CLASSIC BOAT NOVEMBER 2017 91CRAFTSMANSHIP
Top to bottom: Graham Johnston and Tim (blue jacket)
stand beside Hunters Moon; the bawley-like Lapwing;
Malthus, an all-wooden Drascombe Lugger, built in
varnished plywood and refi nished at the yardThe splining treatment is usually reserved for the planks above
water, which move less, and where a smoother fi nish for paint
adhesion is wanted. The plan is to run a small circular saw with a
re-profi led vee section to the blade along the seams, removing the
failed splines and creating new seams for the caulking.
Outside, we bump into a very happy customer of Tim’s called
Graham Johnston, who invites us aboard his exquisite 23ft (7m)
yacht Hunters Moon, afl oat on the marina. She was designed and
built by Feltham’s of Portsmouth in 1953, to the type known as a
‘Feltham Yawl’, a yacht version of a popular fi shing boat hull it built
in numbers. She’s rigged as her name suggests, with a bermudan
main, ga mizzen and tabernacle mast. The Baby Blake loo once
graced the heads of a fl ying boat in East African Airways. Graham
rescued Hunters Moon and had her restored in the mid-90s by Julian
Dyer, and Tim has looked after the boat since then, including
renewing most exterior woodwork.
“Boatbuilding processes might be repetitive, but no two boats are
the same,” says Tim as we sit for co ee in the sun on his new deck
that overlooks the marina. Behind us, a row of new houses (they
follow Tim everywhere) has sprung up. The handsome brick walls
have been topped with cheap, wooden fencing panels so their
residents never have to see the boatyard. “You get down in the
dumps when there’s no work, but the next job is – still – such a buzz.
The other thing is the smell of fresh varnish and paint!”
See woodenboatsforever.co.uk and castlemarinas.co.uk.Main picture: Josephine and Volante,
insert: Tim GilmoreAbove: Birdham Pool MarinaCB353 Yard visit Birdham.indd 91 26/09/2017 13:24