Still Scraping!

I know it's a while since I've posted anything on here but it doesn't mean that nothing has been happening.

Every time that the weather has permitted it Mike has been out scraping away at all the layers of paint on her hull. It's a slow job but he's getting there!

We noticed a problem when we first saw Crocus ...

It would appear that she had been left with her roof up and it had been slowly pushing the hull outwards so that the doors didn't meet to shut.

Since we've had her in Cornwall we've kept the roof down and the doors seemed to be better. Mike had an idea for bringing them in the last little bit and he fitted a bottlescrew and wire across inside the cabin ...

He's been very slowly tightening it over the weeks. What a difference ...

Exciting News!

A while ago we contacted Hoseasons and asked if their archives held old brochures from the 1950's in which Crocus could possibly have been entered for hire. At the time they were very busy preparing next year's brochure but today we received the fantastic news that she had been found as Crocus in 1953 ...

and then as Tally-Ho in 1957 ...

It was great to see her as she was in her hey-day and it proves that we're right in deciding to keep her as Crocus because that was obviously her original name.

Thank you Barry at Hoseasons for all your help.

Plans!

We've been away on holiday but hopefully work will be starting again soon.

In the meantime Mike has been busy drawing up the plans for inside Crocus ...

She is very tiny so there's not much room for the cooker and loo but we think we can just about fit them in. We've trawled the internet for small cookers and found this one which is a caravan cooker ...
As we won't be going to sea in Crocus it is not necessary to have a marine one which would be all-singing, all-dancing and mega money! When we bought her she just had a two burner and grill camping stove which was located in a locker in the well ...

It has now been removed ...

and with the new cooker going in the cabin, the locker can hopefully house a cool-box.

Jobs Inside and Out

With the weather being so good at the moment Mike has been busy scraping more paint off the hull ...

removing the bolts and fitting that held the bowsprit ...

and also getting inside and taking out the forward bulkheads ...

Magic Potion!

Thank you Mike and Clare for recommending oxalic acid. It is a truly magic potion! Today was the first time we tried it out on Crocus and what a difference it made. The black marks have nearly all disappeared - not bad for a first attempt!

Before ...

After ...

Scraping the Hull

A beautiful sunny morning so work began on removing the paint from the hull ...

In between the sessions of scraping, plugs were made and glued in the transom where an older outboard bracket had been ...

and the washing machine was filled with halyards in the hopes that they would come out a little bit whiter!

Before ...


After ...

Blocks and Teak Oil

Mike has started working on the blocks by sanding and then coating them in teak oil ...

just six more to go and a bit of TLC needed to get them serviceable!

More Findings ...

After using the Nitromors yesterday it was now the turn of the sander to work on the transom. I received a very excited shout to bring my camera over to Crocus because some more letters had shown up! Okay so it's a bit difficult to read the word but we recognised it immediately as Horning ...

So she was originally Tally-Ho of Horning.

The Work Begins ...

... with what else but a tin of Nitromors!

Mike was really hoping that he could bring the transom up to a standard that he could varnish it and do away with the paint. Well we were in for a big surprise! She had at one time been called Tally-Ho as the letters were quite clear for all to read ...

It may help with the tracing of her history but we bought her as Crocus and Crocus she will stay.

Ready for Winter

Finally got the tarpaulin sorted out today. The one we'd bought for her was too big so it needed a slight adaptation. It now sits snug with the water containers hanging either side to keep it down but allowing air to circulate ...


When we want to work on her the containers can come off and the tarp can be moved.

First Job

At last a calm day so that the tarpaulin could be opened up without it being blown across the village! The first job that needed doing was to remove the outboard bracket as it had been rubbing against the tarp and could have made a hole in it. Mike had padded it with an old fleece until we could remove it and today was just the right weather. Hamish had to be in on the act of course ...

and then while I lay on my tummy in the well holding a spanner on the nut, Mike managed to unscrew the bolts which were holding it on. One removed bracket ...

and just a few holes in the wood as evidence that it had been there ...

Tucking Her Up

The first job was to get the mast and spars off her, put the ridge pole on and cover her in a tarpaulin. With the wind blowing a hooley this was not the easiest of tasks!

Crocus is in Cornwall!

She's here at last ...

It would have been nice to welcome her to the West Country with the sun shining but of course it was raining!