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Anyone Know What Happened To Falling Leaves?

JanetAnne

By JanetAnne
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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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During a very recent conversation with a fellow wooden boat owner I was asked what had happened to Falling Leaves. She was moored on Thorpe Island till a few years ago when she was moved and hawked around ebay but I had to confess that I had no idea what had become of her since.

'You must know, you are in touch with so many wooden boat owners' etc etc. So, in hope of reclaiming a slither of credibility (dont say it Griff...) I am turning to the oracle, aka NBN.

Does anyone know what happened to Falling Leaves in the last few years?

Here's a piccy I took of her last time I saw her in 2013

 

2068242582_fallingleaves22013.JPG.43b0b8023acac0f9bcf0f57a06084f03.JPG

 

and an image I suspect you will all be more familiar with. This one taken in 2011

 

CIMG9092.thumb.JPG.627dc2787a8fbe7832c3405c5a3f059d.JPG

 

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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1 hour ago, Victoryv said:

Diane is watching Torvill and Dean, how could I be bored !

Careful now or they may not be the only ones skating on thin ice!

I am off to make JA's front floorboards tomorrow. Need a boaty fix after three days of cooking and festive films. What with 24/7 eBay and on line chandler's I need to go and do something else whilst I still have a few quid left for diesel. :default_biggrin:

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Islander

Islander

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Hi JanetAnne, Falling Leaves sank while in Jenners basin. She was finally raised and towed back to Hearts boat shed and broken up. She was in a very bad way. Very little worth salvaging.

Good luck with your cabin floor. 

Colin:default_drinks:

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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Ah... such sad news Islander (though I had thought you would probably know)

We had looked at her with every intention to buy and would have gladly taken her on but the vendor had some wildly extreme ideas as to her worth and so there was no deal to be done.

She was the last surviving woodie from Newson Boats fleet as well as the last of her class. They were a beautifully built boat as a couple of piccys of one of her sister ships when new will testify.

1064.thumb.jpg.f39eb8512aa33ce549c7ee67e8cc9c3b.jpg1072.thumb.jpg.d2a4fca59b931e3a4c90db58f7a89ed0.jpg1073.thumb.jpg.0821e247c6c55b308b795213764c6315.jpg1071.thumb.jpg.64a15ce99914f25a02610997de839914.jpg1063.thumb.jpg.32784eeeb145a29954cd5fe026cd63fc.jpg

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Islander

Islander

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Hi JA, it was such a shame. Sorry to say I was one of the crew with chainsaws who cut her up. It was not to hard because of the level of rot. Her bilge pumps had been replaced more than once and I pump her out several times when the owner was away working while she was still here at River Green. A lot of the planking above the waterline was in poor condition and water was coming in through the roof. At least half would have needed replacement. I think that she would only been good to use as a pattern. Sadly another woody gone.

Personally I couldn't afford to maintain an all wood boat. It's bad enough owning two half timbered boats. I love wood but fibreglass in the water is cheaper. That way my money goes on the top sides.

Colin:default_drinks:

p.s. Unfortunately she didn't look a thing like your archive pics last time I saw her.

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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The odd thing is that the condition of the boat you start with seems to be somewhat irrelevant when it comes to woodie restoration. Whether a plank is rotten at the end or along half its length you are still replacing the plank! Which boats get restored is purely down to luck. There have been many deserving cases out there sadly broken up in the last couple of years because they didnt find someone with the time to rescue them and its all about time. The carnage at Wayford and the dozen or more recently broken up at Martham are just the latest to be lost.

There are very few boats looking like this...

100_0836.thumb.JPG.61ed744efa1314c9b62c7c54e347f0f5.JPG

that make it to this...

SAM_0177.thumb.jpg.19641d88ae87ab5521a97467e2f134af.jpg

(yes its the same part albeit 3 years later!!), without going through a lot of this...

100_0931.thumb.JPG.3a0a9b6021f5b968d949764982564ab5.JPG

I guess the key to restoration is sheer bloody - mindedness! :default_biggrin:

 

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Islander

Islander

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59 minutes ago, JanetAnne said:

I guess the key to restoration is sheer bloody - mindedness! :default_biggrin:

 

Yes, that and £££££. We have 2 semi woodies (GRP hulls) and trying to keep them looking good is becoming a full time job. We are nearly 5 years into a 5 year plan for Lady Linda and only half done. It's going to be a busy year.

I started to fit the plumbing for the heating in the aft cabin and toilet. A simple job of running 2 by 22mm pipes through to back cabin by way of toilet vanity unit. Something felt a bit soft so I decided to have a closer look.

image.thumb.jpeg.a86bb41b0c85dfec1c6ce4cd6d91fdc5.jpeg

The previous owners hadn't sealed anywhere and water had gone behind all the Formica rotting the wood.

image.thumb.jpeg.f73dae287202618c76c65492b2d3e7a0.jpegimage.jpeg.91c2bdadf324bd310bd3fa8e590b86c2.jpeg

new wood required everywhere. I didn't take anymore pics but further support was given to the box on the left which is the gas locker. All the old plywood just crumbled away.

image.thumb.jpeg.e1d8ffabb9348570ae0bf6f7a1dac3a7.jpeg

This pic was taken to give Ruth an idea of what I was trying to achieve. The units not fixed yet but there will be a rad with towel rail to the right and wall rack with bin below to the left. All this and I only wanted to run a couple of pipes.

We are doing our best to rescue this boat as there were only 2 built of this type by Classic Cruisers of Thorpe. 

Colin:default_beerchug:

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Islander

Islander

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Oh, that looks like fun. Like the new bulkhead. That's going to look cracking when varnished. Like the high tech roof support too.

I've just found this pic. The white painted area is now a storage area that previously was inaccessible but will now have a door in the aft cabin.

image.jpeg.3c13c00e4834512a1e407de766aea3e5.jpeg

This has all been made in 18mm rather than the original 1/2" and then 2coats of Danboline. This is yet another job where nobody is likely to see it.:default_sad:.

here is a bit that you can see.

image.thumb.jpeg.3d38d80655369a87706ef082aa0e949b.jpeg

Before

image.thumb.jpeg.155df694e8d354906822d2fa33b5f53a.jpeg

image.thumb.jpeg.4f77be3243adbbb5e7200511045aee98.jpeg

looking a tad better.

 

Here is one that needs some tlc. You can see the hole on the chine near the bow. I think she sank about 5 years ago.

image.thumb.jpeg.991d25cec9c4a4c75039acad56117f62.jpeg

 

Colin

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Islander

Islander

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Yes but not seen her for a while. We think she lives somewhere near oulton broad. We saw her many years ago when we were moored at John Brooms at Brundall Gardens and always wanted to own one like here. At that time Lady Elizabeth was immaculate and I imagine she still is.

Colin

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JanetAnne

JanetAnne

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1 hour ago, Islander said:

Yes but not seen her for a while. We think she lives somewhere near oulton broad. We saw her many years ago when we were moored at John Brooms at Brundall Gardens and always wanted to own one like here. At that time Lady Elizabeth was immaculate and I imagine she still is.

Colin

Yes she is still looking good and living in Oulton Broad area, well she was the last time I saw her which is quite recently.

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