Brian Phillips was our guest speaker at the November Technical Meeting. Brian has been a professional boat builder all his life, having been apprenticed to Savages in Victoria many, many years ago. Savage later moved to their present, well-known range of fibreglass and aluminium boats but Brian retains his life-long dedication to wood. In recent years we've made two Toolbox Visits to his home works in Baldivis, but he's now actually living in Byford (seems to me to be too far from the water, but he's happy).

Brian arrived to talk to us about the Wooden Boat Works (Fremantle). This project first saw the light of day, with Brian at its head, in a small part of B Shed on Victoria Quay. It was very cramped and Brian then moved on with Graham Lahiff taking over the reins. Graham later was able to move into much larger premises nearby in a shed at the western end of Slip St. Here he was able to spread his wings quite a bit, doing restorations and new builds geared to TAFE and apprenticeship courses. Unfortunately, Graham then died suddenly and the whole scheme had to go into recess.

He was able to show us on the evening a full colour leaflet intended for recruiting students and a typed list of ideas for about thirty different courses or topics covering workshop techniques and tools, their correct use, designing, different methods of construction, timber types, rigging, restoration techniques and much more. The list also included short courses on fire prevention, first aid, health and safety and personal protection equipment. Brian hopes to be underway with his first students in February.

Further down the track, and possibly in the Slip St site, Brian would like to establish a Wooden Boat Foundation to ensure the continuation of the trad. boat idea long after his departure. The site could include a small museum and be a meeting place of interested groups such as the MHA, ABBA, etc. More strength to his arm.

But the evening didn't end there. Brian also had colour slides of two different topics, ably screened by his works offsider, Maro Vischi.

Now, many, many months later, Brian has revived the Works, but not in the Slip St site; the present Works is at 106 Quill Way, Henderson, where there's even more space but it's a long way from the Fremantle centre of TAFEs, museums and the amateur boat scene. He would dearly love to return to Slip St, but the Fremantle Port Authority, on whose land it stands, seems distinctly cool on that idea, it's Henderson for now. One advantage to us is that he has enough space to be able to let some of it out to amateur builders like ourselves, and very few of us have quarter acre blocks for backyard building these days. To this end Brian can be contacted on 0437 902 942.

They covered the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart in February (which several members present had also visited) and the annual regatta of the Old Gaffers Association, held at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.The Hobart show was very extensively covered from all angles, which must have been difficult for Brian since he was conned into running the steam-bending demonstration in the shipwrights' village on the hard standing beside Constitution Dock. It must have seriously reduced his photography time. I was pleased to find that he was just as impressed with the original 1880's Thames skiff as I was, as with the Dutch Music Boote (a one man band in a 3m aluminium punt). The OGA Regatta was much more extensive than I'd imagined, covering a huge number of entries including some non-gaff trad. boats such as Dragons and not to mention John Fitzharding's "Thera" which we were lucky enough to see when we were still meeting at RPYC. There were many shots of Coutta Boats, of course, but then they have their own racing class at RFBYC. Also included were new builds on traditional lines such as Brian's own delightful 16' open dinghy with a tall gaff laminated into a curve, rather like Dutch types and aerodynamically very efficient.

So, with all that lot we had no trouble filling in a well-attended evening. Our sincere thanks are due to Brian and Maro for making the time to come along and talk to us.

The editor was unable to attend the Xmas bash at Maylands Slipway on Dec 8, but Chris Davis contributed the following article on the two boats visited on what was a very successful day. It was a pity that I missed it.

Minx II

Paul & Rosemary Nayler purchased Minx II, a Van De Stadt "Dogger" design, in November 2004. She is approximately 30 feet long by 8 foot beam and draws around 5 foot 6 inches. Construction is all plywood, at first sight hard chine, but with a small double chine arrangement allowing for a filler piece which is faired and then appears as a large radius, rounded, single chine.

