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Just another photo to compare before and after.

The Story So Far.

Having bought N2538 P u s s y Galore, a 1971 Whisper 7 designed by Phil Morrison and built by P R Taylor, in mid April when she was in a desperate state my girlfriend and I have enjoyed a summer, that has seen less sunshine than usual, working to restore her. We have been working on her at Waterlands Activity Centre in the Cotswold Water Park about a mile from South Cerney Sailing Club and, as well as restoring a super boat back to health, have made some excellent friends at the same time. A total stranger (as he was then) gave an old but sound frame tent to us so that we didn't have to continue working outdoors and that tent has been a God send during the wonderful summer that we have endured!!

Despite the fact that she had lain outside with no protection for at least two years when we finally managed to strip off all the old varnish the planking appeared to be sound with very little deterioration. Parts of her structure did need renewing and I have astounded myself with my new found carpentry skills. It must be in the blood as my father was a master carpenter and, although he never managed to teach me anything, a lot of childhood memories have come in useful when working out how to do this or that. One thing I have found is whilst the boat might not have cost much to purchase, the prices of the spares and tools required have, at times, made me go pale! And, I reckon I am now the best equipped chap in the county as far as tools of the trade are concerned.

As always the pundits were correct in telling me that preparation is 90% of the work and once we were able to start applying the varnish everything started to come together very quickly and two coats of stain and 5 coats went on in four weekends. The stain was necessary to cover up some of the black weather marks she had sustained when standing out in the elements. As you can see from the before and after photos P u s s y is now resplendent in her mahogany colouring.

Having finished the interior we set to on the externals. Adjacent to the keel on the port side, in line with the mast step was a very messy fibreglass repair. On investigation this proved to be only about 10% effective in covering a nasty split so it had to come off and marine plastic padding was used to fill and build back up into the shape required. Using this material was, I guess, this has been the only real mistake we have made throughout as was proved later. Lots of rubbing down and four coats of paint and she was resplendent again and back to her former glory.

The centre board had required new rubbing surfaces which proved to be a real problem and working with the formica proved to be a steep learning curve for me. After attempt number 7 I finally managed to cut out the two shapes. In the meantime the board itself had broken in two and there were eight further cracks evident. That was handed over to a real carpenter friend (another one we have made whilst doing this work) who did a splendid job of renovating the board back to its original glory.

Finally the day came when we stepped the mast for the first time since the project had begun and as I tensioned the jib there was an ominous cracking sound which I put down to things settling into their correct position. How wrong can you be?
The following day, having fitted all the controls and having no further excuse to put off the moment she was slipped into the water for my first sail.

Now, I know all that I am about to say will be old hat to your seasoned 12 sailors but I couldn't understand why she kept trying to fall over. I know the rig is a large one for such a small boat but there was no wind ! Surely she couldn't be top heavy? Anyway, in I get and discover that yes she is! And the crew makes all the difference. Having said crew I have to say that my girlfriend had chickened out and I was in the thing on my own. Terrified is a good word to describe my feelings as no wind remember  I found myself stuck to the centreboard casing with the boom doing nothing as far as deciding which side of the boat it wanted to hang over. None of your new fangled composite this boom is all metal and you know when it hits you !!! Eventually yours truly managed to complete a circle and get back from whence I had come but - - - -

Remember the crack we had heard when I tightened up the jib? Water was pouring into the boat from the region of the keel adjacent to the mast step and at such a volume that I reckoned on 15 minutes sailing and any further time on the water would be spent as a submarine !! Yep! You guessed it. The plastic padding had split under the mast pressure and revealed the old injury so she is now out of the water again and yesterday we soaked the area in resin and filled it with a bonding mixture. The mast is still stepped and the jib tensioned to so hopefully the crack will be filled and the problem solved.

Whilst the saga goes on I can now say that this summer has been one of the best I have experienced. You sailing chappies have turned out to be a wonderful bunch who, whilst having a thousand and one ideas on how to solve a problem, are very generous and helpful. The Pendlebury's, who run Waterlands, have put up with us arriving at all hours and taking over part of their site as a boat yard without a word of complaint.

