dave moore

Roger Hatchard may have added that when he had her in the 60s.... typical bling!!

I use the same Polyvine clear scumble glaze which I tint down with their light oak stain before thinning well down. For reasons I’m not aware of, Ratcliffes fell foul of the VOC regs and switched to a water based product which I’ve not used.

This is light oak scumble over Albany undercoat, the former being very well thinned. Do not use straight from the tin. It shows, I think, the rich tone I mentioned earlier. My work on a CTS custom build last year at Norton Canes.

Any oil based undercoat will serve under scumble oil. My preference is for a richer colour than the Radcliffe’s chrome buff, these days I favour a deep yellow, Albany amber U/C 10, supplied by Brewers, followed by a well thinned scumble protected when dry with Craftmaster varnish. This gives a rich tone, the impression being that the oil lamp is lit in the cabin before it is. If water based scumble is being used, I’d go for a water based undercoat too. i don’t have dates for the origins of this technique but my understanding is that it was intended to give the impression of expensive hardwood, such as oak or mahogany, actually using a much cheaper base timber such as pine. Widely used in Victorian times when humbler folk strove to emulate their wealthier masters.....or something like that. A skilled grainer can produce a panel difficult to distinguish from the real timber. The majority of graining on today’s boats is decorative but rather less accomplished, the whole thing serving as a base for the brass, plates, lace etc to be found in the cabin.

I use birch for cabin doors, stools etc. The advantage is that there are no voids in the endgrain to need filling and sanding. Local boat fitters sell me the odd sheet that I need, saving a few bob...

I’d be wary of making colour judgements from any screen representations , I’ve found wide variations from the actual shade itself. Samples are best viewed of the dry colour in natural light, for me. UV damage caused all colours to fade, some more quickly than others,,reds especially, though one of my opinions is that a bit of red, at least, is needed on a boat.....

Midnight blue is a bugger to cover well in all of the brands painters I work with use, I don’t know why. From the photo, the “ white” is actually pale ivory, a Norton Canes standard, the bow blue French blue and chrome yellow, more standards and the red, I think, is Bright Red, though I can’t be certain..... I only turn up when all of the main painting is complete.

That is Oxford Blue on Yum Sing, though it appears somewhat brighter in the image you posted. It was last repainted at Norton Canes Boatbuilders a couple of years ago, I did the lettering. You may find the actual Oxford a tad dark, though I quite like it. Would a colour chart from paint suppliers such as Craftmaster, International or Symphony paints be less expensive than buying samples?

Well said, Mike. I find the agonising over precise paint shades puzzling too, I’m convinced that a particular yard would have either used what was to hand or mixed/ used something appropriate. I doubt that the Bradley yard would have had their own particular shade of blue either. More important in trading days was that the boat was fit to earn its living carrying cargo. I’ve always subscribed to the “ If it looks right, it is right “ school of thought...I’ve always understood that the BW blue was azure, the yellow middle chrome. I’ve used the same yellow for the lettering, mixed the green by eye and black from the tin. I could be wrong.....

Panel wipe, the solvent degreaser mentioned should be available from suppliers to the motor body repair trade, where it is used. A local body shop may be able to supply some.

I’m not giving an authoritative answer here because I neither know nor care, but for what it’s worth I usually paint the index number at about 2” tall, which looks right on the 4” botrder most trad style boats have. I’ve prefaced it in several ways, logo wise ...my favourite is the original “ wave” logo, simply done in 3 brushstrokes, symbolising moving water in a waterway. I’ve also painted the bridge and bulrush logo....but never the wretched swan in a bridgehole or the ludicrous doughnut! Dave

Purdy Monarch Elite are used by most of the painters I work with.

It’s my understanding that the object found was in fact a flare, according to local news reports.

We had both on Ressie, hardly ever used either, rather the short black titch pipe more commonly used.

Not a chimney, rather a tall pipe to sit on the cabin top from the exhaust, usually used on deeper canals with higher bridges, or when loaded in bygone days. Looks to me like the work of Dave Parrot, A’s is the titch pipe behind.