And so it begins...

[WilliamUK]

I have a boat.

On the most fitting of days, April 1st, I bid on and won Lark 1804, Blithe Spirit on eBay.

She needs some work, but after a heck of a job getting her into the back garden, rigging her with the previous owner and handing over the hard-earned, as of yesterday I now have my own boat.

Apart from the hole in the deck, some seized blocks and cleats (salt) and the floor needing the old paint stripping off and replacing I don't see a whole lot that needs doing.

I'll certainly have some questions over the next week or so as I look to start cleaning up, replacing and repairing. For now though, I'm off to check out a local sailing club before heading home to rig her again to be sure I don't forget anything from yesterday.

Some fun times ahead, I think.



(I've added pictures... see page 2.)

 

[sarabande]

Hail to Thee BS !


That sounds like a lot of fun. How about some pics, so that we can encourage you to fit underwater LEDS ?

 

[Hugh Foulis]

Which anchor do you intend to use?

 

[Steve Clayton]

.....and which chandlery?

 

[Greenheart]

Have you considered converting her to schooner rig? I've got some drawings. Just for a Lark.

 

[BAtoo]

Well done; bit of a bargain you had. Now the expenditure starts.....

 

[WilliamUK]

Hail to Thee BS !


That sounds like a lot of fun. How about some pics, so that we can encourage you to fit underwater LEDS ?

Not sure I can think of a better name for a Lark for that very reason.

Not sure about LEDs, it'd need more oomph to really light up any distance under water. Not sure how I feel about extra through hull fittings and the slightly less fair lines they'd mean. I know where to ask though.

Pictures will follow.

Which anchor do you intend to use?

Probably a nice big fishermans. Mainly for lack of easy stowability but with a bow roller that shouldn't be much trouble.

(That said, I do plan to cruise her so an anchor will be on the cards, suggestions welcome. I think I have a PBO or YM anchor article/test somewhere here, but I'm not sure how applicable to dinghys that would be.)

.....and which chandlery?

B&Q. They sell 316 stainless fixings, right?
I believe there's a dingy specialist not too far away though. Hopefully they'll be reasonable.

Have you considered converting her to schooner rig? I've got some drawings. Just for a Lark.

That or a Junk rig... inspired by Mr Taylor and Ming Ming.
Are there many schooner rigged larks around?

Well done; bit of a bargain you had. Now the expenditure starts.....

I take it you went looking? Or were you bidding? Yeah, I'm happy with it. It was far enough below my limit to be able to get her fairly close to sailing without raiding the piggy bank for too much more.
Then there's bouyancy aids, club membership, insurance, the non-critical jobs... like I said... April 1st. Haha.

 

[Searush]

Congratulations - you'll be sorry soon enough!

First thing - don't spend a penny till you have tried every other possible alternative (Beg, borrow & steal spring to mind). Secondly whatever you think you want (or even NEED) try to manage without it for at least a month before spending any money.

Anchor for a cruising dinghy? A folding grapnel with a meter or so of 6mm chain & a decent warp will be fine, you will pick one up for a song at a boat jumble. Many people beach for the night when dinghy cruising anyway.

 

[aitchem]

Your'e in for serious wallet hemmorrage pal.
Have fun.

 

[Greenheart]

Your'e in for serious wallet hemmorrage pal.
Have fun.

Surely that's an unduly bleak outlook? Please, say it is? I may have my own dinghy, any decade soon...

I'd echo that it's well worth using the boat as it is, for long enough to discern why things which look awkward or inadequate are the way they are...but a decent job of varnish/paint/sandpaper and re-roping needn't mean re-mortgaging the boat shed. William didn't mention replacing sails, did he? Now that costs...

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Surely that's an unduly bleak outlook?

Well there is the other side tyo the coin. If you werent spending all your spare ( and then some) on a boat, you might be spending it instead on loose women and booze. The boat is healthier and you will feel able to have tea with the vicar. Joy!

 

[Greenheart]

Alas, I don't even know my local vicar. But I suspect I'd rather have a crew made up of loose women getting tight! I mean, safer on board than an uptight clergyman let loose.

With regard to dinghy-owning costs, I reckon the greatest expense can be where one keeps the boat. A difficult decision...leave it in a secure yard for lots of cash, or take a chance for less. Or add two hours per week to your sailing, and tow home...

 

[WilliamUK]

Congratulations - you'll be sorry soon enough!

First thing - don't spend a penny till you have tried every other possible alternative (Beg, borrow & steal spring to mind). Secondly whatever you think you want (or even NEED) try to manage without it for at least a month before spending any money.

Anchor for a cruising dinghy? A folding grapnel with a meter or so of 6mm chain & a decent warp will be fine, you will pick one up for a song at a boat jumble. Many people beach for the night when dinghy cruising anyway.

I've been over the boat and written a to-do list split into things that can wait and things that need doing before sailing. I'll go over it again and see of I can move any to the "can wait" list. For example, I need to strip the old, flaky paint off the floor, but re-painting can probably wait.

I believe there's a boat jumble in Preston next month. I'll pop down there and see what I can get for less-than fortunes. Would a grapnel and short chain do for most conditions and bottoms or would I likely need an alternative for hard/soft/rougher conditions? I expect beaching will be the first choice but I do want the option.

Your'e in for serious wallet hemmorrage pal.
Have fun.

The biggest expenses actually look like towing and storage arrangements. The latter is covered with the club it looks like I'm going to be joining, but if I want to sail anywhere else the towbar and road trailer won't come cheap.

