Lockdown project is just the ticket

John Rogers is a big hit in his restored classic wooden launch

- John Rogers

I was still on crutches after a hip replacement when a friend phoned me and asked if I wanted another boat to restore.

My initial reaction was negative, but when he explained what was on offer I was just too tempted, particularly as my boatshed was empty at that moment.

Lysander was a 12ft 6in estuary launch built by Hall and Son at Walton-on-the-Naze in 1963. She was sitting on her stainless steel road trailer but had not been used for two years. Despite a sound tonneau cover, there had been some water ingress, the ply deck was starting to delaminate, and the hull was sustaining general deterioration.

Her owner was unable to give her the desperately needed refit she deserved and recognised that if she was left in the boat park at Millbeach Marine Club, Heybridge for another winter, she could suffer irreparable damage.

Fortunately my wife, Diana, reluctantly agreed to drive me to Heybridge to view Lysander with the owner, but as I was unable to bend down I was in no position to give the boat a full pre-purchase survey!

I was assured that there were no rotten, sprung, or split planks although I did notice a couple of cracked ribs and guessed a proper survey would reveal more. I was convinced that basically the hull was sound, fair and in very good condition considering her age.

I was particularly impressed with the chunky nature of her construction – the scantlings were very generous for a launch of her size and what really appealed to me was the unusual all-round seating. It seems that this generation of launch was built for the holiday trade at places like Maldon, Brightlingsea and London’s Serpentine where families could hire them out by the hour.