My new project... MFV Elizmor

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BlowingOldBoots said:
jellyyellie - it would be prudent to have a standalone petrol driven water/bilge pump with appropriate hose lengths on board from day one.
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+1

I was going to be helping Chris bring her down to Southampton if he'd been successful in buying her, and a three or four inch pump and plenty of fuel (plus a liferaft, well-stocked grab-bag, and EPIRB/PLB) were requirements for me taking such a boat down the Irish sea. I was also going to make up a portable board with AIS, VHF and GPS, to be clamped in the wheelhouse as I don't remember the boat having much in the way of nav kit. The raft etc and the instruments were to have been borrowed from Ariam which was laid up for work at the time, but Chris would have bought the pump (the need for which he quite agreed with).

Machine Mart do the kind of pumps I had in mind: http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/clarke-pw3-3inch-petrol-driven-water-pump

Pete
 
I had a 60ft one for 30 years, and had a huge amount of fun. There is, though, a huge amount of maintenance if you want to keep her up to scratch. When manoeuvering, you have to plan ahead, but don't worry, in some ways it's much easier than with a small boat, because things happen slower, the wind doesn't immediately blow you off the pier, and you have much more clear deck space to handle lines.

It's essential to use your propwalk for coming alongside. Right-hand prop pulls in to port when put in astern, so you always plan to berth that way. Left-hand prop is obviously the opposite. Don't try to fight it. Have fun.
 
Yep, there's a lot of her history online. She was built in 1948 by Miller in St Monans, Scotland, and was in service as a ringnetter until 1989 (year before I was born!). Her fishing numbers were B163, and D110 when she fished in Ireland for a bit. Her sister ship is called 'Arctic Moon' and I believe she is being cruised in the Med - would be awesome to track her down.

@prv, they bought her yes, and sold her to me after a year - the boat was in the wrong part of the country for them and they had other commitments (another boat, elderly parent). In the year they owned her, they concentrated on overhauling the engine, and steamed a couple of new planks in, so there's nothing major that needs doing now - just finishing touches for a launch & sea voyage.
 
@prv - don't worry, I have made up a 'project whiteboard' which takes into account all of the surveyor's recommendations for the trip, and have definitely taken bilge pumping/safety gear into consideration! I'm spending quite a bit of money bringing her up to full commission. Luckily my dad's great at the engineering/electrics side and my boyfriend is an excellent carpenter with his own wooden boat so I have a great team to help me (they're both down below working on something as I type!).

This is going to be an awesome adventure with no corners cut - she'll be a great seagoing boat!
 
Sitting her in the mud for a few tides is a good idea, you only have to keep her afloat when the tides in, yet she is wet 24/7. When I was a kid, boats that would not take up where left sitting in Mersey mud for a whilst.

Another idea if you can get to the interior planking is to spray it with water form time to time to help it start absorbing water. On one boat with my parents I was sent out to the scrapyard to go and buy some windscreen sprays to keep the wood moist. Big bits of wood can take some time to get back into shape, she might seap for a whilst and again in first seaway she might start taking a little its normal.

As others have said pumps are a good idea as some one once pointed out to me, your not sinking till the water is coming faster than you can pump it out :rolleyes:.

I am sure all this advice is unnecessary...

From the point of view of boat handling as others have said you will be treated as a leper, no one will want you rafted outside them! Learn to handle her tidy and you will get the admiration of all, if you see a fishing boat knocking round they may well offer some good advice.

No not jealous at all here...:p
 
I would be inclined to do a few shakedown trips round the bay, just to see what happens, get the engine up to temp, etc. You'll get lots of minor trouble, belts, pipes and such.
 
Well, best of luck, what a find!
The sensible advice has all been said Jellie, enjoy!
( Now you can have a proper ships dinghy too sitting on the deck. Is there a power winch at all for hauling anchors and gear?)
Regs, Tim
 
fisherman said:
I would be inclined to do a few shakedown trips round the bay, just to see what happens, get the engine up to temp, etc. You'll get lots of minor trouble, belts, pipes and such.
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+1, and when you think you have enough pumps, treble them, with gate valves / one way valves / seacocks to prevent them coming back if the trim goes awry !

The windows look big to stick your neck out in bad weather, or maybe that was the photo ? If not then storm boards to cover them would be an imperative.

I do wish you every success and bit of fun, well done for hopefully saving an historic vessel.
 
A lovely looking vessel, lots of good advice re pumps etc and getting used to her idiosyncrasies. Hope all goes well for you.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Looks great and I bet it is equally as nice inside; but oh boy oh boy being wood construction it would need a lot of looking after.
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Whee what an understatement. I am really reluctant to be negative to Ellie but a huge wooden hull that has been out of the water for 10 years. It will have to be very carefully inspected for rot
and potential leaks. Alright I am going to say it to Ellie if you havn't paid for it don't. If it is too late then I wish you lots of luck. I certainly hope the added room will be worth the cost and pain of maintenance of the wooden hull. I love the boat just would not want to own it. olewill
 
Echo that respect! Griff Rhys-Jones asid "You can live on a big wooden boat but it will live off you"; but a wonderful life whilst doing so. That journey down the Irish Sea will be a treat, lovely coast and lots of interesting places to stop off.
 
Aye, its the things we don't do that we regret..

At exact same age I bought my first wooden boat and sailed it away from the Orwell to the West country, it never having left the river in 20 years..One had adventures, failures, fixes, detours, one made some very good friends, one had a sort of breakdown in the end 'cos I couldn't keep up with the lack of money/time/skills/whilst trying to further educate oneself as well in the 'real world', a nasty little equation that one, but it didn't break anything permanently and my goodness some peoples lives do seem a tad dull by comparison looking back ( so they say anyway).

Jellie has had a survey and has the A team..The garboard/keel mod looks interesting, I would want to load up the transmission/prop/rudder/steering/ at full chat for a few hours and make sure an anchor can be deployed, ( can't see the stemhead fitting) but these are details..

Quelle aventure indeed
 
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William H is right, I've been biting my tongue over this, but I'm a natural paranoid doom monger, and you're planning a hefty voyage. Sorry. Why the battens along the garboard seams? Doubled? When was it done, has she been to sea since? What did the surveyor say about them? Looks like a leak that didn't respond to caulking, in which case the keel bolts may be a problem. That's why I suggested you get the boat out in a bit of a seaway, you'll soon know. It's not incurable, time (lots) rather than money (£50?). Draw a bolt to see what it's like, this is routine in some FV surveys. If it's rotted you get half a bolt out with the broken end like a needle, use a hollow nosed punch to knock the rest out, replace, do the rest. Worst bit is access, keel band outside, accommodation inside. I sincerely hope this is not so, much older boats survive without this trouble, but if so you won't want to be in any dirty weather. I once had a 1902 pilchard driver, 36ft, almost certainly never had the bolts replaced, never had a leak. I think the steel was better then.
 
As a house boat it's ideal as a cruising boat it's a nightmare . look at the visibility,small wheelhouse windows,no rear vision and only limited side vision close quarter manoevering will be a nightmare.
 
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