What is the story of this 1937 Liverpool-built towing boat please?

 

Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis has this new motor launch restoration project to work on this winter, and would very much like to know more about it, if anyone can help.

He knows that the launch and was built as a towing boat in Liverpool in 1937, and has a builders plate of  Burton and Fawcett, Liverpool.
It is carvel built with battens inside every seam. Unusually, the steamed ribs are in contact the battens, not the carvel planks.

The boat was Henry, but is is now named Clarence and has spent some time around Norfolk.

If you know anything about this boat and its type and can help Marcus, contact him directly or write to me at gmatkin@gmail.com and I’ll pass the message on.

News from Fowey boatbuilder Marcus Lewis

Fowey boatbuilder Marcus Lewis has written to tell us about some of his recent yard news:

‘Hi Gavin, hope all is well. I just thought I would drop you an email with what has been happening.

‘Recently I’ve built a lovely little 8ft pram dinghy for a customer, replicating a dinghy of his grandfather’s that had been stored for years and is sadly now beyond economical repair. It is of spruce and mahogany on oak timbers, and was delivered a few weeks ago.

‘Also, earlier in the year, I had the chance of buyng the GRP mould for the Mayflower dinghy. The mould had been around for years, but had not been used lately – even though it is GRP, it is still a real classic, and we can now build the wooden version or supply the grp alternative, fitted out with top quality timber.

‘A friend of mine who has a lot of GRP experience has been renovating the mould, and after many hours polishing and waxing, we are just laying up the first hull.

‘The Mayflower is an ideal rowing boat, or with a small outboard, or as a sailing dinghy as originally intended, and all versions will be available, as customers require, with built in buoyancy and RCD compliance.

‘Cheers, Marcus’

Thanks Marcus – it’s good to hear from you. That’s a sweet pram, and I’m looking forward to seeing the first new Mayflower from that mould. I would think it would be quite a desirable little boat, particularly for folks who want a boat that won’t dry out and leak.

More shots of the Thames Traditional Boat Festival

This time, they’re from Fowey boat builder Marcus Lewis, a kind regular contributor to these pages. Like Chris Perkins, Marcus also found some amazing craft – including what looks like a Royal Barge, no less, a Bluebird, MTB102 and a couple of amphibious motor vehicles.

Many thanks Marcus! Check his boats for sale, which include a new 9ft clinker-built pram dinghy, a Troy class keelboat racer, and three Fowey River dinghies.