Suzi

The first boat that I fitted out from an 'eggshell' - the only project that I finished, well almost, I did get it afloat though.

(Please note this report is in the early stages of development and is incomplete to say the least)

I can't remember when I first felt sailing was in my blood (many years later I found out that I may descend from the Vikings) but it may have been when we started to go to Fleetwood for our week long summer holiday.

The back of this photo says I was 12 years old so that must have been 1950.  The man in the photograph is Chris, my dad's boss', George Dallas, trawler skipper.  He did trips in his fishing boat Dotterel round the old burnt-out lighthouse on the edge of the Lune Deeps.  On this day it was too stormy so he took us up the River Wyre to Wardley's Creek. I was allowed to steer, didn't know it was called helming, going up river and given a course to follow which involved 'aiming' for a series of landmarks.

Later in my later teens I remember sailing backwards from the jetty on Fairhaven Lake at Lytham on my first attempt at sailing.  Another time on Southport Marine Lake when they did sailing boat hire and perhaps on Fleetwood Marine Lake.

On the sands we used to watch the steady stream of Isle of Man boats coming and going and all the trawlers, dredgers, hoppers etc. working.

This, the next photo I have, was taken in September 1960 on a small dinghy hired from the boatyard at Abersoch.

In the early sixties I remember drooling over adverts for kits of parts to build a Mirror sailing dinghy.  They were £75 which at the time was over three weeks gross wages so married with two children and a mortgage it was out of the question.

On holiday in Barmouth with my first family, Damian's the passenger.  I've always loved being on the water.

On holiday in Llanbedrog, North Wales, near Abersoch, I bought a paperback book by Chay Blyth, 'The impossible Voyage'.  Probably the summer of 1972 or 1973.  It renewed my interest in sailing, I was going to sail round the word!  After that I read many more books by voyagers.

Second family on Windermere early seventies: Steven, Alex, Trudie and Damian

In 1978 I persuaded Sue, Sue being somewhat reluctant, that I should have a boat.  I looked through many many brochures and eventually, on the advice of a friend, Colin, decide to look at the new Cobra 700.

We travelled down to the Southampton Boat show and looked round the first Cobra 700 on the Cobra stand. We decide to place an order for the basic mouldings there and then but they wouldn't take one. They said we'd have to go to the factory!  We arranged to visit the factory and met the designer David Feltham at Northney Marina on Hayling Island where they had a sales office.  The idea was that we would have a demonstration sail but it was too foggy!  We crawled all over the boat and took lots of photographs.  We than had a walk round the factory and eventually the took our order.  This was sometime in October/November.  The mouldings - we'd decided to have the deck moulded to the hull and the toe rail fitted.  I was going to do all the fitting out with plywood and mahogany, as the show model - the production models would have interior mouldings, like the other Cobras.

The moulding were to be delivered before Christmas but they eventually arrived in March 1979 after a further visit to the factory to inspect them.

I then set to work in earnest, thinking that I would be finished by the summer.   Ha ha ha!

(Eventually I'll put some photos and more narrative here)

The boat was launched at Hesketh Bank on 1st August 1980.  We had a problem!  Marland Bros. were very kind and allowed me to fit out the boat in an unused corner of their yard in the middle of Leyland.  How do we get the boat to Hesketh Bank?  We hired a crane from Hunts of Chorley and George let us use their tipper wagon, which had just been MOTed, to take it to Hesketh Bank.  It just fitted into the high sided back of the short wheelbase wagon.  I had an HGV licence so they allowed me to drive the wagon myself - it#s a shame but I don't have a photograph of it on the wagon - too stressed at this point!

Hesketh Boat Yard used their hand operated crane, you can just make it out on the right, to lift the boat off the wagon.

I'd made the 5 mm shrouds, forestay and backstay myself using special fittings but we couldn't get them in the right size for the 4 mm inner shrouds so they still had to be made as had the guard wires.

Mr Shepard, the boat yard owner, is doing the inner shrouds while I'm attaching the ends of the guard rails to the pushpit.  Colin, the friend who inspired this choice of boat, is looking on.

Bert, a friend form work and near neighbour is looking on. He took a series of colour slides of the day's happenings.

Ready for the tide to come in, well almost.

Jill, Colin's wife, naming Suzi, actually the cork wouldn't come out of the bottle and she initially named it "Oh S**t"

Would she float?

YES!!!!!!!!

Floating down to the jetty.

Small celebration.  I went down below a few minutes later and there was water in the bilge!  The cheap speedometer, one would not grace it with the name of log, was leaking.  It gave so much trouble that I removed it and glassed up the hole.  Needless to say to a worrier like me that was a disappointing start.

Bending on the mainsail the next day with help from Trudie and Phil

Some days later we, Sue and I, sailed up to Glasson with Colin and Jill via a night at Knot End.

Damian, I and Jon taking the photograph in 1981 on route to the Isle of Man after a night in Piel Harbour.  Alas there was no wind and we hadn't enough petrol to motor to the Isle so we motored back to Glasson.  The sea became like a mirror.  I can't remember why we never tried again?

1983 - I'd got a mooring on the East Quay and needed a tender.  I borrowed the moulding from Glassplies at Southport and set to work in the garage.  I copied the inside from a similar tender at Glasson.  I made the shapes out of cardboard and glassed over them then painted it with resin and white pigment.

I don't seem to work without being in a mess, anxiety and impatient to see progress.  I knew I should tidy as I go along but it was many years later, about 30, that I managed to do this

The companionway from the forecabin. My friend Brian, from work, made the steps and removable panel.

The engine compartment behind the companionway, The engine is an air cooled Dukati 9 hp.

The quarter berth.  The cushions were made got from Holmes for Foam and the cover material from Preston Market.  We cut them out and Suzie sewed them all together.

The galley.  The cooker came from a Cobra 850, Kayos. It was replaced in Kayos by a paraffin stove just before Kayos, with Colin and Gill, sailed across the Atlantic.  Colin was the inspiration behind the choice of the Suzi's hull.

Another view of the galley showing the headlining.

The port side cabin side and the main bulkhead.

The forehatch before and after the headlining was fitted. I made an aluminium piece of trim to cover up the nuts.

I also needed a trailer so I designed this three-wheeler.  It was designed to assemble under the propped boat, the boat was on blocks on the sailing club hard.  I got the steel from the scrap department at work and the fixing similarly.  I got four Austin A60 hubs and wheels from a scrap yard on Leyland Lane.  I used three for the wheels and the fourth to mount and pivot the front wheel, the steering wheel.  Here it is ready to launch.

I was all set to got to the Isle of Man with Jon and Jayne.  Suzie and I loaded up the boat on the mooring and sat on her and waited for the tide to come in.  As it picked up it made a horrible grating sound and shook so violently that I panicked, abandoned the plans and moved her into the Marina.

After lying unused for several years I launched Suzi again with the help of a Phil, a friend from work.

Suzi with her third owners at the 2006 Glasson Sailing Club Regatta

In the photo above you can see the windows and spray hood added since we sold her.

2010-01-30 Manoeuvring Suzi into the boat lift to change trailers