Restoration of Kittiwake - Final Part

In the final part of the project Paul describes how Kittiwake is finished ahead of schedule.

Part 4 Rigging and first voyage.

During the weeks doing coat after coat of paint I started looking at the rigging, all the running lines were in need of replacing, the stays will need to be replaced soon but will have to stay for now. There was no kicking strap and the main sheets were set up in the centre of the boom with a mixture of tufnol and plastic blocks. I wanted to change this setup back to the more traditional setup.

 So I started a shopping list, I wanted to reuse the old tufnol blocks so looking around, found that classic marine do new tufnol blocks as well as very nice looking buff rope. So a couple of blocks for the kicking strap a few meters of buff rope, a few brass cleats, a load of new bronze shackles and a few hundred pounds later I had a box full of bits ready to finish the rigging and get her ready for water.

 First voyage was planned for Feb ½ term I managed to beat that by a week and put her back in the water from Nichol End on Derwent water on Saturday 12/2/11. We gave her a good load test, a friend and I plus both our daughters made for a great chilled out day.

 So has it been worth it? My quick calculations add up to about £400 for the restoration (if I did a proper tally its probably nearer £600 with all the odd bits of wood, glue, brushes and brush cleaner).

 So far I've had numerous compliments, both from the guys at Nichol End and also passers by, not I might add for my sailing ability which is still improving. ‘Nicest Gull I’ve ever seen’ – however that was from a guy who thought she was a mirror at first. Even so, I think she looks quite good.

 I'll keep you up to date with our exploits over the next few months.

Paul & Ellie.