Hi everyone , I'm new to this site and I'm after some help in my quest . The Classic Boat forum has suggested I post here .

I am looking for (as said) an abandonned or derelict MTB to renovate . Might sound mad , but I have thought this through . Does anyone know of any on the East coast . I have looked into the realities of this being a viable proposition , and have to add certain criteria . It's not feasible for me to look at anywhere south of Essex , or north of Humber , and she would have to be floating , and on a mooring or mud berth where there is no remove immediately clause.

Does anyone know of any please ?

Hello Trvera25

See MTB 458 also in this section.

Regards,Christian.

Hi Trevera,

Best of luck with your search, none spring to mind, know of a few that are houseboats but not derilect or abandoned, though I am sure there are a few about, normally as I said, those advertised for sale are housboats, they can be abandoned but be careful that you will get full title to them, there are laws relating to "abandoned" vessels which could bite you so to speak a few years hence, but I am sure there are some project vessels out there, pity there are no D class we could had a go at, see other posts, again best of luck.

John Kempton 

Hi,

The only boat in your area I know of is/was at West Mersea on Mersea Island Colchester way.

She is a whaleback, was afloat/mud..no idea re conditions attached etc...let us know if you take her on, the Air Sea Rescue cluib have been trying to save her for a while now.

Hi,

No more info, dont even know if still available...but worth a trip if close to you..

I live in Lincolnshire , please don't hold that against me , but I'm trying to get some contacts that are a bit closer to take a look , and thanks

Have now got the results of the West Mersea search . The only one found was the Nana Loa , which is said to be about forty five foot LOA . I'm after something bigger , more like 70 to 80 ft , so the search is on again . Any more help much appreciated , and thanks for the efforts so far

Dave

I have a few photo's of her if you're interested .

I don't know if it'll work on this forum , but it does on others . If you want any more details let me know

e.mail ges_dave@msn.com

Jeez , that's the first time someones been online at the same time as me , however , the pics I have are all of the stern (he didn't fancy wading in and who could blame him ) , she's on West Mersea as said , but she is in pretty bad state . If you are interested I can send details . Apparently she has been deserted and moved from dry dock to mud berth and left there . A jet wash would clean her up lots but I have no idea what the state of the woodwork is.

Let me know if you want more , I have a contact on a different forum that did all the leg work and saved me the travel , which as you can guess is V appreciated .

She is the 'Nana Loa' and is on the foreshore at West Mersea just before West Mersea Yacht Club. She is in a bit of a sorry state at the moment, but apparently she does just about float! She is ex RAF and apparently was involved in the D-Day landings. Her current owners have disappeared, and the yard owner is looking to sell her to recoup some of his costs and clear space on his area of foreshore!

Hope this helps Don , and let me know if you need more

Dave 

I don't have the yard name because I was intending to go and look her over without calling , but I'm sure the West Mersea Yacht Club will know , and this time of year they're probably busy so you have more chance of an answer .

As for the port side , give me a few minutes to locate and download and I'll put them on here

Dave

Try these for size and let me know what you think

Cheers

Dave

Best of luck Don , can't say any more than already said . The friend that looked her over thought she was about 45 ft , and although in need of loads of work , didn't mention any specific serious damage . As far as I know , the boat yard owner just wants to get rid of her and doesn't know where the previous owner is.

Good luck

Dave

Hi Dave and Don

Re 63ft Whaleback pictured above

Maybe an idea to get in touch with the ASR Club as suggested by Pathfinder(see page 1),if they are keen for someone to take her on they will likely be forthcoming with whatever information you ask of them.

Regards,Christian 

Hi Don

Meanwhile I've found out from Philip Simons that she is ex HSL 145,and was in great shape until about 10 years ago when ownership changed.Wish boat further north good luck.

Regards,Christian

If you need moorings farther south , try North Fambridge yacht haven , supposed to be sympathetic and have mud berths , at least they advertise that they do .

But moving is likely to be the first major obstacle . If you want to move North , there's a nice little place I know of , off the tidal Welland 

I live in South Lincolnshire , so not far away . Possible location in mind where she can be moved either by water or overland . No promises at this stage , but at least it's a possible.

Any surveyor looking after a boat in that condition , is likely to say don't touch it . You need a sympathetic surveyor , and he needs to know exactly what you expect of him . I recently looked at another project and intended to move without a report , simply because I already knew she was a wreck. That fell through for other reasons .

Thanks , e.mail sent .

102 is a wonderfull boat , and it would be nice to repeat the process on another one , just that the wife wants something 70 to 80 ft , and road transport for that size would be asking too much, so I'll bear this in mind if I ever do find what I want

Dave

Gentlemen,

If I am not mistaken the boat was of interest to the ASR, and a Mr Clifford Burke was leading that interest.

I think though that the requirement was to get the boat restored as was...probably not an option now, due to financial restrictions.

Better she be saved in another guise rather than be lost totally..?

I can supply an address if needed.

