UK Wooden Boat Restoration - Gaff Cutter SV Andromeda

[SV Andromeda]

Hi everyone, for the last couple of years I've been restoring a gaff cutter in the UK called "Andromeda". I've been documenting the restoration on YouTube just for fun really, but I think some members might find the project interesting.

The channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/SVAndromeda/

I'll update this feed with images and videos as and when I make progress and if it's ok, I might ask for some advice from time to time. While I'm a very experienced sailor, I'm a ver inexperienced boat builder, so I'm very much learning as I go.

Thanks for your support and to find out more about the project, head to www.svandromeda.co.uk

Thanks!
Clive

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[Thad]

Welcome! Thanks for the links.

[peter radclyffe]

is that a john leather

[SV Andromeda]

Hi Peter, it is based on a John Leather design yes, but she was commissioned to be around 3ft longer than the design plans. Thanks!

[SV Andromeda]

Thanks Thad!

[Stiletto]

Hi everyone, for the last couple of years I've been restoring a gaff cutter in the UK called "Andromeda". I've been documenting the restoration on YouTube just for fun really, but I think some members might find the project interesting.


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Welcome to the forum. I like the look of your boat.

[SV Andromeda]

Ah thanks very much, yes I’m very pleased with her. I picked her up for a very good price but have had my work cut out for a few years fully refastening the entire hull. It’s been a big job but she’s a very nice boat, thank you.

Welcome to the forum. I like the look of your boat.

The new rudder is coming along nicely, hard to see the joins but there are 13 lengths of wood laminate joined there with five through bolts. You’ll be able to see this build a bit better in the new video on Friday.
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[Matt young]

Thanks for posting here, nice boat and videos. I started from the beginning, will catch up soonish.
Cheers!

[SV Andromeda]

Thanks for posting here, nice boat and videos. I started from the beginning, will catch up soonish.
Cheers!

Thanks a lot Matt! Great to hear you like them.

[SV Andromeda]

I’m not sure if this is a common approach or not but this was my solution for the bottom pintle on my rudder. Essentially the pintle has to fall perfectly in line with the gudgeons further up the rudder stock so there had to be some wood sticking out. I thought just a piece glued and screwed on the front of the rudder might break off, so I made this block with an angle at the top and fastened it into the rudder with big bolts and epoxy. There will also be a strap bolting it all together that will have the pin welded onto it so that the rudder can drop into the gudgeon on the back of Andromeda’s keel timber.

I’m not sure if this is usual practice but I thought it might be a nice strong solution. Any thoughts from the experts would be great, I’m a complete amateur here haha. Thanks everyone.

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[SV Andromeda]

https://youtu.be/KD2eGwqD2wU

The latest update on progress that I’m making, making a brand new rudder for Andromeda. That iroko was a nightmare to work with. I cut it, it bounced into a different shape, cut it again, it bend a different way. Anyone had anything like that before? Someone said to me that maybe the tree grew on a windy ridge and one side of the tree had more tension that the other.

It was very difficult to work with...

thanks :-)

[SV Andromeda]

Happy Friday fellow wooden boaters, here I’ve made some copper rivets and let the gudgeon straps into the rudder stock. Maybe I need to think about electrolysis with steel and copper?

Thanks,
Clive

[Peerie Maa]

Happy Friday fellow wooden boaters, here I’ve made some copper rivets and let the gudgeon straps into the rudder stock. Maybe I need to think about electrolysis with steel and copper?

Thanks,
Clive

They were copper before with no problem, so as long as the galvanising on the iron is sound you should be OK. You did send the ironwork off for regalvanising? Yes?

[SV Andromeda]

Hi, thanks for the reply, they were stainless nuts and bolts before.

I did look into galvanising but with Covid restrictions and also the small amount needing to be done it was super expensive (partly because I couldn’t travel outside my local area) so I thought a good alternative would be to paint them with epoxy paint and regularly maintain them each year, the rivets can be knocked out at a later date when galvanising might be an option...

thanks,
Clive

[Peerie Maa]

Hi, thanks for the reply, they were stainless nuts and bolts before.

I did look into galvanising but with Covid restrictions and also the small amount needing to be done it was super expensive (partly because I couldn’t travel outside my local area) so I thought a good alternative would be to paint them with epoxy paint and regularly maintain them each year, the rivets can be knocked out at a later date when galvanising might be an option...

thanks,
Clive

Que?
I thought from the vid that you were reusing copper bolts that you took out of the rudder, however I missed that they were not through the old ironwork.

A tip for galvanising. Phone round your local steel fab workshops and find one that will bundle your bits into their next batch. The galvanisers that we use in Barrow does a pickup and drop off service from their site in \Liverpool, so there is always a way.

[SV Andromeda]

Ahh I see yeah no worries at all, I didn’t make that very clear maybe. Yeah those nails were holding the cheeks to the stock.

Thanks for the tip off, I’ll have to try and find some local fabricators. Thanks a lot!

Clive