Mates Dads Boat "Mcgreagor 26" Westie

Just i got home from my week away with HOLLY in Norfolk, i had aranged a weekend on my mates dad boat called Westie. The boat is based just past ipswich at Woolverstone marina and sailing on the river orwell. We went down on the friday night and then saild down river in the morning and out over to shotly point and out past Harwich, and then over to Titchmarsh Marina where we stayed for a night and then heded back the following day back up to Woolverstone. A nice sailing weekend had by all.

HOLLY go's to sea

It has been ages since i have put anything down.
Whent on holiday to Norfolk so had a chance to put HOLLY on the Broads in an area near Waveny and onto Oulton Broad. On a couple of days took Holly out to Lowestoft and based at the Royal Suffolk and Norfolk Yacht club, which i do recomend as you are straight into the middle of town. Had a couple of days trying the sailing out and found that the hybrid system is not as good as i thought it would be, am now trying to sorce another mast and have just recently brought a yacht Genoa. This would meen I am starting to gain a list of jobs for the winter months.

hybrid holly

Pictures of Holly with a mainsail off an International 14 sailing dinghy.
This has been the basis of the rig used

ITS A SAILBOAT AGAIN

It has been a very long time since I have put somthing down to say where I am with Holly.
The mast is now complete and works fairly well, I have put the forsail with roller reefing system in place and now have sorted out putting a mainsail on the boat.
This last weekend with the help of a friend from the local sailing club we took Holly out on the River Trent under sail for the first time. This was mainly to test all the rigging and how she handles. The only problem was that the river trent is well known for the trees so sailing was some what ristricted, although I would say that the sail wasnt wasted

Mast Fitting Weekend 2

Another weekend working on Holly.
But at least the end is near, I have purchased some furling gear from Barton so this will sort out the Genoa. The latest on the mast is now it has been put in the correct position and the stays are correct if a little on the short side but will replace with bigger Bottle Screws when i get the time. I have ordered the remote throttle cable for the Honda motor so that will be put on soon. As the mast,Boom and Sails are from a sailing Dinghy I have found that the Boom is to long for the fitting of Back Stays so have used the mainsail halyard to hold the end of the boom up but will have to look at a more suitable solution.
I have sourced the sails and hope to have them on the boat within the next two weeks. Then will be Her Maiden Voyage. The Last thing that I managed to start this weekend is the dreaded electrics, I have now one battery working so as I have Navigation Lights and Cabin Lights working plus a cigarette lighter socket, this is good for charging mobile phones that I found to my benefit these last few days. Hopefully the next post will be of Holly's Maiden Voyage, so until then.

Mast Testing

Been away for a while and not had much to report since the launch. My friend who has been the biggest help has aquired a 17 foot fishing boat in nead of repair so he neaded my trailer. Things to be completed as it stands are
1 Finishing off the mast and boom plus all the running gear.
2 Finishing off the electrics with two batteries required and sorting out the wiring for the depth guage.
3 Finishing off the interior with foam for the cushions and curtains.
4 Anything else that comes to mind when working on the other items.

All in all not much to do compaired to how things were looking 3 months ago.
Went down to Holly to make a start on fitting the mast and after the weekend had made great progress.
Will be completing this over the next few weekends
I can now see Holly looking like a sailboat again.

Holly Has a New Paint Job

Went over to see how work is progressing on Holly Today, I forgot to wright down last two weeks events and what has been done so far.
The cabin has now been refitted with the kitchen area and sink put in with drain out through the side and has had a nice coat of paint so this looks very nice. The electrics are well on the way into being completed so when the boat is slipped onto the river Trent we will be able to use the boats navigation lights and I have also had installed a 12volt to 240 volt power inverter so will be able to use the laptop so not bad for a 18 foot trailer sailor, might even put the electric kettle in the boat as well but i do think that is going to far.
The top has also been sanded over the last few weeks in preparation to for painting, this has also uncovered all the previous scars that the boat has had over the years, I would say the boat is approx 30 years old as the company that built Bradwell 18's went into liquidation in 1985 and the Mk1 were made between 1972 and 1977.
As the pictures will show the boat has now been painted on the top in white and the hull has been painted Blue, Did hope to sort out some Red anti foul paint but the local Chandler's only had Blue at a price that i was willing to pay so Blue it will be, this will be done during the week.
We are stating to source the sailing parts we need, first to be put onto the boat has been the winches. When we move the boat down to the sailing club we will be stepping the mast and putting the rigging back onto the boat, after we can then look at replacing the missing pulleys and blocks finding a suitable boom that will fit, then we can then look at sourcing sails.

Week Two of the Renovation

Went to the boat on Saturday as have been working all week, I have left my friends really doing all the work as my profession is cooking and only limited use with a hammer.
The work so far is that now all of the damaged rotten wood inside the cabin has gone and work is progressing at great speed with the new cabin interior. I want the cabin split into two defined areas with a double/two single at the front and then another 3/4 birth in the main cabin with a work top/ sink area the other side of the cabin. So far the front part of the cabin is well on the way to being completed with the bulkheads. The mast step has been replaced with a more substantial piece of wood and the handrails have been removed cleaned sealed and then placed back on the boat.
While I have been helping sand the boat down to remove as much of the paint and dints as possible, this has reveled that the boat was blue originally, there has been a start made on the electrics on the boat, this will be lights, internal lights, bilge pump, and putting in a power converter so as to be able to recharge mobile phones and run a laptop( all mod cons ect).
Things that are on the list for the next week and weekend will be the replacement of the windows, painting the interior in the front cabin, continuing the work in the rear cabin, and the electrics

Starting the Refurbishment

Brought Holly from Beeston Sailing Club, this is where her home base will be after the complete refurbishment. Beeston Sailing Club is a small local club on the river Trent in Nottingham.
The two guys that will be mainly working on the boat are very good friends of mine as we will working from a bare shell.

Rebuilding Holly