it,
a hollow wooden mast.
I was pondering replacing the coach roof from the moment i got Alice,
but I
was swayed when the current owners of the afore mentioned Mylne yawl
'Gudgeon' handed me a Tesco bag with 4 bronze port holes in it! Not
only are
they simply fantastic to look at, they were the 1920 originals from
gudgeon
which the surveyor rejected during the restoration, despite having
twice
been trans Atlantic! So Alice having square windows, of course needs a
new
lid to fit round ones, decision made!
I will endevour to keep you informed with words and pictures during
next
winter and of course if you or any other HOA members are in Aldeburgh
please
feel free to drop in. There is always something interesting going on!
Regards
Will Fennell
Aldeburgh Boat Yard Co Ltd.
Part
Two
I'm not sure whether
to call this project a restoration? I think a project
becomes a restoration when and if the deck comes off the boat and in
this
case I have stopped just short of that!
I took Alice out of the water when the very expensive bilge pump i
installed
which was keeping her afloat packed up. Having sailed the entire summer
with
a more than damp bilge I started to get an idea of what I was in for
this
winter/spring.
As soon as Alice was out of the water I took the opportunity to drop
the keel
off. All the nuts came off the bolts with no real problem and before
the
boat was dry from her scrub the keel was on the floor. The hard crumbly
layer of white lead stuck to the bearing surface of the keel showed
immediately the cause of the wet bilge. what was probably a good soft
seal
between lead keel and wood keel 70 years ago is now a chocolate tea
pot.
After giving the keel bolts some welly on the anvil they showed no sign
of
deterioration or metal fatigue so will be reused in the spring.
With no room for Alice in the shed I have had to build a tent over her
outside. This has worked really well so far standing up to a nearly
full
gale.
The first job in the tent was removing the coach roof. this was quite
quick
and was shortly followed by the cockpit and 3 bulkheads. All have been
kept
in one piece for patterning because they were nicely fitted but very
tired.
I started stripping the layers and layers of paint from the cockpit
area and
when I had done so I had a good poke at the areas susceptible to rot. I
found the usual water logged timber ends and some over generous use of
sitka
flex on the hood ends, but the real heart sinker was the stern knee.
from
my short season sailing Alice i knew there was a leak from somewhere
around
there. Some good poking with a screwdriver showed the stern knee and
floor
on it to be very soft indeed. I decided I would never get a better
opportunity to replace it, so out it must come. The 5 bronze bolts all
came
out easily bar one, which had to be drilled out. lots of screws were
taken
out of the planking near the hood ends, and after some grunt with a
prise bar
the knee popped out.
I'm glad I did take it out because all the bolts holding it in fell
apart on
the anvil, the stern post was behind the knee was wet and the knee
itself
had seen much better days. The stern post is now drying out nicely and
I
have made a new knee. when I am satisfied everything has dried out well
and
I have done the necessary work on the hood ends I will fit the new knee
and
repaired floor. I will fasten with new bronze bolts and bed on sitka
flex.
I will try to keep you up to date.
Sorry about the essay, please feel free to edit where you feel
necessary!
Regards
Will Fennell
6th November 2006