Richard Hellyer

BMPT

Hi Don,

Mr Clifford N Burkett

14 Nimrod drive

Hereford

HR1 1UQ

01432 269109

I will let him know I have passed his details to you...will you keep the forum upodated re any forward motion...??

Regards

Richard.

If she's too far gone to lift , you could always cover the outside with tarps to make her watertight , then get her towed to a mooring where the spring highs are the only time the mooring gets wet . (yes I do know of one , or two) . If she can be moved by road , I may be able to help with the barn or hardstanding .

Any thoughts ?

Don,

Have a good friend who has good crane (Kings Lynn) lifting people, would you like the contact details..he would be interested anyway..?

ASR may help with a few bob..?

Richard

Richard.

 Just had this message from Pathfinder

Gentlemen,
My experience lifting her sister was that the weakness is in the upperdeck, ie a tendency to collapse in the fore and aft way as the deck areas have weakened considerably.
In addition she will probably have a considerable amount of mud in side her, and all her thwartship bulheads out.
Teaching my grandmother here, may I suggest a 40ft x 10ft spreader with 4 lifting points for strops, as wide as are available.
Problem is it all adds to the allup weight.
Her sister weighed in a 5 tonnes, empty and dry.

Hope this helps.

Richard.

Gents

Re definition of an abandoned boat,if the yard's original contract with the owner had a clause stipulating that if at any time the vessel was deemed abandoned by the yard owner it could be taken over by him you're in luck,providing you can make friends with the yard owner.Otherwise a writ would have to be placed on the vessel by the aggrieved party (the yard owner to whom the fees are owed) and the vessel then taken over by the courts for subsequent auction.There may be slight differences to this in the UK but Gib usually follows your lead.

Regards,Christian

Don't know if it will be any use , but I have quite a powerful genny in the back of my van , and a centrifugal pump that is also quite good . If you think they will be any use , let me know . And yes , I know the impellor will probabaly get knackered pumping mud and stuff . That's easier to replace than this boat , so a willing sacrifice if needed

Dave

Don,

Please ring me on

023 8084 3333

re crane etc..

Richard.

No problem , jet wash also in the van . Never know , it might help

Dave

Hi Don,

Holding thumbs etc for a good outcome..

Richard.

Hi Don-Re 63ft Whalebacks:

There's more than two 63ft MASBs?Please tell me more..(27 Moonlight at Hamble Marina & 32 at Gibraltar plus?)

HSL2550 Buccaneer,location unknown but listed on nhsc frustratingly with no pic.HSL186 Robrina at Shoreham.

MGB45/S-3  Freelance which we've all seen for sale.

HSL165 Jalna broken last year at Shoreham.HSL142 sadly broken up at Marchwood 2004.Recently another at Ash Island,and another at Bowling Harbour.

(Plus a couple of 70ft MASBs survive at Shoreham,Pelican and Lanroc)

Shoreham info from Phil Simons' Retired On The River.

Any others anyone?

Regards,Christian.

Wow-it couldn't be much worse.Come and buy MASB 32 and give her the home she deserves,the old man is feeling his age and will likely listen to your offer now.See you soon...

Regards,Christian.

Don,

At least you tried, for which many will be for ever gratefull..thank you.

Now Gib maybe..I will crew for you?

Richard.

I live 30 minutes South of Boston , Lincs , and would be a willing hand .

Some of the barns around here are in long term unused state but still in good repair , so I may well be able to find somewhere .

Does anyone know what size we would need , as in what are the boats dimensions etc.

Hi Don

Done that , and she says she has changed her mind and wants to have it  , seriously though , my first thought was my father in laws barn , but that is only 60 ft long , and full of furniture and stuff that will be going into thier bungalow , when it finally gets finished .

I know of a couple of other barns that are bigger , so I'll wait for the result from the MK 1 inspection , then if it's a go  I'll speak to the owners .

Pity really , for something that is a charitable cause like this is , they would have let the barn out for nothing , I asked , and they said it would be a nominal charge for electricity etc , and thats all .

You may have gathered , I'm a bit of a late night user .

Just gone over the pictures with wife , and we both agree that she doesn't seem to be any worse than a project we were looking at a couple of months ago .

First bit of advice is , do not start removing the silt from the bilges until she is on dry land . The one we looked at , they had started removing damp sludge  , and all the leaks really came to the fore , so leave the sludge where it is .

The three foot extension wouldn't work , it's a metal barn . It'll be handy in the future though , three phase electrical supply and full lighting , plus alarmed .

Hi Gents,

Look at ebay item number

4646345417

and see what you think..

Richard.

Hi Don

Better way of looking at this one , is she is 25 % intact . Count me in for physical support , but if she can't be lifted yet I'll wait a bit before trying to find a barn for her .

Have you got a high tide location that she can be moved to ?

If there is somewhere close by that is dry for most of the time , it might be better to move her there first , at least work on strengthening her could be done then .

http://www.rania.co.uk/ST - www.rania.co.uk/ST

I've tried a few e.mails to rania , but I don't know the history of the site . Anyone know what happened here ?

