For sale
Braveheart
Regretfully our much-loved Drascombe Lugger “Braveheart” s offered for sale due to my current work commitments abroad.
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| West Coast Cruise 2010 |
Braveheart is a 1970s Mark 1 Lugger, which was fully refurbished and updated using all new materials in 2010/11. This is a great little boat and will provide years of low cost sailing for her new owner.
Since 2011 Braveheart has had little use as I am currently working abroad and as such everything that was fitted as new in 2010 / 2011 is virtually still new.
Braveheart has for the past 3 years and since her total refurbishment been stored indoors in her own shed, however - during this winter 2013 / 2014 she is being stored within the premises of Honnor Marine in Oldham.
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| Ready to go! |
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| Cover off - sitting on current break back trailer |
History
I purchased Braveheart in 2009 from her previous owner in the Lake District with the intention of fully refurbishing her to be the Lugger that I had always. Over a period of some 8 months the undernoted work was carried out and all the hull fixtures and fittings were replaced with new ones.
Like many Drascombe Braveheart is a non standard boat as modifications made reflect many of the changes made by both Church house Boats and Honor Marine as the Lugger design developed over the years.
Refurbishment
Hull
On purchasing “Braveheart” the hull was inverted and all paint and antifouling removed back to the original gel coat. After sanding the whole hull was treated with a three-layer paint system (International Paints) and the area below the water line was antifouled (see photo below). While the paintwork is in what I would term good condition the new owner may want to freshen it up a bit to suit his own tastes. The antifouling does show various marks associated with launching and recovering the boat and general use. This does need some minor tidying up!
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| Hull in primer prior to painting and fitting of new Iroko keep strip |
Woodwork
During the refurbishment all the woodwork was replaced using Teak (including the floorboards) and an additional rubbing strip was added. The teak has been oiled after each outing and is free from varnish. There are a number of small minor cracks in places where the wood – a natural material has dried.
The one exception to the use of teak is the keel strip, which was replaced with Iroko.
There cannot be many (if any) Luggers around which are fitted out using teak! The wood alone if bought now would be well over £1000
Teak was used for: -
· New Gunwales and rubbing strip
· New Floorboards – The floor is made in three sections allowing the boards to be used as a bed when camping
· New transom
· New top for the centerboard
· New mast support
· New tiller and tiller extension
The teak has been oiled after every outing and is easily kept looking good
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| Needing a wash - just back from Clyde Rally |
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| Teak |
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| More Teak ! |
The only other wood on the boat other than teak is: -
· New Iroko wood strip fitted along full length of the keel
· New Belaying pins – Spruce?
· New Masts and Spars –Spruce
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| New teak transom |
Masts and Spars
Braveheart was refurbished with new masts (main and mizzen), gaff and bumpkin (the bumpkin has a teak inlay for individuality). These are virtually unmarked and have been stored indoors when not being used. They have been treated annually with Epifanes varnish.
When made, the masts were completed with all new fittings. The main mast benefits from a glassfibre reinforced foot, which renders in virtually impervious from water ingress, a common problem with the feet of early Lugger masts
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| Masts (Main and Mizzen + Gaff) |
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| Glass reinforced mast foot to prevent water ingress |
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| Mast fittings + Gaff jaws |
Sails
Braveheart has a full set of new sails (2010) these have had little use and have been washed and dry stored after each outing. The sails were supplied by R&J Sails – who make arguably the best Drascombe sails on the market.
Jib – Standard Drascombe Jib – UV strip – roller furling
Main – mitre Cut with a fully battened roach – 2 sets of reefing points
Mizzen – mitre cut – fully battened roach – UV strip
Fittings and Rigging
During the refurbishment Braveheart was equipped with all new fittings, including :-
· New top and bottom rudder mounts (bronze) – supplied by Honnor Marine
· All new standing rigging Inc. mast head band– supplied by Honnor Marine
· New Gaff Jaws – supplied by Honnor Marine
· New Whale bilge pump
· All new running rigging, including blocks, cleats etc.
· New bronze fairleads and bronze stem head – supplied by Honnor Marine
· New bronze joint on top of tiller stalk – supplied by Honnor Marine
· Custom Flip up rudder – aluminum for easy of handling
· New belay pins and parallel beads – supplied by Honnor Marine
· New self-furling gear for jib – supplied by Honnor Marine
· New custom mainsheet horse professionally fabricated in grade 316 stainless steel
· 4 New bronze fairleads on the gunwales – supplied by Honnor Marine
Other work carried out
· Original polystyrene under seat buoyancy replaced – like for like
· Original open Lazarette closed over and new custom deck hatches fitted
· Additional rear bulkhead – behind rudder slot fitted to form additional watertight compartments – new access hatches to these compartments installed on each side of the boat
· Full cover (new 2013)
· Drascombe detachable spray hood – blue with clear windows – very good condition
· The center board removed was and treated with 5 coats of cold galvanizing paint - Galvafroid
· The centerboard pin replaced with an M15 stainless steel bolt
· Anchor mounts on bow – bespoke foredeck hatch with teak cover to store chain and warp – anchor not included
· Additional front cockpit drain (brass fitting) was installed to allow the cockpit to be drained independently of the rear locker
· In boat mast carriers for carrying the masts and gaff when trailing Braveheart
Outboard – “Braveheart” comes complete with a 5hp 4-stroke Mariner outboard. This is a short shaft, which is mounted on a cut down bracket allowing it to run fully down in shallow waters and swing up into the boat without the propeller protruding behind the boat. This is a really neat fit and ensures that the outboard while fully useable does not spoil the boat’s lines. The outboard itself was purchased as an ex shop demo unit and has run under 50hrs altogether. The outboard is believed to be a 2004 model and still in excellent condition
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| Engine Plate |
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| Engine |
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| Engine |
Safety
To ensure that “Braveheart” was as safe as possible the following modifications and replacements were made.
· Lazarette closed off to form a watertight compartment and an additional internal bulkhead fitted at the outboard well giving three watertight compartments, which are accessed via – Main compartment (buoyancy and storage) has two deck hatches. The rear compartments (buoyancy only) are fitted with twin inspection hatches
· New under seat buoyancy (replication of original buoyancy which had deteriorated due to age
Braveheart comes complete with all fixings and fittings and is ready to sail.
Trailer
Braveheart sits on a Snipe break-back trailer, which has recently been serviced and is complete with a spare wheel. The trailer, which is fitted with a winch, has no jockey wheel although it is equipped to take one if required.
The sale price does not cover the cost in time or money spent in refurbishing Braveheart and therefore offers a great opportunity for someone to get an excellent little boat for very little money!
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| Trailer winch |
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| Braveheart on a trailer - note this is not the trailer that is being sold with the boat |
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