Minx's foredeck has been removed

Paul & Rosemary had Minx II moored at the Raffles and used it for short sailing trips and as a 'caravan' on the river until they brought her to Maylands slipway in February 2007.

They are currently focussed on removing the deck ply which had reached the end of its life. This has produced some difficulties around the gunwale area where they are contemplating several conflicting pieces of advice. Currently they are leaving two inches of the deck in place with the intention of building up the deck beams to the old deck thickness and placing the new deck over the top of the residual old deck around the gunwale line.

Along the coach house. Got enough cleats?

The alternative advice is to remove all of the old deck including the upstanding bulwark and place the new deck over the entire area including a run out over a new inner section of 'bump' strip placed on the outside of the sides of the boat. This would allow the overlaying epoxy/glass covering to run over the entire deck ply and importantly encapsulate the gunwale area.

Paul & Rosemary are on a learning curve with this project and welcome any advice that can be offered.

Que Sera

Some of our members inspect Que Sera

This is the historic launch now being restored by the yard owner, Arno Dawson, who was unable to be present at the time. She has been well known at Royal Perth Yacht Club for most of her life, being launched in 1952 and owned for many years at the club by a chap by the name of Emil Same. During the late 1950's and early 1960's she was penned at the base of what is now 'B' jetty and was one of the largest and most prestigious launches in the club – how things have changed!

Pete Russell at the navigation station

BBQ

After our inspections, courtesy of Peter Russel, we were treated to a very relaxing sausage sizzle on the lawn by the river. Peter not only provided sausages and buns complete with tomato sauce but he did all the good cooking as well. This was complemented by the tea and coffee kit which Peter Leggatt brought along complete with milk. And then there were all the eats which Rosemary had prepared. So a big thankyou to all for a very pleasant afternoon of indulgence and a pleasant pre Christmas end to the ABBA year.

She has a fin keel of moderate proportions and the rudder is shaft mounted and balanced. ie some of the blade is forward of the shaft which makes for a lighter helm at the tiller end. Auxiliary power is supplied by a single cylinder Volvo MD7 diesel of 13hp. Inside the generous coach house makes for full headroom for average height sailors (well that's what Chris Davis said anyway!). With two quarter berths aft, at least one berth in the dinette (caravan style) and a V berth forward, she could accommodate up to five overnight. The Dogger design is a well proven ocean going vessel. There are at least 5 Doggers on the river. One of these, Onawind from Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club was a very active ocean racer in the 1970's. She can still be seen moored in Blackwall Reach.

Peter Leggatt inspects the deckbeams

This process will also involve relocating the chainplates to the exterior of the hull and restoring deterioration that has occurred to the plywood on the inside of the hull where the old chainplates had allowed the ingress of fresh water through the deck.

Sunlight floods the fore peak

When this is complete, Paul & Rosemary are intending to do further work to the inside accommodation including the fitting of a kero stove/oven in place of the metho two burner arrangement which was in place before they stripped out the interior of the boat.

She is of traditional carvel plank construction – jarrah on the bottom and possibly oregon on the topsides. One of her advantages is that she appears to a large extent to be original with much of the original hardware still in evidence. This includes the binnacle at the internal helm position and exterior lights.

Paul Thompson at the inner helm

The layout consisted of a small cockpit at the stern with a ladder to the upper deck and fly bridge helm position. A companion way from the cockpit led to the aft cabin which was set low in the hull. This contained a bunk each side. Further forward the floor was raised to a central dinette and the internal helm position (one could call this the bridge).

The bilges always need the most work

Under the raised floor, the two Ford petrol engines had been removed. A few steps down lead again into the forward cabin area (being careful not to knock one's head on the deck beam and bronze Classic Boat Club plaque). This cabin contained another two bunks and locker space under. Right at the bow was the anchor locker and on this vintage of launch possibly the marine head) The vessel still had much of the inside in its original varnished guise but the exterior showed the signs of the 5 to 10 years that Que Sera has been sitting out of the water on the hardstand at RPYC, but this should all come good under Arno's care and attention.