A couple of weeks ago we featured the Bayview Yacht Racing Association’s fantastic Youth Timber Boat Building Program, and I dropped back in on Sunday afternoon to see how things were progressing.
The project has continued to grow, with the team now building nine brand new Northbridge Juniors, as well as taking on the restoration of three older boats that have been acquired and will be renovated.
I caught up with Paul Chudleigh and supervising boat builder Shane Greaves while the young builders were enjoying a well-earned break. It gave me a great opportunity to wander through the boatshed/workshop and see just how much had been achieved.
Four boats are already sitting on their building jigs with the frames and side panels fitted, while work was underway cutting the main hull sheets. Once these are fitted, the hulls will come off the jigs, be turned over for sealing and treatment, before the deck sheets are installed.
With nine boats under construction, there’s no shortage of work ahead before the start of the coming season and the exciting day when they are finally launched.
We also chatted about what is still needed to complete the fleet. The good news is that masts and sails are already in hand, but there are still plenty of fittings and hardware that need to be sourced or built.
This is where we’d love to ask the sailing community for a hand. If you have any suitable fittings tucked away in the shed or sitting in a box of old dinghy parts, they could make a real difference to getting these boats on the water.
Items currently being sought include:
- Hull fittings including screws, saddles, bolts and nuts
- Rivets
- Pulleys
- Fairleads
- Cleats
- Outhaul blocks
- Cunningham blocks
- Vang assemblies
- Mainsheet (approximately 5m of 6mm rope)
- Single becket block / Ratchet block with becket / Hook
- 4mm control line rope
One item that immediately came to mind was the old-style Laser vang system. They would be ideal for these Northbridge Juniors, so if you’ve got one gathering dust in the garage, now might be the perfect time to give it a new lease on life.
Hopefully we’ll have some more photos to share once the deck sheets start going on. We’ll continue to keep you updated as the project progresses.
In the meantime, if you’re able to help with any of the fittings or equipment listed above, please get in touch with me here at MySailing and I’ll put you in contact with the BYRA team.
Thanks,
Steve Bryant
For more information about BYRA, please visit their website: Home – Bayview Yacht Racing Association. The Timber Boat Building Programme can be found at: Youth – Timber Boat Building Program Expression of Interest – Bayview Yacht Racing Association.
@BYRAsailingClub
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