TORPOINT MOSQUITO SAILING CLUB

Cruising Section

CRAIGOWER – THE STORY

   My good friend Dave Maddison and I have rebuilt and rode British motorcycles for the last 30 years or so, but age has eventually caught up with us and our legs are no good anymore for kicking the engines over so we both gave up our long time hobby. In about June 2008 Dave said to me one evening that he was thinking of building a wooden sailing boat, he being an ex Dockyard shipwright. Having owned an Alacrity sailing boat some years earlier I said that the only way that I would own another boat would be in some form of share as the costs of running a boat are quite high. Dave said that would be OK by him so the search for a suitable boat commenced, which took us to most of the local boatyards.

Our criteria for a boat was that it must have an inboard engine with electric start and a sea toilet, as I said we are both getting on a bit. We both wanted a large cockpit so we could take our family out. After looking at many overpriced boats we started to settle on a Hurley 24, I having sailed Ralph Smiths’ Hurley 22 for the last 8 years or so was very impressed with it.  Having viewed a few Hurley 24’s in Plymouth without success I visited the Hurley 24 website and found that there was one for sale down at Gweek boatyard at the head of the Helford river so off we set. Again, it seemed quite expensive for £7k with leaking windows and not in very good condition so we decided to go to the pub across the road for lunch and on the way out of the boatyard we noticed a twin keeler which had a propeller sticking out from underneath indicating that it had an inboard engine.

Over lunch we discussed how we would use the boat, and decided that most of our sailing would be within the river and breakwater. Mark Swain’s boat had recently broken away from her moorings and spent a few nights on the mud in Stonehouse creek, but being a twin keel boat came out of the incident unscathed, so we thought perhaps a twin keeler would be probably better for us.  Back at the boatyard we asked to see the twin keel boat that we noticed on our way out. It was in a sorry state with green moss all over it from spending years under the trees. The young sales girl told us that it was an Islander 23 and was owned by an ‘old guy’ who use to cruise it with his wife but sadly she had died and at first he could not get rid of it but after about four years he decided it was time to sell it.

Inside was a complete mess, the engine was missing and we ask the girl to check if the engine was in one piece or stripped down for repair. It had a separate toilet compartment with a porta loo type toilet, so our second criterion was almost met. It also had a big fibreglass pimple on the stern that we later discovered was for an outboard motor contraption that would lift the outboard clear of the water. Dave and I actually nick named it ‘the wreck’ and referred to it as such in conversation. After about a further week of looking for a boat we returned to Gweek for another look at ‘the wreck’. Looking past the mess we could see a boat that could be restored to a very useful first boat. It came with an inflatable dinghy, two outboards, furling headsail, compass and autopilot, so we would have all we need to get on the water and start sailing. From the outset we had also wanted a boat that we could use our woodworking skills to improve and with this boat we realised that we had quite a lot of work. An offer was made and accepted and so a few days later we returned to Gweek with my trailer to clear out the boat. As the seller was an ‘old guy’ I thought I would go to his house to pick up the engine in the trailer to save him the 7 mile journey from his house to the boatyard. Little did I know that we were in for three surprises. The first was when we met the ‘old guy,’ as he was a few years younger than us! I hate to think how the young sales girl referred to Dave and I! On the way over I was wondering how only two of us could lift the engine into the trailer, as the sides are quite high. So the second surprise was when the chap reached into his mini and picked up a plastic container with the engine in it and put it in the trailer all by him self. It was a two stroke twin Dolphin engine and the third surprise, and best surprise, was that it was a brand new factory reconditioned engine which had never been fitted, this alone was worth more than the asking price for the boat.

He then started bringing out all sorts of sailing bits and pieces from his garage and put them in the trailer. He then said that there was more over his brothers garage so we followed him there, and out came even more sailing gear, bales of new rope, 3 anchors, 5 hank on sails, 2 stroke oil, etc etc. His brother was very obviously pleased to have his garage back. As we were saying our goodbyes the chap said “are you taking the tender” I pointed to the inflatable in the trailer and he said “no I mean the red fibreglass dingy under the boat”. Not realising that this was also included, Dave and I rushed back to the boatyard before they closed and piled the dinghy on to the trailer and made a slow cautious drive home.

We were also lucky to get a space on the quayside at TMSC for the winter and so a long list of jobs started. A friend donated three lengths of 10’ x 4” x 3” African mahogany so this was cut up and shaped to make a new rubbing strip as the original had gone soft and spongy. The pimple was cut off and made into a flat area to step on to from the boarding ladder. As a consequence we also needed to fit a new Mainsail Traveller. We fitted anti slip rubber matting with diamond imprint in it to the seats and rear areas, but were very disappointed when after just a few weeks the beige colour faded to almost white. We painted the forward deck areas with a special anti slip paint called proteckticote which although expensive, we are very pleased with. Many years ago my wife was a sewing machinist at Clarkes shoes so we bought an industrial sewing machine from the Herald and she made some fantastic new mattress covers complete with piping and a sail cover. We then sold the sewing machine making a profit of £15!

Many other jobs were done but the most important was to sort out the rudder. Some time in its life the boat had grounded on her rudder and was now bent. Although we had done a temporary repair whilst in Huggins boatyard, now was the time to do a proper repair, but we could not figure out how to remove the rudder. A query to the Practical Boat Owner and the ‘Twin keeler’ website on how to remove the rudder drew a blank so we decided to bite the bullet and do our own repair. This meant cutting the bottom of the skeg off, removing the rudder, straightening the shaft and making a special boot with a phosphor bronze bearing and refitting. Thankfully, all went well and the rudder now works fine. The red fibre glass tender was given a make over with new mahogany, a floor and painted a lurid green colour that we bought at a boat jumble by mistake. We also made a launching trolley for it.

Since going back into the water this year we have had some good sails and we always turn up at race nights to support the club. Although we always come last we are gradually tweaking the boat and closing the gap by which we lose by, maybe soon we may come in the enviable position of second to last! Of course we must remember that the Islander 23 was built as a small family cruiser so she will never be a racing boat. We already have quite a few jobs to do over the coming winter including sorting out the engine control panel wiring which I am not looking forward to. Dave has recently had an e-mail from the first owner of the boat who saw our plea for help with the rudder on the ‘twin keeler’ website and he still has the original bill of sale for the boat which he is going to send to us and other details about his ownership of Craigower, so we look forward to that.