BoatsExplained.com - Building a boat from bits

She fIrst came to my notice when I read an advert in the local paper for an unfmished 27ft GRP sailing cruiser. I was intrigued, and quickly made an appointment to view. At fIrst sight the boat, sitting on a trailer in a back garden, looked huge compared to my Ghibli 22. Peering inside I realised what was meant by needs finishing - apart from beds and main bulkheads, she was completely empty.

However the hull and deck were bonded together. The rudder and port toe rail were already in place - together with the pushpit, pulpit, P-strut and sterntube, while a lead keel lay on the trailer. Better still, on studying the inventory list I realised she was virtually complete - albeit in bits. The sale price included a BMW 6hp diesel, water and fuel tanks, winches, fittings, mast with standing and running rigging (still wrapped, as new), GRP materials, the starboard toe rail, stanchions, teak mouldings, and nuts and bolts - still in their original boxes. This was more like Building a Boat from Bare Mouldings - even a copy of the book was there.
After weeks of deliberation, I finally signed the cheque. Extracting the hull and trailer from the garden was the fIrst challenge since it had become boxed in by walls and trees over the years. Happily, the College of Further Education at the back of the garden gave permission for Matchless to be craned onto a trailer on their property.
The journey to St Helier was far from uneventful. Not surprisingly, after nine years of inactivity!

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