October and November 2013

A less exciting but essential couple of months have been spent suring up the hull.  With the main skeleton of Fedoa back in place the aft has to be completed by finishing off the remainder of the laminated iroko frames as well as fitting the last of the new green oak futtocks.  These have all gone in as of the end of November, using every crooked bit of oak available from the Isle of Wight woodlands and forests - the storms in mid November provided us with the last 3 logs of 8 necessary to get the frames finished aft!

In preparation for refastening or replacing the planks that have been removed whilst the stern post was being replaced, the outside of the frames have been faired, and the keel and sternpost rebate / apron worked into the right shape to accept the planking.  December should see all this planking going back in.

We have also removed the aft deck and introduced timber floors from the sternpost aft along the top of the horn timber to stiffen up the transom.

The refastening has been a long and painstaking job, which Simon and Steve have undertaken without complaint.  They have been very thorough inspecting and testing every fastening to make sure any that needed replacing have been found and changed for the necessary nail, rod or screw.  This is still ongoing in early December, but the end is in sight....

The 2nd batch of bronzefloors have been collected from the foundry ready to be fitted after all the planking has gone back in.  The templates for the last batch are being made at the moment for the rear section of the keel, and these will be cast next month ready to go in as we prepare to remove the lead keel in the New Year.

September 2013

The last structural piece of the hull jigsaw went in this month, with the new sternpost being made and fitted. 

Two pieces of very clean grained oak 12 ft x 12" x 6" were used.  These were shaped before being rebated into the wood keel.  This has made a very strong joint at the bottom, with the top of the sternpost being tied into the new horn timbers which run off up to the transom. A new knee has also gone in between the sternpost and the keel to ensure there is absolutely no movement. 

Areas of concern in the wood keel have been addressed, and we have laminated new timber onto the sides of the keel to ensure a strong and watertight seal along the bottom of the garboards.

The knee aft has been notched out ready to take the remaining frames.  Due to amount of frames and planks being replaced at the aft end by the sternpost we are having to run battens through to give us the right shape of the new frames as they go in.  We are over 90% done on the oak frames and laminated iroko ribs, and will have this all completed very soon.  Aft of the stern post a couple of the frames into horn timber needed replacing, which were also done this month.

Templates were completed for 15 bronze floors and delivered to the foundry in Lymington in the last week of September.   These will be made and delivered back before the end of October ready to tie everything back together.

We have been burning off the old paint inside the hull (a very tedious and noxious job) to reveal every detail of the hull.  No gremlins have been uncovered, but we have noticed that there are some areas where the fastenings are no longer in A1 condition, so there will be areas of the original planking that need to be refastened once we have completed replacing everything.  Removal of the old paint is really brightening up the inside of the boat

A bit of the planking has been replaced in the midships area, leaving just the planks going into the sternpost to be done next month.

 I visited the Southampton Boat Show earlier in the month, and we had some very interesting conversations with the various engine manufacturers and suppliers.  The concenus is that a simple torquey diesel engine such as a Perkins would be the best for powering Fedoa.  Looking at our options, the best place for the engine looks like in the saloon.  This would put it under the main removable hatch and make it very practical for access, servicing and repair.  It is possible to get the engine down under the floor, but this would make access hard, and involve complicated and expensive gearbox options.  The best idea seems to be a well insulated compartment under the floor with a box that becomes the base for the saloon table above.  This could be coupled with a small generator further forward so that the main engine does need to be run when in port / at anchor.   

July and August 2013

"Things are going well on Fedoa.  We all took a week off last week during Cowes Week, but July was very productive."

The front end is now all tied in.  All the planking that needed replacing has been, and the frames, knightheads, and breast hook also replaced.  This will get faired in when all the hull has been re planked and fastened, before splining the topsides and caulking below the waterline.

The replacing of the ribs and frames is continuing through the boat, with the areas around the chain plates being concentrated on this week.  We are getting through a lot of oak with the method we are using following the curve of the grain to give us strength, but luckily we have a good source of oak grown on the Island.