Hi Don

Yes it's working now , thanks . Hope you don't mind , I've put a link on another forum to try and raise interest .

Hi,

Thanks yours..

See

http://www.bmpt.org.uk - www.bmpt.org.uk

and Boat Histories..

She lay at moorings for many years and then alongside at Marchwood for sale, but with customs and ownershipo problems everything fell through.

The smaller boat alongside is a Husbands built MFV privately owned.

She was built for the RN but the end of the war saw the contract cancelled so Husbands completed her as a tug, using her for many years.

Returned to Southampton last year for refit by the owner.

Cant see the third boat..?/

kind regards

Richard

Just thought I'd inform everyone that this thread ( and forum ) have now attracted the attention of our American cousins . Sorry .

It would be nice to hear from you boys , so stop just looking , and say hello .

To get back on track though , is there any way she can be saved ?

Hi guys,

How is the West Mersea boat doing..any progress..??

Richard.

Excellent news Don , you had me worried for a while . Count me in for any help I can provide , and good luck .

Dave

forgive my ignorance Richard, which is which, I see the 42 knot german MTB on Ebay at the moment was "sold for scrap", why may I ask was it sold for scrap and not preserved, is there something wrong with it? What about the british MTB I saw there, is that the oine you refer to as being of unknown/disputed ownership?

Hi,

The german (Blue) was arrested by HMC many years ago in connection with drug running.

She then belonged to the Crown, and purchasing was difficult.

We tried to get her, but the financial implicatioons of running 4 x 12cyl MTUs beat all financial efforts, so the then owners let her go for scrap.

That is where she now stands as far as I know.

She is specialist boat, and needs considerable spent to get her working.

Alternatively, strip her engines and have a super live abprd boat, going nowhere.

The boat alongside her, the white one, is the MFV.

I cannot see a third boat..?

Richard.

So when the Ebay ad says "one engine runs, other 3 will do" this will need a lot of work, it's not simply a get in  and go proposition, how much would those engine's cost to run, I know 2 merlins take 1.5 gallons per min, so I guess those are 1.5 times that each, maybe a bit less due to being diesel. When I looked, albeit from the Itchen bridge I could see the back of what looked like 2 MTB's, may be wrong, they're a way away.

Sorry it was cut up  and dumped...totaly rotten...there was very little left ..fast tidal area.

The Whale back is only the bottom of the hull...no sides at all...will trek down and see what is left.

Pics to follow..not seen much,so far will wait till low tide!

Jim.

Hello Cloudsailor

PT10 was made part of the 10th RN MTB Flotilla as MTB 259 11/4/41,she was damaged en-route to Malta by heavy weather and lost when returning to Alexandria 14/06/42.

Info Allied Coastal Forces Of WW2 Vol.II

• Assess the weight of mud in the boat as this can add a substantial weight to the lift and also load the bottom planking away from the frames and off the fasteners. Therefore for a lift this should be removed if at all possible.
  
• On a boat of this size arrange to use a lift with 4 equispaced strops along at least 30 feet of the boat and located as close to bulkheads as possible. Each lifting strop should use a spreader to approximately match the vessels beam. Use wide strops as possible and also bearing shoes to spread the chine load. In way of the deckhouse, fit internal braces accross the vessel in way of the lifting points.
  
• Assess condition of gunwahale and beam shelf structures. Consider running a couple of continuous planks along the deck, especially to support the fore and aft overhangs.
  
• If poor then check deck and shear strake for longitudinal structural integritty. Consider running a couple of continuous longitudinal planks along the deck especially to support the fore and aft overhangs.
  

• Assess the chine structures, especially fresh water patch softening.
• Assess the bearer conditions and their fixings through bulkheads for continuity.
• Assess major points of leakage and reduce the ingress of water as this also adds weight and can be too slow to drain out during a lift.
  
• Consider pumping capacity and pulling sheeting under the boat to provide some external barrier to ingress, as well as helping the boat to pull out of the sucking mud (more crane and hul loads) Note the pump can then also be used to jet under the boat to free the lift.

• Some form of cradle should be used for trasportation, especially a boat like this with a high risk of weakened soggy areas. The  discrete props used on most boat transporters are unlikely to land in suitable areas and can easily punch the lightweight planked areas. This will support the boat during transport and also help her to dry out somewhere near to her intended shape.
• Provide a rain cover and let the air blow through. Fresh water and enclosed sweaty spaces are the death of most of these boats.
• Strip, clean and wash out to fully expose the hull structures and treat with an suitable fungiside for the intended repair method to preserve the boat and prevent further deterioration otherwise all of the work is wasted.
  
• Before fully drying out it is often easier to make an initial assessment of the hull condition and timber work required, as well as noting areas requiring deep investigation.
  
• Raise some cash and a realistic business plan that accounts for things changing, as they always do on a project of this duration.