Not directly boat related...

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realnutter
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:18 pm

Not directly boat related...

Post by realnutter »

But a wonderful history of an amazing machine...

And from about 12 minutes shows where the Fairey construction method came from...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh4vazBq-X4
Matt

Int Moth K2992
chris
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Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: somerset

Re: Not directly boat related...

Post by chris »

A great bit of film, the fairey hot moulded process is rather different. This is early foam sandwich using balsa as the core. However at the end of prduction the supply of balsa became difficult and a chemist developed a foam that was made from seaweed as an alternative. It was never needed in the end. The ply used was 3/32" birch ply and some of it was laid up 'X' fasion rather than parallel to the sides as you can see in a couple of close ups. This prevent a weakness in one direction. The only sections where the thin ply was pre mouled to a curve were the bomb doors.
This is more relevant to CVRDA dinghies than you might think. Jack Holt obtained a supply of surplus ex-mosquito ply which he used in some of his early merlins. Gently no 16, and no. 7 still show itused for the decks. You can see that the grain is all diagonal, which I believe is how the ply came rather than JH wanting it to look interesting. Under the panels are various letters and numbers stamped on which may refer to parts on the aircraft these panels were originally destined for. Have a look at the curved side decks on Gently and compare them to the shape of the bomb doors. When I removed the side deck for repair the ply made no attempt to straighten out at all. The ply was laminated to that shape from the start.
gent1sm.jpg
GAv
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Re: Not directly boat related...

Post by GAv »

Lovely Craft Chris(no not a Chris Craft, but I would'nt say no to one of them.)

Gently has rolled cockpit decks but did Kate? as maybe its optical elusions, that make her look otherwise, in the pics on the Association Web sight.

This is my old one, Imagea Proctor Mk7, from 1957 built by Wych and Coppock which definately did have em and a rather voluptuous transom, maybe why she was called Caprice.

It took a little while to find the bits to get her back in the water, after her layup in the Thamsis Club, and on picking her up one Sunday, after watching the Fleet sail back from Kew Bridge to Teddington, had nice chats with many, including another previous owner and Mervin Allen, who owns Jack Holt's first Merlin Kate..

Really enjoyed sailing mine, usually single handedly.
She was still @ Ardleigh when I visited recently, albeit a Fairey Firefly took her place when she went to a new custodian.

The Firefly is in two halves in the back garden, which whilst a bit sad does give one a chance to investigate the build, in reverse.
That when enforced layoffs led to rot, (dont think the outgoing Commode's comment to another, he's taking the old shi55heap home, was really called for though, especially as I had given him a load of old Mirror bits, for his Grandkids boat, (no class) unlike the current guy who stopped it becoming The Ardleigh Solo Club, as some including my Potty Mouthed friend would have had it..

He the current main man, has two Vintage MR's and a couple of Clinker National 12s, one circa 1948, however at least the bits off the old c*ap heap, went to good homes(the sails to one in Lithuania! as a guy and his Father in then Russia were building a Firefly copy, and he decided some years on to get the job finished.)

However despite a series latterly of scrapages,I think the boats saved have to date far outnumbered the too far gone ones, in the 15 years since I got back into sailing dinghies, that following 30 years prior of not doing so. I did help build and sail a Wayfairer at School around 50 years ago now.

My Mother used to tell folk how she went out crewing on a friend of my Father's Merlin Rocket, when we went down to see them at St Mawes.
I was allowed to go out on their old Enterprise with the chap's sons.

Have to say I was equally impressed as a car mad Kid with their Humber Super Snipe, much Wood and Leather in that and it was new out in 1958.

Good name and earlier Snipes were de rigeur for High ups RAF staff cars.

Then of course there is the name Merlin, engines so named which the Mosquito had two of, thanks to RR(OK later ones may have had Griffins)also the Morris Minor code name was Mosquito for Prototypes. That looked more like a jellymould, and no trees were harmed during its inception, well until the Classic traveller came out, that is.

_________________
Wooden Minisail Sprite, circa 1968
and later Monaco Sprint hull looking for bits.
chris
Posts: 2474
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:43 pm
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Re: Not directly boat related...