We re-levelled the boat in mid-July and found that she has in fact held her shape better than we first thought.  

The stern post was eased out today, with the boat being well supported so nothing moved as the strength was taken out.  We can now realign everything at the stern as per the original drawings before starting to fasten everything back in later this month.

We have inspected the deck and established how this will go back together with a 3 layer system providing extra strength and stiffness to the boat.

August was another successful month on Fedoa:

"Having meticulously prepared the boat for removal of the stern post we were able to get it out without any movement.  We have now realigned the back end using the cradle which we fabricated last month, and the timber is now being replaced where necessary and the boat reassembled.  New horn timbers and supporting frames went in this week and we are now ready to make and fit the new stern post with the beautiful bits of green oak we have ready.

 

The grown oak futtocks are going in well and we can feel the strength returning to the hull.  The laminated ribs are also fitting well, and we have started making the templates for the bronze floors which will go in to tie the hull, frames and the keel together.  These are being cast in batches, with the first batch having been done already, and the next 15 or so being cast at the end of the month.

The Southampton Boat Show is in September at which all the trade suppliers will be exhibiting, so I am going over with the marine engineer to start sourcing the engine and ancillaries.  We will soon be thinking about getting all this positioned in the boat, and fabricating the necessary fittings ready for installation.

We are all enjoying the project greatly, and getting great job satisfaction seeing the boat go back together to a really high standard."

Fedoa Team Members

Patrick Moreton

Patrick set up Moreton Marine in September 2005, soon after moving to the Isle of Wight.  The classic yacht scene has always been lively in the Solent area and particularly in Cowes, which has kept Patrick and the team at Moreton Marine busy on various projects from full classic restorations to repairs and maintenance on boats from 13 ft to 100 ft, as well as the woodwork on more modern yachts.  Have a look at www.moretonmarine.co.uk for more details of the projects they have been involved in over the last 8 years.

Prior to moving to Cowes, Patrick and his wife Anna lived on board their own classic yacht, sailing around the Caribbean, Atlantic and back to Europe before settling in Cowes.  This itinerant life provided some interesting work experience, including 2 years boatbuilding in the Naval Dockyard in Bermuda, four months in English Harbour, Antigua working on visiting yachts including J-Class and Super yachts, and a year in Cape Town building and fitting out two new build yachts.

Before becoming a boatbuilder, Patrick was a ship broker in London, having graduated with an Honours Degree from Plymouth University in 1997.  Although interesting, the office environment soon lost its appeal, and he spent a year in Suffolk at the International Boatbuilding Training College (IBTC) doing a traditional boatbuilding course having always had an interest in Classic Yachts and some boatbuilding experience from part time work while at University.   Patrick is also a helm on the Cowes RNLI lifeboat.

Adrian Brooks

Adrian completed his apprenticeship with W.A.Souters of Cowes in 1975, and has been a self-employed boat builder since then.  Projects with Souters included boats for the Aga Khan and Sir Max Aitkin, as well as gun boats, lifeboats and customs launches.  During the 1980's Adrian worked on major refits and rebuilds in Cowes, including the Alfred Mylne designed "Kelpie" and a Looe Lugger - "Our Boys".

More recently Adrian spent 2 years as lead shipwright on the keel up rebuild of "Zoraida", a Dixon Kemp gentleman's cutter built on the Thames in 1888.  SInce 2008 Adrian has been working as a shipwright in Yarmouth where Simon Miskin had already been working for a number of years, where projects have included rebuilding a 1930's cruiser, as well as making a new topmast for "Elenora", from timber to being rigged in 7 days!

Adrian also finds time to run a small holding and is a fully trained steel fabricator.

Adrian and Simon have both joined Moreton Marine specifically to work on the Fedoa Restoration.

