Leaking seam in a 1930s Gaff Cutter

[MagicalArmchair]

My late fathers beautiful 1930s gaff cutter has just been purchased by a lovely couple who are in the process of delivering her to their home port on a passage from the Medway to Plymouth. She had been out of the water for around eight months before they launched her last week on Thursday, and they set off on Friday on their passage. When launched she was tight as a drum owing to her teak on mahogany construction.

After some brisk sailing today, she started weeping from a seam near the mast and she is taking enough water to require the pumps to be run every three hours so they are a little worried.

She will still be taking up, and I might have waited with her in the water a bit before undertaking the passage, however they were keen to get back and she has had a full structural survey a few weeks previously that gave her a clean bill of health.

I advised they keep an eye on it and to continue cautiously (pointing out to him it was ultimately the skippers decision as he had all the facts at hand). The wind is set to drop in the next few days, and I have been through many a storms in that boat and she has always seen me through. Is my advice to them sound?

 

[Poecheng]

Each boat is different but doesn't seem much to worry about in a boat of that age and in a blow. The mast is doing its best to break the bottom of the boat up but the boat begs to differ and converts it to forward movement. Bit of seam movement in a boat that hasn't fully taken up (especially as we have had lots of good drying weather) doesn't seem too much of a trade off!

 

[NormanS]

Hindsight is a marvellous thing, but it might have been better to let the boat sit in the water for a few days before any "brisk" sailing. Although she didn't leak on launching, some of the caulking may not have been tight.

 

[jerrytug]

Make sure the shrouds aren't too tight, if they are coming from a bermudan background.. gaff standing rigging can seem shockingly slack and it's tempting to give it an extra turn for mother..

Monitor the number of pump strokes needed daily, hopefully she will take up.

And enjoy the boat, mariners have been pumping from the year dot..

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

How tight do you/they have the rigging? A gaffer doesn't need a lot of tension, and too much will tend to drive the mast down through the step, possibly unnecessarily opening up seams in the process.

Mike

 

[Capt Popeye]

Hindsight is a marvellous thing, but it might have been better to let the boat sit in the water for a few days before any "brisk" sailing. Although she didn't leak on launching, some of the caulking may not have been tight.

Humm, hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing; would be interesting if the 'new owners' have had any experience of craft built from timber, or read up/asked about /sought advice timber built craft? would be a great pity to 'loose her' on any such trip after surviving this long in 'good hands'.
Ah well such craft are surprisingly tolerant of 'miss use' so trust they are there, at 'home port' now and she can 'take up' whilst afloat on her own

 

[Tradewinds]

Wanda is a beautiful boat Mark. I remember the posts you made when your dad was ill and she was up for sale.

I hope you don't mind, but perhaps fellow forum members would like to see her again in full flow (I presume it's your Dad on the helm and maybe you as well?). I'll remove the photo if you object to it being shown again here.

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Hello Tradewinds - nope, happy to show her and her beautiful lines again. Indeed, that's me in the foreground, my father in the background on the RTI race. The new owner is actually a shipwright working for a woodenships trust, so whilst he is young, he has plenty of expertise. I am keeping a weather eye on them on AIS and they seem to be making good way. Thanks for all the reassurance, I passed that on to the new owner.

 

[chal]

I for one haven't seen the picture before so thanks for the post: lovely boat!

Doesn't quite answer the OP but I recently saw an old fishing boat sailed from Falmouth to Plymouth with some bits of ply nailed over the worst of the holes and a few tubes of gunge bodged in here and there, so you can get away with a lot if you keep the pumps going. I would imagine all would be fine once the planks have really had a chance to swell and settle a bit while the boat is not being pushed.