Will we ever sail her competitively? Probably not. I'm too old to learn new tricks easily and still very much a makee-learnee sailor. Add to that the fact that my stomach muscles need a lot of developing before I can festoon the gunwales comfortably in true N12 fashion. (So do the crews but I'm too chicken to tell her that !!!! )

However, if PR Taylor is still around I think he would approve of what we have achieved.

By the way when I joined the N12 association (See Kean? I told I would eventually !!! ) we changed the name. P u s s y Galore is no more very old fashioned name and not one that is really loved by this site moderator so she has become Yeah Whatever !!! This in honour of the previous owners remark when I made what I thought was a ridiculous offer to buy her back in April. It was either that or 'This way up' in anticipation of how my sailing of her will progress !!!

To be continued !!!!

Many thanks for your message. Lets hope Mr Taylor looks into the site every now and then.
Thanks too for the compliment and yes it is so true that it takes a lot to keep a good boat down. I was surprised at how well it had fared despite being treated so badly. And there is so much satisfaction in watching the wood come back to life.

JULIAN.

I just thought I'd bring anyone who's interested up to date on the Centreboard issue. One of the lads who sails, boards and instructs at Waterlands in the Cotswold Country Park is a full blown carpenter. He took the board away and using his expertise has given it a new life - stronger than it was ! I'm really pleased because it means that I can continue to restore her using the original parts which was my main goal.
Many thanks to all of you who came up with suggestions and offers of help.

The work on the 12 continues - we are now have 3 coats of varnish on and only the weather stops us working.

By the way - for those of you in the Wilts, Glos, Bath and Bristol areas I have found a superb Aladdin's cave of a chandlery in Chippenham - details are available if you PM me or call me at work on 01793 872987.

Kean,

How are you ? I noticed you were online when I posted my request and wondered if you would respond :-)

The 12 won't be ready for July as I estimate the varnishing alone is a good 4 weekends work, maybe more as I only get everyother Saturday off. Work is going well but the Centre Board did kind of throw me a bit.It already had a few cracks and when I took the Formica rubbing strakes off the top (they were really worn so had to come off) I guess thats when the CB decided it needed to part company !! (Be warned any other refurber !!!!)

I'll try and contact Phil Malanes as you suggest and show him what I have. See what he says.

In the meantime I'm still looking.

Many thanks for your help - welcome as ever.

Yours,
JULIAN.

Greetings !!

Having bought 2538, a 1971 clinker Whisper 7 which was in desperate need of a large amount of TLC I am now at the stage of starting the varnishing - 6 coats would you believe.
However, I have hit a snag - the Centre Board is broken. It consists of approximately 9 pieces of, I believe, Sapele vertically glued and there are at least 6 cracks where the glue is failing; it came apart in my hands on Saturday and I now have two CBs ( !!!)  and I believe the board to be beyond saving. Has anyone got a spare that would fit (with or without a bit of adjustment) that I could purchase? It's really a case of spoiling the ship for a ha'peth of tar and with all the effort my partner and I have put in I really don't want to spoil what is going to be a superb boat when she is finished.
Having bought her for a song and already gone way past what I estimated she would cost to refurb money isn't a real problem if I can find the right board. (GULP !! Did I really just type that )
Many thanks for any help you can give.
JULIAN.

Opps !!!!

Exactly !!! But every time you type Pussy you get <- that so I'll just have to learn to type p u s s y instead :-) :-)
JULIAN.

The photo - "Poor old Girl" but we'll get there !!!!.

Not sure where the above came from and as I can't remove it - - -
Bought N2538 for a song on Saturday 14th April 2007. She has sat at Waterlands in the Cotswold Water Park for the last two or so years without protection of any kind. The varnish is all shot and the transom is splitting. :B However, the woodwork seems to be sound. I'm now in the throes of a full strip down and revamp. However, I have to say, being fairly new to sailing I am feeling my way very much in the dark. So any help will be gratefully received if not totally understood.
The name has got to go !! In 1977 Pussy-Galore had a totally different meaning to today and my sailing prowess will cause enough smirks without the added guffaws the name will generate. I know you have to use a bottle of Newcastle's finest over the bows if you rename a narrowboat - is it the same for a N12 or is "champers" obligatory?

I'll rig her very simply to start with I think and see how things go but will be interested in any advice, info, plans, drawings, you name it I need it, that can be offered. JULIAN.