Practical Boat Owner - July 2018

the rear and took Abbey a long time to

create the fi nal shape before she was able

to clamp it into position ready for gluing.

In all this part of Peggotty’s restoration

programme had taken her some 72 days

of continuous work through the coldest

period of winter.

“I cannot fail to be impressed by the

quality of the craftsmanship originally

used by Perkins shipwrights,” she says.

“While only a third of the frames still

remained it was still clear to see how each

2in upright had been joggled by hand,

which was a formidable achievement for

the 1930s.”

Paint and varnish

With her hull planked it was now time for

the Dennett team to begin to strip, sand,

paint and varnish, applying many coats.

The skimmers began their work on the

exterior of the hull using Epoxy Microlight

fairing compound on the planking ready

for the six undercoats. This was followed

by two coats of Puro Professional all

applied by hand.

“On a clinker built boat it can be

extremely tricky to get a perfect fi nish as

there are so many places for the paint to

run,” says Abbey. “Equally, it’s essential to

maintain a consistency of covering to

ensure a high quality shine.”

At this point Peggotty’s owners decided

to have the interior restored, too, so

specialists began the task of varnishing

the stripped timber panels in the forward

and aft cabins, the rich iroko surfaces

contrasting strongly with the off-white

sheen of the hull. A coat of primer was

applied to seal the grain of the timber

before 10 coats of Awlgrip Awlwood MA

professional varnish were carefully applied

• the fi nal fi nish almost matching that of a
  spray-coated surface.
  Generous sized skylights and windows
  in the front and rear cabins ensure that
  Peggotty’s interior is fl ooded with light,
  creating a sense of space aboard what is,
  after all, a vessel of only 37ft overall.
  Signifi cantly, the major fi tments in the
  forward salon, forward stateroom and rear
  stateroom were all restorable and after
  being stripped, sanded and re-varnished
  resulted in a very high standard of fi nish.
  The galley was given a solid wooden
  worktop, in which a new sink and taps
  were installed together with a Wallas
  diesel hob. In the forward stateroom the

high level bunk was replaced by a low

level double bed with storage below.

Abaft the wheelhouse a new electric

heads facility was installed in the port side

cubicle while opposite is a convenient

shower unit. Beyond is the rear stateroom

with single beds on either side.

The design for the soft furnishings was

done by Stephen Dennett’s wife, Heather.

The colour scheme was based on art

nouveau lines, which the new owners

requested. Overall, the feeling is one of

tasteful design and period elegance.

Says William: “Initially, we planned to

have just the hull restored to make her

seaworthy but, as the programme

progressed we chose to have the interior

refurbished, too, giving her desirable

liveaboard comforts, which obviously

increased the overall cost of the work.

“Our plans for Peggotty are to take her to

the Thames Boat festival in July 2018 and

we’ll be a part of the fl otilla of boats that

make the crossing to Dunkirk in 2020. It

will be quite a challenge.

“Other than that she’ll be used for

cruising the Thames. She’s berthed in

Temple Marina near Marlow, which is a

lovely part of the river.”

New transom is

made of 2in-thick

iroko planks

Superb fi nish to the skilled restoration of
Peggotty’s clinker construction

DUNKIRK LITTLE SHIP

Sitting pretty:

Peggotty restored

to her former glory