Back to Work...

It's been a while - but we've been busy...

For those of you who have been following progress, you'll be aware that we had a minor setback when the 'boatshed' blew away. Well now we have a rather splendid (and much more substantial) construction:


This was erected by John and Will of Sussex Logs who deserve a shameless plug for the great job they did - thanks chaps!

During the extended period of grim weather, a new transom plate was fabricated by my good friend and neighbour, Neil.


Heavy, mirror finish, A4 stainless and engineered to perfection, it certainly looks the part. It was designed slightly oversize compared to the original, to avoid using the same screw holes.

An additional smaller plate will be made up for the inside of the splash well to spread the load of the outboard bracket fixings and avoid those neat little rings being punched into the transom.

I also had a rethink on my helm design. As opposed to just bolting everything to the existing fibreglass dash, I shaped, routed and vinyl-covered a piece of 12mm ply on to which to mount the helm and instruments. Prior to covering, I epoxied countersunk screws into the board which will allow blind fitting from the rear. This will make removal, adding additional instruments etc. much more convenient - it also looks quite attractive.


Following a wealth of useful advice gleaned from the CMBA forum, I've now removed all the paint from the foredeck, ready for application of the teak and holly laminate. A template was made and the laminate has been cut to size (pictures to follow).


This will be bonded using West Systems epoxy of the appropriate consistency. It's the next job on the list but is very weather/temperature dependant.


I was lucky enough to win the CMBA 10th Anniversary logo competition - and spent a pleasant day at the National Motorboat Museum at Basildon, to receive my reward and meet fellow lunatics - sorry - enthusiasts at the same time. There are some fantastic, historic boats there - well worth a visit.

Finally, we have settled on a name for the Broom - she is to be called...
We quite liked the Italianesque (?) feel and it's short enough to fit on the limited transom space (or it could be my wife's penchant for expensive footwear from a certain manufacturer of the same name:-))

So, let's hope the better weather is finally here and work can continue apace.

If all goes well the next update should not be too far away and will detail the fitting of the aforementioned foredeck laminate.