www.eventides.org.uk

Hi there,

This seems like an appropriate place to introduce myself, and more importantly, our boat. My wife and I have just bought a 30' Waterwitch cruising yacht by the name of Tamaha that we intend to live aboard. She needs some work (the boat, that is) so I think I'll be scouring the forums here and asking plenty of questions over the next few months as we are both complete beginners. With that in mind I'd like to express my gratitude to the administrators and staff who keep this valuable resource running and to say thank you in advance to anyone who finds the time to read my posts and offer advice.

Tamaha is currently lying in Southend but once I've finished the largely cosmetic work that needs doing we'll be bringing her round the coast a bit, probably to either Rye or Brighton marina.

Here are a couple of photos of Tamaha:

Welcome to the Forum!

We heard Tamaha had been sold again... Sad history of late and some damage we feared.... she lost her rudder at one stage... If it is the same Tamaha?!?!

Last we heard, early this year, she was in Gosport and beached after an argement with a breakwater or something.. A South African guy was trying to sort her out and got into difficulties with her. he told us he was selling her, but we understood she was a total loss, so something does not look quite right here as she looks great!

Why not come to the home page of the main site and fill in the 'enrolment' form. We may be abole to give you some history on her if she is the same boat. if you have a sail number we will soon be able to see if it is the same boat... Unusual name for there to be two though.

Regards,
John
Eventiders.

Thank you so much, John

This certainly sounds like the same Tamaha. She is waterwitch number 132 built by Hartwell boat buliders in Plymouth in July 1963. She did indeed run into misfortune losing her rudder and one of her bilge keels. The details of the recent history you've provided explain the presence of the South African keyring we found on her ignition key. She was bought by a chap in Southend who hadn't seen her but intended to break her on the basis of what he'd been told about her condition. When she arrived, however, he took a look over her and discovered, as we can confirm, that she is a perfectly solid and rather lovely old cruising yacht. As he buys and sells boats for a living he had the connections to have her rudder and keel repaired at a viable cost so this he did and put her up for sale as a project. We saw thw advert, saw the boat and fell in love. She needs a lot of cosmetic work which I am currently undertaking. Essenstially all of the paint from the deck upwards was flaking off so I'm currently taking my relationship with my sander to new levels. We will also be doing a similar work below deck as we intend to live aboard as soon as possible. A new hatch is on the way as this was lost at some point, two holes that were apparently drilled in her bilges to let out rain water are to be plugged and she has a little rot in a port locker near the stern which will be cut out and repaired. Apart from that, as I say, she just needs lots of loving attention with a sander and some paint. We are complete beginners and this is our first boat, so the fact that the guys on this yard are so friendly and helpful, including the chap we bought her from, is an enourmous advantage. Thank you again for your reply and I'll certainly be filling out the enrollment form. Suffice to say, Tamaha is a very long way from being a loss and will be back in the water as soon as I can make that happen. If you'd like to follow our progress I've started a blog for interested friends at http://www.projecttamaha.wordpress.com

Kindest regards,

Kevin and Kae