Category: Small boats

A new season of work on Gadfly II (Mai Star II) begins for Simon Papendick

Gadfly II ribs

East Coast mobile boat repairer and restorer Simon Papendick is doing a lot of work on his Kent-built small cruiser Gadfly II, otherwise known as Mai-Star II, and he’s weblogging about it here and here.

Long-standing readers wifll remember that he got her back to sailing condition a couple of years back, and researched her history – he was fascinated that his boat looked much like a Blackwater sloop, but came from another county altogether. Read all about it here.

Now, however, the cabin roof’s off and he’s getting down to some serious work, including replacing ribs where the nails have stretched…

Victorian photographer Peter Henry Emerson’s images of The Norfolk Broads

Emerson 2

Emerson 1 Emerson 3

This is a small sample of a larger collection of delicious photos of East Anglia taken by Victorian-era American photographer Peter Henry Emerson published this week on the 70.8% weblog.

The activities shown are catching eels and harvesting the famous Norfolk reed for use in making thatched roofs for houses and other buildings – and one shows one of the Broads’ wherries making its way along a dyke.

There are lots more to see at 70.8% so do go over to have a look!

My thanks to 70.8% weblogger Thomas Armstrong for pointing this one out via the 70.8% Facebook group.

PS – A Ward has written in to recommend Emerson’s book, which is available from Amazon. See the comment below. Needless to say, my copy is on order…

Bill Serjeant’s C-type West Wight Potter up for auction on eBay

C_type West Wight Potter

Bill Serjeant's West Wight Potter

Well known small boat sailing adventurer and weblogger Bill Serjeant is selling his circa 1972 West Wight Potter on eBay this week – the auction ends on Thursday, so there are just two days to bid.

Bill has recently completed a 66-day cruise along the South Coast in a variety of winds.

See the boat on eBay here. I’d say the bidding is quite lively (for post-Credit Crunch Britain) so if you’re interested in a well proven 14ft solo cruising boat that will provide some splendid sailing for the independent-minded, you’ll have to move quickly!