About Vigilance

THE RESTORATION - a work in progress

Before dawn one morning in October 2022 Vigilance slipped her moorings from Brixham Heritage Pontoon and set out for Plymouth.

It was an emotional day for the crew. After a nail-biting few months awaiting confirmation that the Heritage Memorial Fund would fund her restoration, it was time to deliver her to her new temporary home. She motored along the coast, already stripped of her masts and rigging, towards her new berth at Stirling and Son's Yard, Plymouth Number One Slip - the world's oldest active covered slipway and the birthplace of Nelson's flagship Foudrayant.

Because none of the original drawings for Vigilance had survived, the first task, before any timbers could be removed, was to take details of every dimension both internal and external. It quickly became apparent how much of a toll the years had taken on her original lines.

After a period of physical preparations and contractual discussions with the HLMF and Stirlings, in January 2023 the work began in earnest.....

THE STRIPPING-OUT BEGINS

More of the structure removed, and the first new parts take shape

One of the first jobs was cutting away the stern post. This part of the original keel is being preserved - with plans to display it back in Brixham when we've found a suitable location.

All the ballast was removed from the bilge and weighed. In total there was just over 10,000 kilos - mostly lead and iron including old pieces of railway line and parts of old engines! The largest chunk was 300 kilos.

The rotten state of some of the old timbers was alarming. As we had long suspected, many pieces of wood bore clear evidence of having been 'recycled' from even older boats - a common practice in the Brixham boatyards.

MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE

It was discovered that over the decades Vigilance had suffered a two-inch droop all along her starboard flank, so the new boat framing has been patterned from the port side and 'butterflied' to restore symmetry.

Individual plywood templates were made of each frame to ensure accuracy in the final cut in the massive timbers. Gradually a new skeleton took shape; an oak rib-cage to which new planking could be fixed.

TRIGGER'S BROOM?

We're often being asked how much of the original Vigilance will survive the rebuild? And inevitably there are references to the broom that's had four new heads and three new handles.

The answer is we are saving as many parts as we can including the original stringers, which run almost the entire length of the boat. It was a tricky job slotting them into place - we were told that opening the yard's tea-room door allowed just enough space to manoeuvre them through the scaffolding round the hull!

The huge job of planking began with the fitting of every third plank, known as the 'shutter' planks, which have to be cut to fit with perfect precision.

A SMOOTH BOTTOM

To make the hull watertight the remaining gaps between the planks are then filled in a process known as ‘caulking’. Stuff called oakum is hammered into the seams.

Oakum was traditionally made from old rope which was untwisted and soaked in tar, nasty low-paid work which gave rise to the expression “Money for old rope”.

The rest of the below-the-waterline planks were then installed. Three planks intended for above-the-waterline will be fitted later to give the wood maximum time to season.

It’s a noisy and dusty job planing and then sanding the hull down to a smooth finish.

The seams are then ‘paid’ with red-lead putty and painted over with grey primer to prevent the planks shrinking too much in the heat of summer.

INSIDE STORY

Meanwhile inside the ballast was being refitted. More than 7,000 kg of lead was installed in the bilges. First, the ingots were 'posted ' into the hull.....

....and then concreted into place between the ribs.The small ingots weigh 18.5kg, the medium size are 26.5kg and the large ones 44.5kg. Each bay contains 9 small, 6 medium and 3 large. That's a lot of heavy lifting!

Three-quarters of the original weight has been replaced, the remainder of the ingots, 'trim ballast', will be added if necessary once her sea trials begin.

CLEARING THE DECKS

At one time we feared that Vigilance would have to come home to Brixham with a temporary deck while we raised another six-figure sum of money to complete the job. But Stirlings came up with a revised schedule of works, and thanks to a lifeline from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and an incredibly generous response to a local appeal for cash donations, we will be able to bring her back watertight above and below decks.

In the past chasing down leaks in the deck has been a constant battle - no one likes a drip of water landing on their bunk in the night! We had to paint hot tar in between the planks.

The new planking, Canadian Douglas Fir, is already being prepped for fitting.