The Restoration of Crocus

Fixing and Releasing

2009-07-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

It was now time to screw the extra wide rib to the hull. The normal way to fix a rib is to use copper nails and roves which we will be using for all the other ribs but as this one was extra thick it was necessary to screw it in place. Stainless steel screws held it in place inside the cabin ...

and also from outside the hull ...

They are countersunk and will be filled before painting.

The next job was to take out the bottlescrew and wire which had slowly brought the hull back to its correct shape ...

Hopefully we will not have this problem again!

Knees

2009-07-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Considering her age Crocus has very little rotten wood but the two knees in the cockpit needed to be replaced. The internal layout of her cabin was originally set out as a full berth ...

and with the new plans being for two single berths it means we have some spare mahogany from under the central cushions which can be used to make things! After much measuring and getting angles correct the new knees were made from the spare wood which had been glued together to make a block and then cut to shape ...

Test fit and yes they will be just right ...

Ribs

2009-06-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

The most important work which has been happening over the last few weeks is the cutting and fitting of extra ribs. Not wanting to take out any of the current ribs, Mike decided to add new ones next to the existing ones and once they are fixed in place they will also be attached by tape and epoxy resin to give added strength. The circular saw was used at first to cut them ...

but the coarseness of the blade was too severe and as a finer one was mega expensive Mike has cut them all by hand ...

The cabin is now complete and as the rove set has now arrived it will be full steam ahead with the copper nails and roves.

We had a problem with the sides of Crocus moving outwards and the doors not meeting so an extra wide rib has been fitted just inside the cabin ...

Once completely secured then the bottlescrew and wire can be removed and hopefully this problem will not occur again.

Stem

2009-05-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

When the bowsprit was taken off Crocus and the gammon iron removed we were left with over-size holes that needed to be filled so that when her new bowsprit and gammon iron are fitted the screws will have something to bite on. The old holes were plugged ...

and then the excess was removed and made tidy ...

Change of Plans

2009-04-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

After much measuring and re-measuring we've decided that it would be impossible to fit a full gas cooker into Crocus. So it was back to the drawing board and the new plans are this ...

Removing the cooker from the cabin means that we can now have a cool box and extra storage in its place. Once the decision was made we were back online to find a two-burner hob and grill which will go in the locker where the original one had been. We found a very good price for a Plastimo Neptune 2500 and so we immediately placed an order and it arrived very promptly ...

Filling

2009-04-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

The hull has a few places where some filling is required.

Crocus must have been moored alongside for quite a while and without fenders to protect her because she has some damage ...

which needed sorting ...

Once the hull is painted it will be as good as new!

Gas Locker

2009-04-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

The interior design for Crocus is such that the gas bottle locker has to be moved from the foredeck and will be re-housed in an aft locker. In order to give us six foot berths we need to have trotter boxes and the port side was blocked by the gas locker.

The hatch cover of the locker ...

and the gas bottle locker itself ...

Locker now removed ...

Gas vent before and after ...

The hole in the hull has been plugged and filled and the hole in the foredeck will be repaired and finished when the decks are covered.

Plan View

2009-02-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

The weather is warming up and so the cover came off for us to do a detailed measuring prior to doing a drawing of the plan view. One thing it showed up was that Crocus is only 20ft long and not 21ft as we'd originally understood her to be.

Still Scraping!

2008-11-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-10-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

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 ...

2008-09-13T03:51:00.001-07:00

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 ...

2008-09-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

... 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

2008-09-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

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!