Classic Boat – August 2019

Above left to right:

the superstructure

has had the

protective grey

paint stripped and

been revarnished;

loading Mary Islay

in Jersey; the new

oak stern knee

Below: On the

cover of Yachting

World 1957

62 CLASSIC BOAT AUGUST 2019

MARY ISLAY

and towed to the yard. Nice and easy.”

The main items of known structural work included

the oak stern knee which had some rot caused by

electrolysis where it had been penetrated by the rudder

stock and stern tube and had to be replaced, also in oak;

the 10ft x 6in x 3in bilge keels needed to be repaired and

refastened; and the oak fenders on the topsides – all of

the lower ones and the aft parts of the upper ones – were

renewed in iroko after fresh water had penetrated and

led to rot between them and the topsides planking. The

planking itself was fine although some bronze screws

which had corroded were replaced. But an unexpected

structural issue was the Douglas fir stringers which, due

to fresh water ingress, had rotted both sides over a length

of 2ft 6in amidships. Had this been known, it would

have been another very good reason not to bring the

boat across the channel under her own steam.

The teak laid deck is original (albeit slightly worn)

and, more remarkably, so is the deck caulking. This

Mary Islay’s designer, John Powell, is much better

known for his mast making than his boat designs. In

his early years, he served his time as a boatbuilding

apprentice and was also employed by Laurent Giles,

Robert Clark and Arthur Robb. In 1948 he was

working for Sussex Shipbuilding Co when the ocean

racer Gulvain was built there, and he was largely

responsible for her aluminium mast which was

thought to be the world’s first. After several boats

were built by the company to his designs, he moved

on to Aeromarine in 1952 as naval architect and

yard manager. John Illingworth became a director

of the company soon afterwards and the two of

them collaborated on a number of designs. In 1958,

Angus Primrose joined he company (and he and

Illingworth subsequently formed their famous design

partnership and closed Aeromarine) at which point

Powell left and formed Sparlight Ltd so he could

concentrate on the production of aluminium masts.

In the mid-1960s he sold Sparlight but continued

to work there until 1973 when he left to start a new

company, John Powell Masts, which he continued

to run for more then 20 years.

So who is John Powell?

was described, in the 1956 Yachting World article, as

“a British Paints material new to yachts in this country”

which forms a “resilient long-lasting seal”. Although TSS

had to repair it locally to cure a few leaks, it has certainly

lived up to its billing. Some of the dowels had been

coming out in the foredeck planking, so all the screws

were removed, their holes counterbored ¼in deeper,

then refitted and re-dowelled.

The Simpson Lawrence SL500 manual windlass

had a fractured foot but, after much searching, Paul

managed to find another one on eBay. It wasn’t in

perfect condition but he combed the best bits of both.

The cabin and wheelhouse roofs leaked so all

the cascover was removed and re-sheathed in glass

and epoxy. The grey paint was removed from the

superstructure which was then epoxied and varnished

back its former glory after some splits in the panels

and framing were repaired. A new laminated plywood

coachroof lid was made for the engine room together

with a laminated beam which supports its forward

end and the mast step.

The engine itself was stripped down and repaired

by local company Marine Power Services. Power was

increased to 62hp ‘Light Duty’ rating at 1,500rpm, by

adjusting both the fuel pump and valve timing settings.

It was reinstalled by Kev Dixon who also rewired the

whole boat and replumbed the engine room.

During the course of all this work it was found that

there was some corrosion in the aluminium fuel tanks

where they were sitting on rubber bearers, so they were

replaced in stainless steel.

Mary Islay arrived in Poole in August 2016 but it was

another two years before she was relaunched. “I wasn’t

in a hurry to have her back as she was under cover and

I just wanted the job done properly,” Paul told me. “And

I am very pleased with the work that has been done.”

I met him during a beautifully settled spell of autumn

weather while he was loading up the boat ready to set

off back to Jersey – this time under her own steam.

“Yesterday we put the cushions and table on board,”

he said with some excitement. “We haven’t had them in

place for more then 10 years.” He was certainly looking

forward to the 12-hour voyage back to Jersey and the

boat’s new lease of life coinciding with his new hip. He

is even looking forward to keeping the restored varnish

in good order. “It is a labour of love, but now that I am

not working, I will enjoy it,” he said.