Boat History Help...

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pauls_SPT

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Hello,

I've been trying to trace the history of my boat for a few years now, but have hit a wall at about 1960. I've tried every source I can think of, from previous owners, various maritime museums, ex-service associations to trawling through Lloyds Register, but all with no luck.

I've asked reams of questions here on boat-building and have received any amount of help, but I've never thought of asking for help in tracing my boat's history. I appreciate this is a bit of a long-shot, but I'm hoping somebody here will, perhaps, have seen my boat in the past or know something about it...

Here's what I know;

Probably an early (c1930) RAF Seaplane Tender
Possibly built by Walton Yacht Works
Owned by Richard Dimbleby c1960 as "Woden"
Sold in Dartmouth by the Dimbleby estate in 1965
Owned by Sqn Ldr MacGillivray in Falmouth and used as a Shark Fishing Boat until about 1975 - still called "Woden"
Abandoned c1980 on the beach in Falmouth where the Maritime Museum now sits and set on fire at some point
Converted to a house boat c1985 and moored variously in the Penryn and Truro (Cornwall) Rivers
Moved by me into Ponsharden Shipyard for restoration in 2003 and is still there

I have a website at www.seaplane-tender.co.uk (only really works at 1024x768, sorry - I'm working on an 800x600 version) which has a bit more information and some pictures. Currently, while the weather's good, I'm furiously stripping the paint from the exterior ready to repaint with Aluminium...

If anybody can help at all, I'd be very grateful - it's very frustrating getting back so far with her history but being able to get no further.

Many thanks,

Paul
 
Hello Paul, how are you getting on?

I've never really been much good at tracing history, I have an e type jag that raced in the sixties but cant find any info, I spend my time working on it rather than researching and I feel the same about my two Scott Paine boats.

Have you spoken to the bmpt? I'm not sure how active they are now but there is somewhere and archive I think.

http://www.bmpt.org.uk/
 
Hiya,

it's going well, thanks - I'm just not getting to my boat to work on it as much as I'd like /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I went to see the BMPT just before they closed up shop and had their shed knocked down - understandably, they were pretty depressed and weren't that keen to chat... I had a good look around ST1502, which was helpful (you can see some of the pictures I took on the NHSC website), but they couldn't help trace my boat's history...

Paul
 
Hiya,

I did indeed write to David Dimbleby - he confirmed that his father owned a boat answering to the name and description of mine and also the year it was sold, 1965. Unfortunately, his letter was rather along the following lines;

Dear Paul,

Yes, that was my fathers boat, we sold it when he died.

Best Regards,

D Dimbleby

So there wasn't much more information I could glean from it and I don't like to write again, seeing as he went to the trouble of replying to me at all in the first place...similarly, I think writing to Johnathan would be a little out of place...

...there are all sorts of hidden difficulties in tracing histories, it seems /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Paul
 
A long shot, but......

My grandmother used to claim she saw (and waved at) Richard Dimbleby in his boat at Henley. I've no way of knowing how true this was, but assuming she did and it was mid 50's to early 60's she was talking about, there's a chance it was on this boat, and therefore a chance that the EA might hold registration details.

IanC
 
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