HSL 145

 

 Hey again,

 Bet your sick of me ny now;-)

 Sent off registration to the historic ships register as this may help secure funding, pls fill in gaps my sketchy memory ommited.

 Also applied for lottery grant to save her but by what they said about processing times it would only help if she was safe when the money came, up to 9mths & winter here.

 If i cant get ownership i'll chuck in my 200 to anyone who can and spend a few days digging her out ect.

 Working on poss storage. That offer still stand Dave? Rather store her with enthusiasts than m8's as it always speeds things up.

 Want to try & get down this week as, for the great quality of Dons pics its not the same as being there and giving it the old hairy eyeball to find the best way of saving her.

 Prob right that if she somehow survives this winter she wont survive the next.

 Time to act amigo's

Just adding on from the suggestions above :-
1) Try to avoid all the bouyancy directly under the deck. These are fairly lightly atached in the this design and will rely on 65 year old glued connections at the deck brackets. If possible lift from the bearer structure in the bottom of the hull.
2) Remove as much mud as possible before moving. The wet mud can easily weigh much more than the basic hull weight and makes moving and lifting much more difficult.
3) There are previous notes on lifting and handling, strong points can be a problem on these boats so add internal bracing as required and spread out the loads over as many points as possible.
Good Luck
Andy

After talking to Clarks boatyard previously I believe they want her moved.

I would suggest that you need someone on deck as the tide comes I to try and see if she fills up at the same rate as the tide comes in. If she fills up slower than the tide comes in then you have a chance to float her quite cheaply.

All it will take is some heavy duty pumps to slow the rate of flood enough for her to lift off the mud slightly. This will enable you to slide a large tarpaulin under her and regain a fully waterproof hull. A lot of work will probably have to be done tracking down water ingress points and sealing them first. And perhaps a high power jet wash pushed under the hull to loosen the grip of the mud. She looks like she has had tarps on her hull already at some point in her life. Go with what worked.

This will probably allow you to re-float her for a few hundred pounds, but again I would not even try without full legal ownership.

If the previous owner has access to this forum then all we are doing here is pushing the price up in his mind.

Hi  All,

The survey is below. THe surveyor is right about the hull timber. They decks and frames seemed good though. Keel and chine seemed 'sound'.  Would need a cradle to lift.  Might be better to have her hull 'made good' and  epoxy sheathed.   I know some might hate that idea but whatever saves her.

Re Ownership:  I sent 2 letters to the owner  but no reply.  I've been told that all Clarkes would have to do is advertise in local paper and send a letter to owner and they are entitled to sell her in lieu of moorings.

I do think that getting Clarkes to move her might be worth considering - if they were willing. Get them to build a cradle for her and get her ready to float.   I've got a 3" pump that I'd be happy to lend to any enterprise.

Regards

Don

Suyvey:

With all this mud around it was difficult to get at bottom or chine timbers – too much mud (at least 100 mm deep in the bilges), too slippy and nothing to hold onto. However, the timbers above the mud that I could get to were hard and did not easily take my spike, so I don’t think there’s too much in the way of rot. The metal stringer clamps (see photos) are sound too and all would be salvageable, I think.
 

Hull planking was shot with many holes apparent and with the oiled canvas interlayer exposed in a number of places where the inner layer has fallen away. So you would not be replacing just a few double diagonals – you would need to replace the lot.

Deck was pretty much the same – double diagonals covered in Cascover (a type of fibreglass sheathing). It would all need replacing, along with the superstructure hatches and coamings.

The bulkheads would need replacing, there’s no strength left in them.

 

Hi John,

Fair point. A mate of mine is a QC. I'll ask but I imagine this maritime law is quite specialised.

Re the owner. I repost my earlier message about previopus owner.  The Manager of Clarkes boatyard reckonbed this is the chap.  I sent a letter to him but no reply.   I can resend as a registered letter.

 

 Anyone within door knocking range of  Burnham-On-Crouch or got a local phone book?

Regards, Don

I believe the owner is  a Mr L (Lewis) Crump of 43 Chapel Road Burnham-On-Crouch Essex CM0 8JD.  

Does anyone have a local phonebook who could find me the number? 

It may be ex-directory of course...  Mind you, they've just applied for a Single Storey Rear Extension in May 2006 so they must still live there.   Amazing what you can find on the internet.....

If a number cannot be found, I'll try writing a letter (if I can remember how).

If anyone else would like to help in any way, please feel free to join in...