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After four to five months of fruitless searching for a replacement for my transit van, we have found a well suited replacement for the transit van. It will do all the things we need it to do and...

The Pilot 14 has now turned to a bright shade of Yellow which the owner wish me to paint the boat from a very dark blue.


So it begins from the grey to the bright yellow, it will be seen for a...

First job was to mark off the waterline before starting painting the white undercoat

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It is now two weeks since we were at Chance in Woodplumpton and after some of the hottest weather we have had since 1976. It has been too hot to work at our normal rate until now that the temperature...

It is now two weeks since we were at Chance in Woodplumpton and after some of the hottest weather we have had since 1976. It has been too hot to work at our normal rate until now that the temperature...

As I am going through my restoration of Chance, I would like to pick up some original bits and pieces which are missing from her. namely 8 inch brass Portholes, cleats, davits, stanchions, etc.. So...

Sorting through the parts taken of Mai Star II earlier and seeing which to use as patterns & what to get rid of.

Sorting through the parts taken of Mai Star II earlier and seeing which to use as...

The Morgan Giles 30 hull painting to continue doing with more layers of Hi-Build Epoxy Primer until the hull is fair and ready to paint its final orange paint



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Back from my Travels to the North West of England

Now that I have finished my travels to the North West of England, I can now turn my attention to working on Mai Star II and get on with her...

Last Week on Chance in Woodplumpton
This last week in Woodplumpton was the fore cabin bilges cleaned out by my brother John so that they are clean of all the old bilge dirt, and mixture of dust, old...

Over this past year since we started our mission to restore Chance to her former glory and get her back on the high seas where she belongs. There as been some up and downs along the way. First, we...

One bit if you can see it, is that the starboard side as dropped and the the sheer line shows that it as happened, so the starboard side is going to have to be propped up back into position until the...

The upper part of the transom was made up of diagonal plywood, however, the bottom part was made up of athwartships layers of plywood
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The way I first saw Chance a year ago and a job I was not looking forward to doing

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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5QNv6hcS1ylMDQr1qA0hWZiiALXesGXphXA899QMJOmnezDIgSgTQI7BK_f_3vK4LTQwYpwXVoMC_-9x-lg-ZnGETslDJodFVQlJDKAVdqjUjRIQPK_KB8zu0LheiDPNUMaTj0i2X8E...

These are all the ribs from the aft cabin area,some are just short ribs, others are dry laminated ribs, that is to say they were steamed into position and not glued together before they were nailed...

In the past the beam shelf was replaced but never fixed in place correctly and someone had done a poor repair to the deck and did not take the time to make sure to mirror the teak deck planking to...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmKAMeUicB4M_pP4XYi3RJSTbc-mU1GveqF9UJwrFFioQ1GpDDNe1Mxky2CA_2963E7HEOP2qQhHOoZndieUyQ_UjNSRdnCIyk39V9SIUKNg2GQ7kO4YxYH9ZXu-oiU7IGMPcU6wAvvH...

Like any true Yorkshire man, where there is muck there's brass. the first wash was done with soap that was a by product of bio diesel

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Busy week ahead on Chance

It has been a fortnight since we have been up at Woodplumpton and it is now time to go up to Woodplumpton again for a weeks work on Chance.
Now that all but the masts...

Update of work underway on Chance over the past few weeks and our plans for the future

This is an update to let you all know what we have been up to over the past few weeks and month. We have...

After the week away in Woodplumpton on Chance it is back to Mai Star II
Now we have returned from Woodplumpton it is the turn of Mai Star II to get some of the work done to her.
One of the jobs...

Planning for the next trip to Woodplumpton to start on the hull repairs

This is going to be our first place we are going to tackle, the aft cabin on the starboard side with the worse area of rib...

A hearty breakfast at the local Costa Coffee and then off to Windermere

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At last all the major tasks are completed on Chance and the reconstruction can start on our next trip to Woodplumpton

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This week has been a very productive week on the restoration of Chance with the removal of the water and fuel tanks out of the cockpit and the removal of the propeller shafts out of the stern tubes. ...

The starboard fuel tank had to be moved along the length of the cockpit before it would move out into the centre of the cockpit ready to be craned out of the boat tomorrow. ...

The propeller shafts and propellers finally removed and now to get the stern tubes

The propellers and shafts now removed out of the boat and on the pile of other scrapped items removed this time. ...

The position of tabernacle and the hole for the chimney for the solid fuel fire in the main cabin and the only ventilation in the main cabin apart from opening the skylight hatches


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A view from the very forward end of the foredeck looking aft to show the position of the deck hatches and the cooker chimney which is getting removed as it is not to be in that position or in the...

These water locks which were in the cockpit lockers are a part that was not in the boat when the engine were originally fitted. They are Volvo Penta water locks which are unlikely to have been fitted...

After cutting off the exposed part of the propeller shafts on both sides of the boat it was time to removed the outer gland fitting. The only problem being was that the outer gland came out not in...

For the most part it is in reasonable condition, however, because of poor planking repairs a lot more as to come out to make the hull be strong again.

Yesterday I continued sand back the hull planking from the waterline to the decks as you can see from these photos.

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As we had looked into the tanks while they were still in position and find they were U/S we decided that the best course of action was to remove the tanks in which ever way was easiest. So out with...

First full day back at Chance at Woodplumpton, straight back to sanding the hull back to expose the planking and highlighting any rotten planking covered by paint or filler.

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This coming week will be spent in Woodplumpton on Chance

On the road in the morning from Essex up to Woodplumpton to make a start on the latest stage of the restoration of Chance. This week my...

In this photo two parts of the cupboard front from under the sink on the starboard side of the galley area
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These bits are the two parts of the original galley top and two of the sides

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A very difficult to understand they way was put together when she was built.

The more we take Chance to pieces the more difficult it is to understand the reasoning behind her build and the...

Work for the next few days weather permitting
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Starting tomorrow, it is hoped that the pattern can be made to the make the new frame which was removed because it was rotten and had signs of land...

Tomorrow, while many people will be taking advantage of a four day holiday, I will be working on Mai Star II, As my workshop and yard is closed to clients for the holiday it gives me time to get on...

The wardrobe in the main cabin is made up of various parts which have to be taken apart and cleaned up. This photo is the bottom part of the lower part of the front of the wardrobe

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In order to make the cabin sides safe to work on there has been a board fitted under the cabin sides while it is made safe to remove the cabin sides in one piece

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This piece is the front of the hanging wardrobe in the main cabin has you come down the steps on the starboard hand side

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I like your Motto Breakway RegardsSimon

This is Chance undergoing a pervious Restoration which failed to get finished as the owner at the time did not have the funds to complete the restoration it needed.

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Last weekend after we came back from a week away working on Chance at Woodplumpton.

It was time to unload the Trailer of the last bits of the furniture from the inside of Chance which is going to...

The Enterprise dinghy to get spruced up ready the sailing season, along side the Enterprise dinghy is the Mai Star Class dinghy which needs a sprucing up has well, The Mai Star Class dinghy also need...