I went to work on it during the winter of 2006. A relatively easy project due to the hull's size and lack of fittings, nevertheless the revamp needed to last as Peter has three kids that will all be serving their apprenticeship sailing it.
With the revamp finished, the NJ was rigged ready for Peter's eldest son (Nathan) to begin his first season at Northbridge.
In the process of being rigged for the first time since the 1980's. The next step is to get it wet and see if I can sail her.
Had to spend a few dollars on the wing tramps to replace corroded or missing eyelets, new ropes and stay wire before it all came together. I figured that as long as it's my brother's boat he can pay me back, and he did.
The sail looks good and should make a big difference to the previous Garry Fogg sails it wore when first launched. I only discovered one problem, the skiff was never issued with a sailing number, thus it sports AUS 9369 which is confusing considering it was built in 1985. Oh well, let's go sailing.
It's a holiday in Cambodia - AUS 9369 was built by John Henderson who took the measurements from Ian Ward's Wombat 84. It was modified slightly and built out of ply for my brother in 1985. It underwent a makeover in 2007. Here's what happened.
The skiff had previously been spray painted using automobile paint (multiple colours including metallic silver and blue). The paint came off quite nicely using a scrapper.
Nothing needed patching. John certainly built his boats to last, although a bit too heavy compared to some that have come and gone before.
A layer of glass was applied to the bottom from the bow to the front of the centreboard case due to slight cracks appearing in the stressed ply.
With the preparation over and done, the hull received a few coats of primer and a 'wet and dry'.
I finished it off in royal blue, the same colour my brother's first skiff (Charade) was painted back in the early 1980's.
Painted white the same as the yacht, Upsandowns MH 127.
Hopefully the dinghy won't need doing again for another few years as it was hard work, however, I think the result speaks for itself.
A yacht dinghy usually has a tough life and often suffers neglect, however, with a lot of elbow grease they can be brought back to life and look as good as the day they were first put into service.
