John,

That is a yacht hull and you really cannot realistically convert it to something else. You need to retain the mast and boom etc. but no reason why you could not add a cabin and cockpit to make it look like a scale cruising yacht.

Colin

Brian

I go with Ashley's first post. You have a rather nice little pond yacht that was clearly built to sail with that lead ballast in the keel. It wouldn't be that much harder to make it sail again and a first for you, as well as having a lovely ornament.

I will be blunt. If you stain and varnish that hull I think you are in danger in turning it into the sort of nondescript, and ugly lamp base, the sort of which you can find in a charity shop.

You will get plenty of suggestions on here and you could varnish the deck to your heart's content.

I tell you what. If you promise to restore it as a working pond yacht, I promise to make two sails for you.

Tim R

lovely hull, and like what has been said there is nothing that one could do to change type of rig and vessel from a yacht.appearance. have a look at this, a Morecambe bay prawner……..she would lend herself top side to one of these with a cabin rather than the old well decked vessel. just google Morecambe bay prawner and look at images.

Hi John

Sorry about getting the name wrong.

I am a bit sorry about the boat.

My offer still stands.

Cherish what you have.

Tim R

You can buy stripwood of various types approximating the size you mention but the problem with buying online is the postage costs which are likely to well exceed the cost of the wood which is why many people prefer to buy at shows.

You can see what is on offer here:

**LINK**

If you have a model shop within striking distance then it's certainly worth trying them, phone or email first.

Commonly stocked woods will be obechi, bass/lime or mahogany. The light woods can of course be stained to whatever colour you want. The usual stock length is 36 inches.

Colin

Hi John, as you say it is your boat. From the character of the hull which has the lead not too far down, the sails woud have been a gaff rig. This means you can indulge yourself in bright shiny wood booms. The mast would have a gaff with what are called jaws resting on the mast but held up by the mast. As has been suggested look at a picture of a full size boat. There is a lot of rigging (string) which will give you the character you are looking for.

As far as deck furniture goes a small anchor (2-3cms)with some cleats rather than bollards (which would be seriously out of place) and a Samson post towards the bow with some rope coiled or in hanks hanging from the mast would suit.

Ropes would be a brown colour and suitable sizes can be bought.

I surmise the hull is solid and you have a flat deck? Get this smooth and well rubbed down. Do not use a paint brush to varnish the deck but put a little cloth on one finger and rub the varnish on to the deck quite thinly. It will dry very quickly and several coats will not take long. This will give you a much flatter and appealing surface than a paint brush would. In fact I would do the whole hull in this manner.

For attaching the shrouds (mast string) I use small eyes with a small washer and then screw them into the deck, this looks better than an eye on its own.

Attach the sails to the booms with a continuous loop every 3 cms or so. If you do these things you will not need much in the way of deck fittings and she should look nice.

Good luck

Roy

Hi again John

A friend of mine had a yacht like this with adjustable sails and rudder. At the pond side, after he'd assessed the prevailing wind conditions, he set the rudder and rig according to whether it was to be 'close-hauled', a 'reach' or a 'run' to the far bank.

If this is all 'jibberish' to you, contact a local sailing club and, usually, someone will take you out and explain the different 'points of sailing'….it's not difficult once you can relate the boat's direction to the wind. (Be careful the 'bug' might bite !).

As for Gaff /Gunter rigs I've no practical experience of these, but, I sure there are others on the forum who will have a wealth of experience to share. If you want to keep it as a static model that's fine – either make a display case for it or, decide who will have "dusting" responsibilities…

Merry Christmas

Dave

Hi Roy – Oh, if only we had such sophistication back then (around 1957) !

I seem to remember that unless you set up some 'weather helm' it would luff-up and come to a complete stand still.

However, as it was only really a large public 'paddling pool' we could wade in and retrieve it quite easily…. I guess this may have been due to an unbalanced rig. (Something we had on the early full-size Ospreys).

Regards, Dave

Looks lovely Eddie – does it sail well ?

Dave