Simon Miskin

Simon also started his boatbuilding career in Souters in 1986 and remained there for 5 years.  He then moved to Yarmouth and worked for Harold Hayles Boatyard doing restoration work on various boats including Donald Campbell's "Bluebird", and Sigrid, another large Gentleman's Cruiser built by Camper and Nicholsons in 1920.  Hestayed in Yarmouth and worked at Yarmouth Marine Services for 12 years, working on projects including Camperdown, building the newbuild Yarmouth 23s as well as various other restorations.  Last year he build a wooden scow from scratch.

Simon is a fisherman, kayaker and sailor, and like many Islanders spends plenty of his spare time on the water.

Steven Sheath

Steve joined us at Moreton Marine in 2011 as an apprentice looking to move into Woodwork and traditional boatbuilding.  He had previous marine experience with a boat haul out facility and a commercial boatbuilders.  Since joining us he has picked up many useful skills and is proving to be a very useful hand.  He has now finished his apprenticeship and is a useful member of our team.  Steve claims to be an excellent fisherman going out into the Channel, although we are yet to see evidence of these claims!

Paul Graves

Paul joined us in April this year, having recently completed a one year practical boatbuilding course at the International Boatbuilding Training College in Suffolk, from which he graduated early this year with a distinction.  This is an intensive traditional boatbuilding course encompassing everything from lofting out plans right through laying a keel, planking and fit-out, to finishing a classic yacht.

Since working here he plunged straight in and has already contributed to both classic and new-build projects, and is now full time on the Fedoa project.

Prior to entering the world of wooden boats Paul was a tree surgeon, as well as having an Honours Degree in Agriculture.   He is a keen climber and musician.

Martin Nott

Martin has entered the World of Boatbuilding as a second career after 30 years working on Motor Racing Magazines.  He still works as a publishing consultant to a number of magazines including Classic Boat.

He graduated from Lyme Regis Boatbuilding Academy in 2011, where he built a replica of a Charles Sibbick designed half rater from 1897. He also owns Witch, a 36 ft Sibbick yacht from 1902 which he has been restoring while working with us at Moreton Marine.  Projects he has helped with since joining us in early 2012 include Restoration work on a 50' Rhodes Yawl, interior furniture for a 65' newbuild and replanking on a 40' river launch.

Gaps in Fedoa's History

We are in the process of piecing together Fedoa’s history, and previous

owners and other sources have helped us to ascertain the following:

1927 – 1934 (?)

Col. William Wordie OBE, of Greenock.

Chairman of William Wordie & Co,

Scotland’s largest carriers and hauliers.

1934  – 1952 (?)

Baron Joseph Paton Maclay, of Glasgow.

Chairman of Maclay and Macintyre Shipping,

member of the Privy Council.

1952- 1962 (?)

Arthur Golden (No Information)

1962 – 1982

April and Ken Rowell, Miami, Florida

1982 – 1996

Frank and Hildoris Bradley, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

(Denny Allen (No Information))

1996 - 2001

Sam and Jennifer Elder, St Petersburg, Florida

In 2001 Fairlie Restorations collected the boat on behalf of a new owner, and shipped her back to the River Hamble in preparation for a full restoration.  This never happened and Moreton Marine found Fedoa tucked away under a cover at the back of a yard there in 2009.

Does anybody know any more information about her history?  Anymore details would be gratefully received at info@moretonmarine.co.uk.

Thank you 

Patrick.

13 is a Lucky Number

Good Day,

Apologies for the very long delay in posting on Fedoa's Blog.  2013 has been a great year for Fedoa.  Having decided to market Fedoa as a restoration project for a willing new owner instead of continuing the project alongside the day to day running of Moreton Marine, we were visited last October by Nat Wilson from IBTC Boatbuilding College in East Anglia.  Nat had a client that was looking for a boat fitting Fedoa's description as a restoration project to be ready for 2015.  We had a very constructive day discussing the project with Nat, and following a visit to Fedoa from his client in December 2012, we
re-started the project in June 2013 with a team of 5.

Our estimated time scale is 2 years, and as you will see from our following posts, we are well on the way with a cracking pace being set at the start of the project.  Our initial target was to get the hull structrully sound again by Christmas this year.....