Post by chris »

Kate certainly does have rolled side decks though the whole cockpit is actually even smaller than the actual Merlin design. Kate being the prototype that was rejected by the embrionic class in favour of a slightly less radical design. So No. 2 (named Merlin) is actually the first Merlin
I originally thought it was named after the spitfire engine but apparently that's not the case. The class was going to be called Wizard but that was changed so its after Merlin the magician thus the wizard's hat as the class emblem shape.

I'm not sure if Kate's decks are original or not but they are not the birch ply from Mosquitos. She was built well before the end of the war so that source of materials may not have become available when she was built. So far No 16 and no 7 are the only ones I've seen around that still have the mosquito ply.

Gently will be at the dinghy show to help celebrate merlin's 70th.
Johnathan from Ardleigh is well known to CVRDA events. He onced joined in our cotton sail Challenge at Shearwater by nicking a table cloth to use as a spinaker on his merlin - it worked quite well!
Pat
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Re: Not directly boat related...

Post by Pat »

Pleased to hear of Jonathan again, now at Ardleigh - send our best regards.
I shall always remember returning from a week in Essex with VW T4 camper towing double stacker of Merlin and Lark and two bikes and loaded up with umpteen old Merlin sails, centreboards, rudders and at least 6 masts all en route from Jonathan to Chris B!
(Half Cut and What a Lark Removals Ltd)
GAv
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Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 1:34 am
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Re: Not directly boat related...

Post by GAv »

Yes I like Jonathan, he put on special Menues at various events and evenings being a bit of a Bon Viveur
I turned up one time, to find him doing more mundane duties starting to butter and fill rolls in the galley on his lonesome.
I set to and helped.

Last I saw him was after I resold my Lightning 368, as I had hoped to use it at Hunts,last year, en route back from the sellers, however I finished up collecting it from near Peterborough in the week, as that was more convenient to the seller.
my health it became apparent wasn't up to sailing it then and relatives encouraged me to desist.

So I owned one but still haven't sailed one.

Anyway the chap I sold it to was rejoining Ardleigh, he had been a family member and after they grew up wanted to get back on the water so the Lightning was ideal.

As he didn't quibble over price,I agreed to drop it over to the Reservoir.
Jonathan drove in towing one of his Merlins back from a CVDRA event I believe, and said oh I thought you had left us.

So I explained why I was there, (I only dropped out of Ardleigh SC,as it used to be about 5 miles away, from Lawford Dale, but Harwich is a good deal further from where we used to live, and going full circle had acquired a small Sailing Cruiser and had gone back to the Stour SC).

Anyway like the old days sat and ate my sandwiches by the water at the ASC, saw my old Merlin Rocket in the park but I don't get nostalgic as to things past, says he currently bidding for a motorcycle almost identical to my first road legal one over 4 decades ago.

I actually sold my Drysuit to an ASC guy who lives in Dovercourt and is also a fellow biker.
He said it was a bit daft him sailing at Ardleigh when we are virtually surrounded by water here.
However he was crewing for the previous Commodore then, and I see in the results on their Website, he is doing OK in a Phantom so whilst the Drysuit had been worn three or four times better it be appreciated by someone making full use of it than gathering dust in a wardrobe.

Also small world, my fitness campaign involved doing a one evening a week of weight matters stuff, and one of the advisors when we discussed excercise, said about swimming, and I jokingly said about having impromptu sessions of that in the Stour. Won't add to my bad reputation as to getting a sinking feeling on my cruiser too...

It turned out her hubby is the current President of The Old Gaffers Association, and I further mentioned knowing the late John Wainwright, he a leading light in such, and how my carer duties back then, had prevented me doing the East Coast Classic races on Diva, his 1913 fishing smack(he had another craft, a similar 1934 one called Meryl).

The reason he had asked me to Crew was his regular guy David Shipley,was involved in a bicycle accident, when cans of beer in a plastic bag apparently acted as a brake, he was thankfully not badly Injured but incapacitated enough not to be able bodied to crew for that years festival.

Our ex neighbour who had also encouraged me back into sailing at Wrabness, got me a signed copy of John's book "only so many tides"as a thank you for looking after her house when she was away on her travels.
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