Tag: shipwright

OGA in Gloucester

The 2025 AGM for the gaffers’ association was held in historic Gloucester, at the confluence of the mighty Severn river and the Sharpness canal. National AGM’s don’t have an inspiring reputation, but the weekend was a great opportunity to catch up with boaters from all over the country.

I was very chuffed to not only win the “sailing gaffers” category of the photo competition, but this blog (and the YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@erbster200?si=9rEUk5N9owhUyVz7) was also recognised with an award. The meeting, in medieval Llanthony Secunda priory, was rounded off with a meal and some music.

My winning image of skipper Frits sweating the halyards of historic Dutch barge Oeral Thus

OGA “Tales of Sail” trophy for this blog

On the following morning we were treated to a guided tour of the Nielsen boatyard, given by the owner himself. The yard is almost unique in having dry docks and facilities to work on classic boats of any size, from timber planks and frames, to rigging and even foundry facilities. It’s great to see traditional skills being kept alive and work carried out on classic boats.

Mast woodwork complete

I was very happy to receive these photos today from Nick Gates, the excellent shipwright repairing the rot on Molly’s mast foot. They tell the story of how the scarph is carried out, resulting in a very elegant job, which even improves on the original.

New piece ready for fitting, showing channel for cables

Nick put on a technical bit of tape at the start of the job, to retain the exact length of the mast

The new foot is made of teak, salvaged from the side of some steps on a Baltic Trader which was broken up 20 years ago

Foot is screwed on and the holes filled with epoxy and microlite (filler) mix

Finishing the surface prior to varnishing

I’ve paid for a spruce block to be turned into shavings!! 😉

Mast repair

Molly’s mast lowered and ready for maintenance

The foot of Molly’s mast when we inspected it in August. In fact the rot extended inside almost up to the tabernacle bolt hole!

When we bought Molly last year, we could see that the mast needed some maintenance, but were not able to drop the mast whilst we were ashore in the yard. During the summer, we removed the mast to reapply the Sikkens coating. To our dismay, we discovered rot at the foot of the mast! This winter, work is finally going ahead to refurbish the mast: remove rotten wood, scarphing new timber and adding a hard wood cap to the foot of the mast which will protect the end grain of the spruce. Whilst we’re at it, we’ll change to coating to a more traditional varnish, which will allow us to better see any signs of water damage to the wood and, I feel, give better protection to the wood, albeit at the cost of annual or biannual sanding and topping up the varnish. Here’s a video of our trip to see the shipwright Nick Gates, who has been assessing the work, before completing the refurbishment of our mast.