“Tom is so gifted,” says Lorraine. “But this was a big investment in
terms of time and money, so once Tom fi nished the plans, we did
take them to a naval architect to check it would work. That also
helps with arranging the insurance.” The design is offshore rated,
making channel crossing a possibility, and the stability is
exceptional, rated to recover from 90° of heel – not that the couple
plan to put that to the test!
A MODERN CLASSIC
The design is pure retro. Tom likens the bow to World War II air
sea rescue launches, which were double-diagonal construction
with a reversed cutaway bow. A wide beam creates plenty of space
on board (she’s 11ft wide rather than a more typical 9ft) as well
as stability, and a keel about 4in deep at the bow increases aft to
a depth of 2ft to provide directional stability and protect the single
shaftdrive propellor and rudder.
With the plans formalised, all that remained was the small
matter of building her and that included every single aspect, from
the construction to the plumbing, wiring, engineering, glazing
and rigging. The only thing Tom won’t tackle is stainless-steel
welding. Upholstering was also outsourced (except for the helm
seat which is actually a very comfortable VW van seat, complete
with reach and rake adjustment and armrests).
A shed was erected in March 2015 at Noss Marina on the
River Dart, the same month that the fi rst wood supplies arrived
- mahogany for the deck beams. “If you don’t have a half-decent
place to build something, you’re never going to do it,” says Tom.
“In a perfect world I’d have a workshop with central heating but
we didn’t have it so that was that. A plastic shed is not the best
because it’s too cold in winter and too hot in the summer – it’s
basically a greenhouse. But it provides essential cover from the
elements and you just have to adjust to the fact that it’s not a
perfect situation.”“In a perfect world I’d have a workshop with central
heating but we didn’t have it so that was that”Long days and late
nights went into the
18-month long build