Fedoa

Underwraps, and going nowhere....yet.

2011-11-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

As you can see from lack of activity on the blog we have had various distractions that have made Fedoa untenable for 2011. We have now stablised the business and a new home is renovated, warm and ready to be neglected in 2012 as Fedoa was in 2011.

However, we do need help.....

Volunteers: Does anyone feel the need to get involved in this fantastic project. We have a requirement for experienced retired boatbuilders, enthusiastic and practical trainee boatbuilders, and anyone with an interest in old wooden boats.

The work we will be returning to early in 2012 will be grass roots traditional shipwright work, including planking, repairing the keel, putting in new floors, laminating frames, cutting futtocks, and so on. This is all heavy work.

As this goes on, there are other areas that need to be thought about. We will be rebuilding the interior using the original drawings. However, requirements of a cruising boat in 2012 are very different to a gentleman's yacht in 1927 so this needs research and development so it can be modernised without being ruined.

The rig has been through a number of different configurations, but we plan to return it to its original gaff set-up. This is an area we have little expertise in.

Many Thanks to the previous owners and interested parties who have continued to send fascinating photos and information about Fedoa in her glory days.

Looking forward to a busy 2012.

Patrick.

Stem Tied In

2010-08-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

6 months since the last posting, and the usual Summer mayhem in Cowes has prevented very fast progress with Fedoa, but we have managed a few weeks to keep things moving forward. In February we were join by Dave Balaam who was employed to just work on Fedoa. He has now left to explore the Arctic on an hundred year old cutter, but he gave us 5 months of his time on Fedoa and enabled us to produce a beautiful stem now fitted into the boat. We sourced the oak in the winter from a local supplier - Whitefield Woodyard - who have a great stock of all shapes and sizes of green oak. We took our stem template (taken from the lofted out original drawings) and found a very good match. We also found shorter sections which they sliced into 4" sections for us to make up the new futtocks to replace the larger oak frames lower down in the bilge area.

The stem proved a challenge to get into place. Having spent a few weeks shaping it, we all downed tools on the other work we were doing and concentrated on getting things back together.

We had to adjust the keel scarf and the lead to allow room for the new piece, and the sheer size and weight of the stem caused headaches. Using large block and tackles we managed to get everything in and secure. The stem was then notched out for the new frames and we are now ready to close up the front end to the top of the new section, before opening up and replacing the bow section of the stem.

Another new member of the team is Paul Townsend (F.I.I.M.S), a highly qualified and experienced Marine Surveyor, who has agreed to guide us through the maze of rules and regulations needed to get Fedoa coded, as well as being a great source of wooden boat knowledge. His preliminary inspection found that the work we have done so far is all good, and that our plan of attack for the restoration concurrs with his ideas. Our use of bronze and copper for the fixings and fastenings is good, as well as the use of iroko floors on the heavier oak frames to tie everything together. We are now sourcing the bronze and copper, most likely from overseas.

We are very happy with the progress, and just wish for more time to put into the project. We are therefore planning on closing the workshop for a few months through the winter and getting the whole workforce onto Fedoa, so we can achieve our goal of finishing the hull in the first 2 years.

"Whale Remains found in Isle of Wight Workshop"....

2010-02-22T13:26:00.000-08:00

Big day today, as the stem came out of the boat. It's now lying in the workshop, looking like the remains of a whale washed up on a beach. We've spent a good few hours preparing to take this out without the boat moving too much, and without squashing any Moreton Marine employees, both of which we managed. The idea was to remove it in one piece so we can use it as a template for the new one.

Having laminated in all the ribs that were to be replaced along the stem before Christmas - while the forward section was still intact - we took them out again so we could free the planks forward. With a few of the short planks removed completely we were able to put in acro props up to the beam shelf and deck beams, as well as supporting the bow from outside. Having done all this we were able to lower the stem out of the boat without incident.

The 1st batch of bronze floors have arrived back from the foundry at the beginning of February, so once we have remade the stem everything can be reassembled giving us a new strong bow section to support the front half of Fedoa before we lift her to remove and replace the keelson.

All we need now is a 25 ft section of oak tree with a 20 degree curve. . . . anyone seen one?

Summer's Over

2009-10-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

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....

2009-08-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-09T03:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-15T03:29:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

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