Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
Photographer and classic yacht owner Nick Guttridge recently took a sizeable collection of beautiful photos around the workshops at the International Boatbuilding Training College at Great Yarmouth.
The photos reveal an eye for boat shapes, and a liking for the the folks in the IBTC workshops and their humour – I so wish I knew what he knows about taking photographs!
Take a look at the photos at Nick’s website.
Alex Mears of HJ Mears & Son Boatbuilders has got in touch to say that one of his customers is selling a 32ft, 1944-built fifie for restoration. The owner is getting a little too old to continue with the project and so it must go – see the boat on eBay.
The work has been started but there’s a lot more to do – most of the photos below show her current state at Mears Boatyard, Seaton, in east Devon, though one indicates how she was on the day she arrived at the yard.
The fifie has no engine and all the deck has been removed, with temporary ties in place to maintain hull shape. Her planking is 1.25 inch larch on oak frames.
She was brought to Devon from Ullapool in 2008 when her working life ended as a a registered Stornaway fishing boat. There is a big pile of seasoned timber available for the restoration but at extra cost.
The yard says they would hate to see her end up in the log burner, and I’m sure Alex speaks for all of us when he says: ‘I just hope someone wants a slice of Scottish fishing history.’
Storage can be negotiated with Mears Boatyard, as can cranage onto a low loader.
This short film of the people of Flamborough in 1957 is a wonderful period piece – it includes: