And so it begins...

[WilliamUK]

Thanks all, yes, she's a good looker for sure. That could have been a huge problem as her looks almost certainly contributed to my confidence that I could manage to do a good enough job of repairing her to be able to sail. Thankfully I don't think I underestimated the work too much and I'm still reasonably happy I can manage it.


Dan - Not entirely sure but going on other sail numbers, I'd guess at a fairly late Baker. The transom looks like that on the Parkers but as I'm no Lark historian I don't know if Baker designed the tiller-over transom (earlier Bakers were tiller-through transom - no idea what the proper terms are here) before Parker came on the scene or if sail numbers weren't strictly chronological or what.

It's probable that Larks aren't all that amazing for serious cruising. I knew that before buying it (rounded hull rather than chines like a wayfarer and other similarly renowned cruisers) but given a choice between sailing now and waiting for something perfect left me with an easy choice - and there she is.


Iain - I'd have loved to hear that discussion if he'd been inspected. Inventive chap.


Horatio - I'm not so much planning on it as not writing it off. I don't think it'll be anything like as stable as a mirror or a wayfarer (both of which I've read about sleeping afloat on). I'm going to see how stable it seems and figure out if it's something I'd be comfortable with or not.
Otherwise yes, beach or anchor and camp ashore.

I'll keep in mind your comment on the folding grapnel for a lunch break. You're right enough, I expect... but if I do decide she's stable enough to sleep aboard I'll probably want something more secure. I still wonder how easily a folding grapnel could be made non-folding before deployment and restored to folding when it's time to stow it.

 

[PeterV]

Parker made two versions, the Mark 1 and the Mark 2. The Mark 1 was more similar to a Baker and was, as far as I know, the only version where some were built with wooden decks.

As for cruising, do not underestimate what you can do with a set of reefs. I quite happily spent a few hours out off Porthmadog in my Lark singlehanded when the only other boats out were heavily reefed Wayfarers. I used the normal jib and a deep reef in the main, and concluded that the Lark, being light and easy to handle had a lot going for it as a cruising boat.