Summer's Over

Having been battling with the cover for the last month or so, we have now got a watertight cover, having layered stitched up sails over the tarpaulins to hold the whole thing together. Tomorrow's low pressure may well change all that....

On the inside, we have started taking out the metal floors forward. Having considered all the options we have gone back to the more expensive but most reliable option of getting bronze floors cast. Using the old floors, we have made templates to get cast at a local foundry, in batches of 15 (there are apporox. 45 in all). This enables us to keep the structure of Fedoa safe, and we will be working from bow to stern. While the forward floors are out, we now have to release the front of the planks off the stem so we can replace the rotten sections there. Once that is replaced we can then refasten the planks and replace the smaller elm frames, which we have decided to do with laminated iroko to give us strength and shape. In this forward section these will be replaced entirely, while as we move aft there is a lot of good timber, so we will be scarfing new lower sections into the existing elm The larger frames are assembled from heavy section oak futtocks, which we will be replacing like for like where necessary with locally grown European Oak from the Isle of Wight.

While all this opening up is going on at the bow, we will also need to replace the few planks that have to be done at the bottom of the boat. We will be using iroko here, which we ordered with the timber for the frames to save costs. We be replacing around 10 planks on each side, from the garboard up.

Having spent time studying the drawings one of our other fears has been confirmed. We set up a reference line taken up off the deck and have found that the forward end of the boat has kept it's shape well even though the boat was left on a very short cradle with no support at either end. Unfortunately that is not the case aft, where the long counter has dropped considerably having had no props over the rear 20 ft for the last 10 years.

We have a number of acros in place to hold the shape, and will need to raise the counter over time, probably involving some major surgery on the stern post. Inside it can be seen that the frames have opened up a bit aft so it is a good time to move things before she is refastened.

So that will keep us quiet for a bit! Next thing is some decent lighting before the clocks go back....

Out with the old....

We have made good progress this month, completing the careful removal of the interior, taking out and labelling all the worthwhile interior furniture, while also heaving a lot into the skip. A bit of time has then been spent cleaning out general debris, rot and rust to enable us to see the extent of the damage.

The surveyor is booked in for September, so we can hear all the bad tidings he has to tell us. Most of it is fairly apparent, but we need to ensure everything goes back in in accordance with Lloyd's/ MCA / etc so we don't have to do it twice. I also have a slight suspicion that Fedoa has marginally hogged at the stern. A strange kink in the sheer could be just due to a warped bulwark / toe rail - let's hope so....

To counter the destruction of the interior we have assembled a scaffold and cover to keep the boat dry.

Initial Findings

Plastic boat mayhem in Cowes this week has given us a chance to put a few days aside and start having a more thorough look at Fedoa. Due to "worst case scenario" thinking we haven't uncovered anything too frightening....

Fedoa's main problem is that the metal floors throughout the boat were made from steel plate. Whether through electrolysis / galvanic corrosion, old age, or a combination of the 2, the corrosion is extensive, and has rotted the oak frames underneath the metalwork along the keel(also at less frequent intervals along the beam shelf). We will therefore be replacing all the steel with new - depending on metal compatability - bronze, galvanised or a.n.other metal floors. Once this and the rotten frames have been sorted, the keel will be removed so the timber can be replaced, and then the stem, and possibly the sternpost will need to be renewed. Following this the fastenings will be checked and replaced where necessary, before thinking about the fitting out.

The plan at this stage is to carefully strip out all the interior. You will see from the photos that we have started this, labelling anything original so that it can be refitted at a later date. The main saloon area and navigator's cabin are panelled in European oak, with the owner's cabin aft finished in mahogany. Pitch pine has been used extensively throughout, with the deck and deckbeams as well as the joinery carcassing and beaded tongue and groove being made from it. We are hoping that underneath a more recent ply and grp deck the pitch pine is good (looks ok from a cursory inspection from inside the boat) and we can re-lay another laid deck in pitch pine over the top once the ply has come off.

The history of Fedoa is very patchy and we are chasing various leads to see what we can piece together. We know she was built in Bute in 1926, and we know she was being sailed in The Solent in '53 - '54. I found some graffiti on a frame underneath the mahogany slatting in the owner's cabin aft that would suggest she was in Miami, Florida in 1962! There is then a gap until she was registered with Guernsey Registry of British Ships in December 2001. We know she was brought in the the UK around then to be restored, but the owner unfortunately discovered modern boats soon after and lost interest! Since then she has been dry stored with a good cover, so I think the main corrosion and delapidation probably happen while she was being stored somewhere the other side of the Atlantic. Hopefully the gaps will be filled in as we find the relevant people from her past.

Thank you for the information that has supplied so far, from Mylne enthusiasts, Yacht Clubs and Associations.

Until the next Blog.

Patrick.

Safely in Cowes!

Check out the footage!

After a few false starts, problems with ferries and cranes, the day for Fedoa's move across the Solent finally came. We decided for cost, ease and to minimise the 'risk of sinking' she should come by road so on Thursday 16th July she was lifted, towed and ferried to the Isle of Wight. We are happy to report she is now safely in her new home - Samuel Whites Yard in West Cowes. Moreton Marine is due to start work on her shortly!

Beken Pictures

A few inspiring pictures of the lovely Fedoa in her prime taken by Beken of Cowes. It might take us a while but one day Beken will take more stunning pictures of Fedoa sailing in Cowes. Watch this space...

Sudden Rush of Blood to the Head!

Waaahhhooo!!!!

After a nail biting morning in front of the online auction, Fedoa is OURS and we find ourselves the proud owners of a 59' rather rotten but stunningly beautiful wooden yacht...!! We've had a week for reality to set in and to research all the interesting, possible and 'wing and a prayer' ways of getting her back to the Island because of course at the moment she doesn't float!!

Anyway this is the very first step on the way to our dream...our little daughter Stella is a water baby so maybe sailing around the world is not such a mad proposition after all...especially now we have a home...let's just hope we set sail before Stella starts university!!

Will keep you up to date as things develop...I have yet to meet the lovely lady but from P's enthusiastic rants (and pictures below) I just know I'm going to fall in love with her too.

Anna