Surely that's an unduly bleak outlook? Please, say it is? I may have my own dinghy, any decade soon...

I'd echo that it's well worth using the boat as it is, for long enough to discern why things which look awkward or inadequate are the way they are...but a decent job of varnish/paint/sandpaper and re-roping needn't mean re-mortgaging the boat shed. William didn't mention replacing sails, did he? Now that costs...

The plan is to get her sailable and use her as is. I'll be getting input from the club's other Lark sailors and will only make changes if they are obviously needed.
Varnish, lines and things like that are on the list. Jib sheets immediately, others just washing, drying and putting back for now. The jib is tough to lower though, so I'm thinking about switching to rope halyards.

Not replacing sails, though she's kite-less just now. Not in a hurry though. Plenty more to do first... like sailing.

Anyone have a pattern for a Lark kite? I expect a domestic sewing machine could handle such light fabric without much trouble.

Well there is the other side tyo the coin. If you werent spending all your spare ( and then some) on a boat, you might be spending it instead on loose women and booze. The boat is healthier and you will feel able to have tea with the vicar. Joy!

Somehow I think my crew/co-conspirator/girlfriend would be less than pleased about being described as (or replaced with) a loose woman.

With regard to dinghy-owning costs, I reckon the greatest expense can be where one keeps the boat. A difficult decision...leave it in a secure yard for lots of cash, or take a chance for less. Or add two hours per week to your sailing, and tow home...

Can't store it at home. It's a real pain to get in or out of the garden so it's there for repairs then going to one of my local clubs where it'll stay. I'll sail there (biggest lake locally, and I think probably the most exposed too) unless I'm heading off cruising in which case I'll go via the club to collect the boat.

 

[Greenheart]

I've looked at lots of dinghies, not as racing kit, but as rewarding sailing machines for going places in. I don't like contradicting contributions above, but I never heard a good report of grapnel anchors - much better, a small Danforth, 10m of chain plus warp...

...also, I've often suspected that in spite of standard spinnakers' downwind versatility, their complexity of controls & pole make an asymmetric very attractive, for shorthanded/unstressed fast cruising. And, do you have rowlocks & decent oars? Critical!

Not that I actually have a dinghy at the moment, but it's top of my shopping list. As my boat will necessarily have to be elderly, and since I intend cruising seriously when time, tide and income allow, we may have plenty to discuss, in due course!

Best of luck. Keep us informed.

 

[WilliamUK]

I've looked at lots of dinghies, not as racing kit, but as rewarding sailing machines for going places in. I don't like contradicting contributions above, but I never heard a good report of grapnel anchors - much better, a small Danforth, 10m of chain plus warp...

...also, I've often suspected that in spite of standard spinnakers' downwind versatility, their complexity of controls & pole make an asymmetric very attractive, for shorthanded/unstressed fast cruising. And, do you have rowlocks & decent oars? Critical!

Not that I actually have a dinghy at the moment, but it's top of my shopping list. As my boat will necessarily have to be elderly, and since I intend cruising seriously when time, tide and income allow, we may have plenty to discuss, in due course!

Best of luck. Keep us informed.

I'm reading a book about dinghy cruising at the moment and they weren't super keen on the folding grapnel. They did speak highly of a non-folding one though, and I suspect a folder could be modified such that it became non-folding when put into use. Best of both worlds. I'm reserving judgement for now though.

The author was a serious dingy cruiser and used 2m of chain on a boat which carried 2 anchors and just 1m on a 14' with a single one. 10m may be overkill.

I think my current thoughts are similar to yours on spinnaker vs asymmetric.

Rowlocks and oars are definitely on the cards for when the cruising starts.

I'm working with an incredibly tight budget, which is one reason I was happy to get a Lark that needed work even though it's more of a racer than a cruiser. It'll get me on the water and that's my top priority.
I could have spent ages waiting for budget and the prefect boat to coincide but who knows when that might have happened? Storage, trailing, sails, repairs, maintenance, sorting seized parts and so on are all current issues now rather than some nebulous idea I might have to deal with in the future.

I'll be more than happy to discuss things when you get started.

 

[WilliamUK]

I promised pictures...

(You can just about see the hole in the gunwale on the shot that includes the mast foot... and in that image I know the mast should be touching the forward edge of the slot in the foredeck - that'll be the topic of a future thread if I can't figure it out myself.)

 

[lw395]

Looks pretty good!
All the best,

 

[Greenheart]

I'm green with envy, she's a beauty. I hadn't looked at Larks, much. I will henceforth. D'you know what sort of vintage she is?

 

[Iain C]

Which anchor for a dinghy?

A good mate of mine with a pretty illustrious dinghy sailing career who is now an RYA Olympic coach entered a regatta once and saw that if he was not carrying "an anchor and 15m of line" he could be risking a DSQ if inspected. He'd not brought one. Being an enterprising chap, and not wishing to add any additional weight to the boat, he nipped into town and came back with his anchor...a fish hook and 15m of nylon line...

 

[Sniper]

That's a very nice looking boat. With regard to cruising aspirations, I presume you're not planning on sleeping in the boat while afloat? Sorry if I'm teaching Grandmother to suck eggs, but the Lark has very little form stability and wouldn't be a very reassuring nights sleep. A tent ashore would be the way to go.

As far as anchors go, I guess you don't really need more than a 'lunch hook' for a cup of tea stop, in which case a folding grapnel will be fine and be a lot easier to stow than anything else.

Good luck with her and enjoy the sailing.