Classic Pond Yachts
Another EBAY find, this time a Clyde Craft model yacht, just the hull and deck, with the keel loose, I could see something on the back of the boat, but could not make out what it was, I paid £9.50 for her, and drove to Weymouth to see what I had got, and it was a Clyde Craft model
Pathe news reel, this is not the Star factory, rather the Clyde Craft factory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cy6u-6lTD8
The news reel is dated 1938, I assume that is when she was made?
Sanding the deck, I tried to save the original name, here taped over while deck being sanded.
But it looked rubbish, the old name was unclear and the deck around it just old! Also you can see a split in the deck port side, and around the mast.
Here I am gluing up the splits in the deck, I made up a deck beam to go just behind the mast, the stick in the deck through the mast hole has a shoulder and is wedging the new deck beam under the deck to hold it flat.
The deck has been repaired and sanded, name gone, sad but we will get over it.
The keel is a straight forward fit, just four screws, except the holes were too big, the skeg fits into a slot in the bottom, not sure how the rudder fitted? There were several splits in the hull under the keel, when I removed the white filler, there was hole. I have just realised that the hole is to clamp the lifts into the routing machine during manufacture, see video above.
For the rudder, I machined up a piece of timber that was a good fit in the hole in the bottom, I machined a shoulder to fit into the hole in the deck, bored through the center to take a piece of brass tube, to take the rudder stock, then varnished to seal the timber, and epoxied it into the boat.
Rudder tube holder in boat, and timber plugs to fill holes in the bottom ready to be glued into position, I glued up all the splits in the bottom of the boat at the same time.
Keel dry fitted, rudder stock timber faired in.
The splits and holes in the bottom have been done, rudder tube dry fitted, the skeg has been made and ready to be fitted.
Skeg fitted ready to fit keel.
Keel fitted, skeg fitted, rudder heel fitting made the skeg has been rebated ready for heel fitting. The keel is a brass casting, cleaned up ready for painting, the hull has the first coat of primer on.
This took a lot longer than you would think !
I sealed the deck with varnish first so I could wipe the paint off as it went wrong, lots!
Deck varnished over the name to seal.
Hull and rudder painted
I now have to start scaling off pictures of other boats for rig sizes, Make up the timber false deck hatch and make some deck fittings, and the Clyde Craft tiller for auto steering!
20 Feb 21 - Measured from the rudder post on the boat to the center of the mast hole, then measured the dimension on the photo, and divided the dimension from the photo into the actual length from the model, constant = 4.82, I could then work out rig dimensions.
Length of brass for the rudder stock, I have machined on end ready for the lower bearing, now I have to fit pins for rudder to locate on. I have cut off a short length of stock.
I am going to use 1.5mm dia brass wire to silver solder into the rudder shaft, the pins will go into the rudder for location. I took the short section of stock I cut off and drilled a 1.5mm hole through the center to make a drill guide.
I have marked the positions for the pins to go into the stock, put the stock into the vice, put the drill guide (the piece of rudder stock with the hole in) over the stock where we will drill the hole. Using the drilling guide means the hole will be dead center through the stock.
I used the drilled rudder stock as a drilling jig to drill the holes in the rudder, before fitting the pins.
Both holes drilled, pins soldered in ready for rudder blade.
Rudder blade glued onto stock, fitted into boat and lower bearing fitted.
Machining up rudder head fitting to take the Clyde Craft automatic steering system.
Rudder head fitted, the timber auto tiller made up, it has an eye fitted each end, the forward eye has an elastic tensioner, the aft end takes the mainsheet. The next job to make the mast and spars, and make the mast step.
22 Feb 21 - Mast and booms now made, mast step fitted, false deck hatch fitted, Autosteering tiller made and dry fitted.
Also made up an Oak stand, cork chock for the back of the keel.
New main and jib booms, both sides calibrated so sail settings can be reproduced.
New mast tube fitted.
Tiller just needs last coat of varnish, as the tiller takes the mainsheet loads, I have fitted an Oak pad on top, the bolts holding the tiller on will go through the pad to spread the load, such as it will be! to take the mainsheet.
Nigel Brown of Cat Sails -
has just delivered a test sail he has made out of Cambric, looks really good, hopefully get a suit made for this model.
Next job is going to be making the main boom gooseneck fitting, Jib traveler, mast fittings for forestay and shrouds.
23 March 21 - New sails have arrived, and bent on, the boat is now ready to go sailing, will try for a sea trial on the river Hamble later this week!
The sails are made from Downproof Cambric from Textile Express, and have been made by Nigel Brown of Cat Sails, and they look great. I calibrated the main and Jib boom, next time I will get the numbers near where the bowsies are !! I have done the sheets slightly different to my other models. The problem with having the sheet adjustment along the boom, is there is not enough adjustment to allow the booms to go al the way out, I have fitted the jack line along the boom and put a bowsie on it, then the sheet is secured on the outboard end of the boom, runs forward through the bowsie, and then aft, through the boom eye and onto the tiller fitting, that gives more than enough adjustment to allow the boom to go all the way out, I have done the same on the jib boom.
Gooseneck and outhaul detail, the gooseneck is a brass eye screwed into the end of the boom, then bend up a piece of brass wire, drill two holes in the mast one above the other to line up with the bent brass wire, then super glue into the mast.
Masthead crane detail, I drilled a hole into the top of the mast and glued in a short length of brass tube, the wire swivel fits into the tube and is bent to hold the head of the sail in the correct position.
Stern view, not bad for £9.50 ! a fair bit of work though.
Main outhaul detail, over the top, but it works! Nice detailing on the clew of the sail.
Jib sheet and jib clew detail, the clew is attached to the boom using an O ring for adjustment. I have not fitted a jib boom topping lift, I may need to fit one, but will sea trial first.
Some general pictures of the finished boat. I will try to get some pictures and video in a day of two.
Ready to go sailing.
A few pictures of her sailing on the River Hamble, see sailed really well, some videos of her sailing on my -
'Classic Pond Yachts'
-page on You Tube. Very interesting to try different set ups of the elastic tension on the rudder self steering system, I had her sailing really well, and after removing most of the elastic tension, she gybed her way down wind, see You Tube videos.