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Author Topic: 12 meter Maulsden  (Read 2680 times)

JimG

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12 meter Maulsden
« on: April 06, 2017, 02:51:15 pm »

With more time available for modelling now I have retired I have decided to return to the refitting of an old vintage 12 meter yacht that I have had sitting for many years.

This was built to the old Scottish 12 meter rules that went out of use in the 1930s so its exact age is unknown. It had been sitting in the loft of the clubhouse for many years before I obtained it so no one knew just who its original owner was.
It's length is 64.5 inches or 163cm
Breadth is 11 inches or 28cm
Height of hull 12 inches or 30.5cm
weight without deck or masts 32lb 13oz or 14.25kg

I don't unfortunately have any photos from the original restoration so the latest ones will have to do.

As obtained it needed quite a lot of work to get it ready to sail. It had been painted with a heavy paint which need to chipped off before the hull could be sanded smooth. Once the deck was removed I found that the inside had been sealed with what appeared to be putty so a lot more work was needed to remove this. The wood was found to be in good condition so the next step was paint the inside with glassfibre resin to seal it before painting the inside. Once the deck was refitted the outside could be sanded down and then varnished. Removing the paint had revealed that it had been planked in alternate layers of two different woods giving a striped effect to the hull.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2017, 03:12:04 pm »

I had found what appeared to the mast and sails in the clubhouse but much of the deck fittings were missing. I had to make the mast slide, rudder and I made and fitted out a Braine gear for self steering. Luckily the mast only needed to be re rigged with new cord and it was ready to sail.
It was then free sailed for several years like this, luckily my work was around 5 minutes walk from our pond many lunchbreaks were spent sailing during the summer months.
With use it did develop a leak between the hull bottom and lead keel and this eventually developed into s bit of rotten wood. The bow block had also became softened and weak. It was decided to splice in some new wood to the bow and replace the hull bottom. After removing the keel which is held in place by 3 bolts the hull bottom could be removed. The bottom needed the removal of the two lower planks to allow access to the joins between the frames and the bottom. This did give some problems as the planks had been fitted to the frames with steel screws, some of which had rusted and proved very difficult to remove from the wood. (This can be seen,  especially on the lighter planks, as a black staining around the screw.)
Once the bottom was removed it was used as a pattern to cut it's replacement out of some vintage mahogany i had been given. (bench top from an old library.) This was around 1/2inch thicker than the original giving a slight increase in keel depth. The bow was repaired with another piece of the same mahogany. The keel and lower hull was then covered with glass fibre then painted to stop any water from getting into the joint

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2017, 03:23:57 pm »

Soon after it had been repaired and sailing the club had it's centenary (1985) and several 6m yachts were converted to radio control as the club formed as the Dundee Model Yacht Club. I then decided to convert this yacht to RC (I was also fed up of running round the pond after it.) The Braine gear was then removed and two extra hatches cut into the deck to allow for fitting a winch, servo and receiver. The winch was home made, non proportional with the sheets running above the deck.
I sailed it like this for several years until the winch started to wear out. It was then brought home and the refit started. After removing the old radio gear a new proportional winch was fitted allowing for the sheets to run under the deck with the lines to the jib and main brought up through the deck.
At this point lack of time stopped work and it has been sitting ever since.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2017, 03:26:57 pm »

A last few photos showing the hull as it is.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2017, 09:12:51 pm »

The first step was to remove the winch and lines then the inside of the hull was given a fresh coat of varnish to make sure it was sealed. The winch could then be refitted and a ply battery mounting plate was then fitted. I will be using a 2S LiPo with a high power BEC (up to 8A) set to 6V to power the Rx and winch.

The deck could then be refitted, a bead of silicone sealer was added first, The deck was then screwed down, squeezing out any excess silicone which could be removed before setting. The screws heads are sunk below the deck so wood filler was used to plug the holes. Unneeded holes from the previous winch system were also filled. The deck shows the changes in the rigging over the years with quite a few filled screwholes. It looks like it had been fitted with a bowsprit at one time, probably from it's original rig.

