Help identifying old wooden dinghy

Andy78

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Hi all
Looking for any help to try and identify an old wooden boat I recently picked up in South London. Had been in a family there for 40 years and they thought it was of Cornish origin.
10ft8in seems to be mahogany. Came with cotton lug sail and 10ft mast which must be 6in at least in diameter. She has a cast iron plate on the keel. Sadly no boat builder stamp or plaque.
I’m really keen to learn more about her whilst she is getting renovated over the winter. Any ideas or places I could look gratefully received.
thanks
Andy044C1D2A-42D5-4E3E-B724-B73E1918AFCE.jpeg7C1C61F6-7A8B-4CBB-AB1E-ECB22A940410.jpeg
 

Andy78

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Thanks yes I couldn’t resist getting her. She has not been in the water for 40 years so the first sail is going to be interesting.
 

Tranona

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Good luck with trying to find who built it as "in the day" there were builders and individuals in just about every navigable harbour building such boats by eye mostly. There were regional variations to reflect local conditions and that does have the look of a west country type with the high bow and stern.

Good luck with your first sail although suspect it will want to become a submarine. There may be some value in spraying the inside with water every day for a couple of weeks beforehand to get the "taking up" started. Boats built like that do not take kindly to being out of the water for that length of time and you may well find copious leaks, cracked planks and ribs and loose fastenings!
 

zoidberg

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She's a 'looker', and should be splendid with some fresh paint.

Do please post more pics when the time is right.....
 

billskip

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Not a good idea to fill with water, lot of tons and pressure the wrong way...better to do as post 5, let her sink in shallow water=equal pressure. However if she is in the condition she looks to be in the photos, she looks to need little attention. If you can get her upside down carefully inspect the paint for any suspicious cracks and movement, and hose over every day. If you do put water in, just put enough to cover the garboard strakes and it will soak up and rise by natural capillary action.
 

tidclacy

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If possible get her on to a mud berth which will help to tighten her up. Where do you plan to sail her?

Looking through my book" INSHORE CRAFT Traditional working vessels of the British Isles by Basil Greenhill and Julian Mannering" She looks a little like a Hastings/Deal punt boat which were 14ft long. Also similar there is a picture of a small Weymouth lobster boat. Also Cornish punts.
As already said so many different wooden boats have been built and unfortunately many left to rot.

She is certainly a lovely looking boat and deserves TLC.
 

winch2

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What a peachy looking vessel, really lovely. Agree with the above about finding some mud for a couple of weeks and slosh a few buckets of sea water around inside, she'll tighten up very nicely.
 

ianc1200

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If that's the case Pete, maybe the wooden one in the first post was built by Alf Last of Maldon (ie a renowned smacksboat builder, and there have been a couple of his resurfacing recently).
 
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