Re-commissioning a Shetland Isles fourareen 'Corianne'

We have been planning to do some more dinghy cruising and so after selling 'Nanw' the 15ft rowing boat I brought 'Corianne' out of storage and rigged her up and had a days test sail. She was a bit leaky but rapidly takes up after a few days wet. Her cotton sails still set quite well despite being over seventy years old.

Back home a few jobs were needed. Her old iron keel band was crumbling away and after removing all her gear with help I turned her over onto blocks and removed all the old rusty banding.

The exposed keel was cleaned and the old screw holes filled with glued-in timber plugs.

Bare timber given a coat of oxide primer like the rest of the boat's bottom.

I had a strip of stainless steel left over from the rowing boat restoration that was exactly the right length and this was offered up and a taper cut on the forward end. Holes were drilled for new fastening screws.

The strip was bedded on flexible builder's mastic and screwed down. The bottom paint was touched -up with as much red-oxide as I had left after a few bits of garboard seam putty were re-puttied. She was then turned back over.

Not photographed but I did some servicing work on her trailer :-  This is an old but well-made galvanised Snipe trailer of imperial dimensions. I had recently refurbished and rustproofed its transverse springs which give it a nice soft ride but now I added some extra keel and side rollers, fitted a new jockey wheel assembly with a pneumatic tyre and mounted two sets of rollers under the rear frame to help with hauling it under 'Corianne' when recovering from the beach. The wheel bearings were renewed and new wheel and tyre assemblies were fitted as the originals were now a bit too rusty and aged.  Lastly I made a new assembly to mount the lighting board to the trailer as it was originally intended. I converted the light board to 24V and fitted it with a NATO plug to suit the ex-military Land Rover used for towing.

Next task with her back on her trailer was to make a floorboard section to fill the after space which has always been open and where I normally dip the baling bucket. Here is the area with a piece of timber cut to support the new floor.

A cardboard template was made to fit the area and joggled round the frames.

The shape was transferred to some Douglas Fir and the boards planked-up.

Fir planks shaped and fitted

Linking battens glued and nailed in the same style as her existing floorboards.

Another job I did whilst waiting to go sailing again was to make a pair of 'galley boxes'. These were glued up out of 9mm marine ply lined with formica and stainless steel and made to fit in locations just behind the mast. The starboard box is made to suit a little spirit camping stove and tea-making kit and the port box is for victuals.

All varnished-up and with carry-handles. A one-gallon potable water container sits amidships.

Stove can be used in situ with the front hinged down.

A compass bracket has been fitted to each side of her centre thwart so it can be used as a steering compass underway.

Now we just need some better weather to go sailing again.