Pre-war British Moth

Post your items here & they may be copied over to the for sale section of the CVRDA site
Post Reply
Godfrey
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:43 pm

Pre-war British Moth

Post by Godfrey »

Not for sale, as worthless, but maybe interesting?
We have a British Moth (hull only) which is one of the first 20 built before the war. They didnt have the glue technology for marine ply as we know it, hence the hull skin is wide strip planked. The problem is there is no ID number marked, so no provenance /history with it. The Moth Assoc have made enquiries but to no avail.
We know its not numbers 1 or 2 as both destroyed, nor is it No6 which still exists albeit re-built. So that leaves 17 boats unaccounted for;- probably built by Webb Ltd of Leigh on Sea between 1933 and 1939. The only other clue was a Desborough SC burgee found inside when she was lifted from Turks Boatyard by the Thames, along with some other old crocks which may have been used by the movie industry.
However, it is taking up valuable storage space and I would like rid of it.
Just the hull is all you get, but this is the only example of its kind remaining.
Bonfire night approaches, but once its gone, its gone!
Any interest?
Godfrey
imptoo
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:56 pm

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by imptoo »

Any photos of the hull to document her before she goes to the bonfire?

George in Maryland
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by JimC »

Seems a pity to burn her - no interest at all? What sort of condition?
Godfrey
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:43 pm

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by Godfrey »

All we have is the un-decked shell.
Some of the joints have come un-glued as you might expect and part of the mahogany cb case is decayed and would want replacing. I'm not sure what the original decks would have been made from? The ply that came off is unlikely to be the original. Early BM documents refer to "masonite" deck panels, whatever that was...? She would have had duckboards to protect the floor in her day, like an old GP14 etc.
You could use epoxy to get the shell watertight again although not authentic of course.
Yes, I'll take some pics before I dump it.
It/she has actually made it past this years bonfire but there is always the garden waste bin waiting! With Merlin projects queued up, I am too busy to bother with it right now so still hoping somebody will throw a 'head-fit' and intervene!
GGG
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by JimC »

Where is the boat? I suppose it could get slung in the garage with the spare canoe planks on top of the Eleven Plus...

Masonite, as I understand it, is a sort of mildly damp resistant hardboard.
Godfrey
Posts: 63
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:43 pm

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by Godfrey »

Hi Jim. We are west Essex M25/M11 junction. Yes, a Moth does not take up that much room to store.
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by JimC »

Now in my garage waiting for a new owner.
Michael Brigg
Posts: 1663
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:11 pm
Location: Gosport, UK

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by Michael Brigg »

Any chance of photos? :shock:
Michael Brigg
roger
Posts: 3031
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 12:08 pm
Location: Frome Somerset UK

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by roger »

JimC wrote:Now in my garage waiting for a new owner.
Well done Jim
Hornet 191 Shoestring,
Hornet 595 Demon awaiting restoration
Hornet 610 Final Fling
Hornet 353
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by JimC »

Michael Brigg wrote:Any chance of photos?
Frankly no!
Its under an old board sail as a dust sheet, with a bunch of spare canoe and cherub sails sitting on top of that, and a bunch more Canoe spares between its trailer and the front of the garage, and then two road trailers jammed in in front of that.

Trust me it looks truly awful:
- gaping seams opened between the dried out planks, one broken plank (may have happened in transit:-(( ) and something like 50% of the last coat of paint having peeled off.
- a large chunk of centreboard case missing through rot, and various other crumbling bits.
- no decks and some missing deck support beams

I do think there's enough to be worth saving, but it would be a pretty drastic rebuild.
JimC
Posts: 1721
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:24 pm
Location: Surrey
Contact:

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by JimC »

I had an hour waiting for some glue to dry so wandered down to the garage and took some photos.

http://www.devboats.co.uk/AntiqueBritishMoth/

Image
Image
Image
Hotspur
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 7:38 pm

Re: Pre-war British Moth

Post by Hotspur »

You have PM Jim :-)
Visit my blog Naval Air History at navalairhistory.com
Post Reply