Restoration of 'Carina'
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An update on my Bawley Carina: by Mark Osborn. As can be seen from the photos attached she had dried out considerably when we bought her so the immediate task was to transport as many buckets of salt water into her hull as required to start her swelling up, a few seams were reamed out and re-caulked but generally I opted for red lead & moisture to tighten her up, it took a couple of months on & off travelling from Eastbourne to Conyer, sponging water onto the hull every visit & topping up the bilges but eventually she took up. The Bukh engine she came with was seized solid but I acquired a low hours twin cylinder Lombardini diesel from a yard in Faversham, which we fitted, the lower profile of the engine allowed us to lower the fwd cockpit sole by 4 inches too giving easier access to the cabin The outer stern post with the big shake in it below the stern tube is really just a packing/fairing piece, it's the inner one that houses the plank ends so I simply stuffed the shake with red lead before painting, as she has taken up since launching the red lead has been squeezed out, every few weeks I scrape a bit more off at low tide, not very elegant I know but it's a practical step as there's little to be gained by spending a lot of time replacing the outer post. At some stage I'll need to re-align the shaft but right now it's ok. Although she looked pretty sorry when we first started work on her we were pleased to find that the hull planking was all sound, the only rot we have found is in the outer deck planks either side of the cockpit where water has sat on deck. |
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The scarf on the bow is an
unusual joint, (post construction repair?), actually a butt joint with
a triangular piece scarfed & through bolted on the inside and had simply
opened up. The timber was sound so it was soaked in water for a few days,
the bolts through the stem were replaced and two pack epoxy was pumped into
the join before bringing home the joint again by winding up the bolts, the
hood ends were re-caulked. I'll be patenting my new invention, wet sponges
in a Tesco bag copper tacked around the scarf to keep it moist!
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Painting of the hull was completed in late September when she was launched, she is now berthed on a drying out jetty at Conyer. We had originally planned to take her to Chichester but we really enjoyed the summer camping onboard at Conyer so have decided to remain there as a base to explore the east coast harbours. Not much has happened onboard since she was launched due to weather and work commitments overseas but we have plans to re-sheath the decks in the spring and re-fit all the woodwork that was removed for varnishing at home in Eastbourne. We also have to scarf in some patches into the mast where it was left lying on a foam covered stand for a couple of years.
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There will be many more photos of Carina so it will be good to give Carina her own page. As you'll gather from my comments, my approach is to make her watertight and sound rather than bring back to showroom condition.
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I took advantage of a
break in the rain to remove more of the woodwork for varnishing at home this
week, my apprentice Brian (age 76 1/2) contrived to slip over the side and
spent ten minutes with mud up to his ankles and water up to his chest until
I could get a rope around him to pull him out, I should have put some of
that Conyer mud in the scarf as it sure is sticky! I'll send some more photos once the decks & brightwork are finished. Mark. |
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September 2013 Hi John, |
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We had a great weekend watching the Swale
barge match at the beginning of August, I'm hoping we can take part in the
misc boats class next year. Attached barge picture was taken with my phone
through on an old army ranging telescope, it came out quite well I think. Best regards, Mark |
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Wondered if it might be possible to scarf the
missing inches back into the top of the mast, rather than have to alter
sails and all that rigging?? We like the barge picture! John |
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March 2015.
Latest shot of Carina attached, dog house and saloon decks now sheathed, work will start on sheathing the fore deck and then re-planking the cockpit decking this summer. I also plan to repair the original mast as someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the Ebay mast I had bought. After three years in Conyer I have now moved the boat to Oare Creek near Faversham, not only a change of scenery but a jetty berth for £50 a month! I almost wrecked the boat on the way up The Swale, passing through the moorings by Faversham Creek I spotted a vhf antenna sticking out of the water in front of me, helm hard over and could just make out a boat under the surface as I passed by, turns out she was scuttled on her mooring by a disgruntled girlfriend, a lesson to us all! Mark
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