Boat identification - Dixon & Son, Exmouth

[tups]

Hiya,

I've bought this rather forlorn looking boat and am going to try to restore her. She was about to be burned as she was hit by a skip lorry and suffered some split planks and smashed ribs.

All I know about her is that she was from Dixon and Sons of Exmouth, her engine was bought from Stuart Turner on 19 March 1959 by a 'GW and A Upham' (one of a pair). Her most recent owners called her 'tweetie pie' but I assume (and hope!) this wasn't the original name.

If anyone has any leads I could pursue to see if I can trace her history and maybe even find out her original name, I'd be extremely grateful.

For those who are interested, this picture was from the summer. Since then she's been stripped down, the engine removed (and it's running - just need to clear out the water cooling and give it a lick of paint), and wood bought for 12 new ribs, new sheer strakes, new gunwale and new deck. I hope she might be approaching readiness late this summer if I'm organised.

best wishes
Ben

 

[Peterduck]

Re: Boat identification - Dixon & Son, Exmouth

I spoke with Tom Whitfield, who started his apprenticeship with Dixon's in 1960. He thought that it looked like one of a number of 12 1/2 ft clinker boats which were built for Jimmy Green of Beer for a livery service [hired boats]. They were powered by Stuarts, which were bought in a job lot to be fitted by Dixon's. The planking was elm, the ribs were CRE or oak. If you look under the thwart or the sternsheets, with a bright light, you should find the name of the actual craftsman who built her. Tom said that if one of the garboards has a scarph just aft of the point of greatest beam, then that was the first boat he built. He cut the garboard just 1/8" too short, so they had to scarph a new length in. All the jiggling and fudging in the world wouldn't make it go. He was amazed that one should still be 'alive', as livery boats took a hell of a pounding.
Peter.

 

[tups]

Re: Boat identification - Dixon & Son, Exmouth

Thanks so much for this, Peter - how exciting! We'll have to head over to Beer some time and see whether we can find anything similar. I'll have a look in a few weekends time when I'm next down for the name as well.