The deck could now be sanded before giving it  2 coats of varnish.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2017, 09:21:14 pm »

With the deck in place the hull could be inverted and the bottom sanded. The sanding is to give it a key before painting on the varnish coats. No attempt was made to make a perfectly smooth surface as this would mean sanding into the wood planks in places. The hull is at least 80 years old so a perfect finish is not needed, some signs of roughness shows it's age. The black on the keel was repainted with acrylic then 2 coats of varnish painted on.

The Metal deck fittings were cleaned then polished before refitting to the hull. Most were fitted when I got the hull but the mast slide had to be made.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2017, 06:23:12 pm »

The deck is now fitted and the deck fittings and shroud plates are in place. The hull/ deck join is protected by semi round aluminium extrusions screws in place. There is also a brass strip fitted down the bow with brass sheet on the lower bow to give further protection to the hull. I have fitted a hard rubber bow bumper to protect the bow at deck level as this did get some damage while brane sailing needing repair work at one point.
The rudder linkage is a bit tricky as the rudder shaft is at an angle of around 30 degrees to the vertical. This causes the end of the rudder horn to move up and down relative to the deck so the rudder linkage has a ball joint at both ends to allow for this. The joint at the servo is push on allowing for easier removal of the radio equipment if needed.
The hatch covers for the two rear holes in the deck could now be fitted. The rear cover has the servo and Rx mounted below it with one of the two Aerials mounted vertically through the hatch and the other horizontal below the hatch. The BECC is fitted below the deck between the hatches with it's low voltage warning LED mounted through the front hatch. Both hatches were sealed with silicone sealant when fitted to stop any water leaks.
The mast and rigging could then be checked out, the mast is just over 7 foot  long and comes in 3 parts allowing it to be more easily transported. The rigging is cord and had some wear which had caused some damage needing to be repaired. (not bad considering its around 40 years old) When I first made this during the first restoration I had spliced the ends to replicate the few pieces of original rigging that had survived. There was no alternative but to repair the damage to the cord with more splices. (My years in the Scouts where I learned knots and splices have came in handy for this although badly out of practice.)
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2017, 06:35:17 pm »

The mast and sails have been fitted and checked by now. Photos will have to wait until I can get it to the pond as it has not been possible to get them indoors. With the keel on the floor and mast fitted there is only about 4 inches clearance from the roof
If anyone is interested in the name, the Maulsden was a record breaking Dundee clipper ship. Built at Dundee in 1875 with an iron hull and sunk in 1916 by gunfire from a submarine. In 1882 she made a passage from the Clyde to Brisbane in 69/70 days setting a record unbroken by a sailing ship.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2017, 01:47:34 pm »

Took it to the club yesterday and was able to get some photos of it fully rigged. I have also added a couple of photos showing the gooseneck and jib mounting. The main hatch for access to the lifting handle was 3D printed with an 1/8 ply cover.
It was now time to get the hull wet and so it was carefully lowered into the pond. (Care needed because of it's weight, around 35 to 40 lb) Once the wind was in it's sails then off it went. The main sail fitted is the smaller of the two that I have and even then it was a bit much in some of the gusts with the edge of the deck in the water at times. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of it under sail as the rudder servo failed after a short time. I had replaced the original servo  (an old Futaba with a square drive) which had worked well in the past with an Chinese servo of unknown make from an ARTF. This has now been replaced by a high powered Savox coreless servo which should do the job.
When brought back on land there was around a half inch of water inside the hull, this was expected as it has been out of the water for many years and the planking will have dried out. When it was put away I left some water in the hull to allow the planks to take up some water and expand, reclosing any small gaps between the planking.

Jim
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2017, 01:12:33 pm »

Just to complete this here is a photo of the yacht on the water taken last Sunday. The yacht in the background is one of the clubs Wee Nips.

Jim
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Nemo

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2017, 03:24:20 pm »

Thank you Jim, an excellent restoration and a credit to you.  :-))
Bob.
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JimG

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Re: 12 meter Maulsden
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2017, 06:55:11 pm »

Thanks Bob, it was worth the work as it's a nice sailer as long as the wind is not too strong.

Jim
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