Sharing Some Scow Love

The dinghy on my website header and also on my blog profile is my Scow. She's a brilliant boat. I found her under a bramble bush in someone elses back garden and loved her immediately. Our family had owned one when I was a child so it was a pre-programmed attraction, and I nostalgically reminisce of days of yore when all five of us would pile in and head off for Swallow-and-Amazon-esque adventures. She's a pretty little duck shape with a very simple lugsail rig (just a halyard and a mainsheet to worry about). Roomy enough for a gaggle of friends and small enough for one. Absolutely perfect.

And Look! Mr Bursledon Blogger has got one too. He has put a link to me in his latest post, and all the lovely people visiting my blog from his are probably thoroughly disappointed because all they find here are nautical christmas cards, so I have decided to tell you a bit about my boat.

Like Mr BB's, my scow began her life with me in a bit of a state. After sitting forlornly in someone elses garden, she sat forlornly in my garden until my father came to the rescue. He helped me put on new strakes which we steamed into shape with a piece of pipe and the kettle. We also replaced part of the hog. We added another thwart (made from our old kitchen shelf) which tied in & strengthened the centreboard case (it still leaks, but is less wobbly now). We gave the hull a new gelcoat, epoxied up the splitting spars and scarfed a new piece of wood onto the top of the mast (it was a bit thin and rotten to hold the main halyard block). A lot of epoxy, varnish and paint later she was done.

Her rudder was a bit of a whopper and has been cut down a bit since this picture was taken. The pink was a bad choice and the boat is rebelling slowly... it's peeling off in places all by itself. I will probably repaint her soon in utterly boring colours that reflect my conservative middle age. We shall see...

If you click here and scroll down, you might be able to spot us sporting a very fine jib on the Round-the-Island Race earlier this year. That's round Mersea Island, not the Isle of Wight!