Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy number 58 – Penguin

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Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy

Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy

Marcus Lewis launches Fowey River Dinghy

Penguin is number 58 in the Fowey River Dinghy Class, and was built by Marcus Lewis for a local customer.

There’s much more about the class at Marcus’s website, but the class developed from 15ft knockabout dinghy designed in the late 1940s by Reg Freeman, and the plans were published in Yachting Monthly to encourage readers to go out and build a boat.

Marcus points out that Fowey River Dinghy number 1 was built in 1950, so in 60 years there have been nearly 60 boats.

Penguin is built of FSC mahogany, copper riveted, with steam bent oak ribs, finished with Hempel Woodseal and International Varnish. Her sails and cover were made by Mitchell Sails of Fowey.

Fowey River dinghy no 56 built by Marcus Lewis hits the water

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Don’t you love the bunting? Fowey boatbuilder Marcus Lewis has just completed this new Fowey River dinghy, which was launched at the end of April. She’s number 56 in the class.

The new boat is built of spruce planking with a mahogany top strake, steamed oak timbers and mahogany seats, centre-box and gunwhales. She’s copper rivetted thoughout and finished with Blakes clear woodsealer and International varnish. Her sails and cover were made locally by Mitchell Sails of Fowey.

The photos show the boat during build, the happy owner – and the boat sailing and looking good last weekend.

For more intheboatshed.net posts featuring Marcus’s work, click here.

Marcus Lewis can be contacted at Fowey on telephone 07973 420568 and email marcus@fowey9.freeserve.co.uk.

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Marcus Lewis restores a Troy, and plans to make clinker dinghy drawings available

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Troy class yacht Ruby restoration

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Taking the lines from a 1947 9ft dinghy

Down in Fowey in Cornwall, boatbuilder Marcus Lewis has been as busy as a bee, and a few days ago wrote to tell us what he’s been doing, and about some of his plans. Here’s what he has to say:

‘I have been busy building another Fowey River class dinghy, which is due for launching in a couple of weeks and I’m also part way through a serious restoration of Ruby, a  Troy class yacht built in 1930. She has needed 75 per cent of her planking replaced; lots of new parts including new horn timber, transom, transom knee, stem and stem knee, and gunwales, steamed oak timbers and keelbolts; and new  ply deck. Hopefully they will be enough to see her through the next 80 years!

‘I have attached some photos of a 1947 9ft rowing dinghy that is past repair. I am taking the lines off her in order to make some moulds and to make up plans that I intend to make available.

‘Also, have cleared out the internal bits of the Percy Mitchell-built tosher and will also be taking lines off her in the near future. If there are a couple of interested people who wanted to spend the weekend helping to take off the lines, and then have a copy themselves, I would be glad of the help – and it would galvanise me into getting it done!

‘Marcus’

Thanks Marcus. That dinghy is a nice shape – I will be delighted to help you promote the plans when you have them ready. I’d have thought there would be someone out there to help you take those lines, not least because it would be an opportunity to practice something we normally only read about in books.

If you’d like to help Marcus take the lines from the tosher in his yard, contact him at Fowey, Cornwall on tel 07973 420568, email marcus@fowey9.freeserve.co.uk . His website is at www.woodenboatbuilder.co.uk.

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