Camper and Nicholson Gaff Yawl

Full specification

Wooden ships comments on this Camper and Nicholson Gaff Yawl

 

Camper and Nicholson Gaff Yawl designed and built by Camper and Nicholson 1882.

Rebuilt and relaunched in Lowestoft in May 2013.

Length on deck           42’  (12.8m)

Lwl                              34’

Beam                           9’5”

Draft                           6’9”

Tonnage                      11 Tons Thames

The oldest Camper and Nicholson yacht afloat, she was discovered in 1976 in the mud of the Solent by a director of C&N and taken to the Camper and Nicholson Yard in Northam where she was stabilised and preserved.  Before any work started she was sold to the present French owner in 1996 and moved to the Lowestoft Boat Building College where the extended rebuild was finally completed in  May 2013.

She sailed to France and is now berthed in Brittany.

The yacht is an absolute classic of the Victorian type with her long keel, straight stem, square fore foot and elegant counter stern.

The owner has extensively researched her history and great care was taken in the rebuild to maintain originality making her a very rare yacht of her size and type.

From a structural point of view this must be considered as a new boat. The workmanship and attention to detail is remarkable and she is presented in very tidy condition indeed and ready to sail in all respects.

The lines were lifted by French marine architect Francois Chevalier who also refined the rig .

 

Inspected by Wooden Ships in April 2016.

 

 

Construction

 

In the rebuild the centre-line structure, the frames, planking, floors, deck and deck beams and deck structures were all made new.

A new lead ballast keel was cast and fitted.

The rig is entirely new.

The engine and all systems are new.

All interior joinery was built new.

 

The centre-line structure is in iroko.

The planking is pitch-pine, the seams caulked and payed in the traditional way.

The frames are in sawn oak futtocks in pairs.

The floors are in cast silicon bronze.

The planking is fastened to the frames using silicon bronze screws.

 

The deck is laid in teak over a ply sub deck.

14” bulwarks all round carried on oak stanchion posts with substantial varnished iroko capping.

A midships coach-roof with varnished teak coamings and teak laid deck stands some 9” off the main deck giving good head-room below with the cabin entrance as a sliding hatch and wash-board half way along on the stbd side.

Traditional sky-light over the saloon cabin and over the aft cabin.

 

A separate rectangular cock-pit well just forward of the mizzen mast allows the helmsman to sit low down for shelter or to perch on the coaming.

The cock-pit well is self draining with a lifting panel in the sole to access the engine.

Good width, uncluttered side decks make the yacht easy to move around

 

Rig                  Gaff yawl.

The marine architect involved with the restoration, Francois Chevalier, drew a slightly reduced rig as seen in several of the old photographs but the owner opted for the original larger rig derived from original photographs and drawn with a fidded topmast to the main and pole mizzen mast.

All spars in varnished Oregon pine.

All fittings in galvanised steel as per the original. Some of the mast and deck fittings are original and the others have been copied from the old designs.

She carries a conventional gaff rig with a yard topsail above the main, topsail on both club and yard set above the mizzen, staysail, jib and flying jib.

All sheets and halyards are on block and tackle.

Standing rigging in galvanised wire by TS Rigging of Maldon, nicely spliced and made up to dead eyes and lanyards to external chain plates on the main mast.

Running back stays to the main mast hounds and the top mast.

The topmast is cleverly fidded with a lanyard down to deck allowing the fid to be withdrawn and restored without going aloft. The topmast is generally raised and lowered on the windlass which can also be used to hoist the throat or peak to the mainsail.

The mizzen sheets to a bumpkin which can be raised in harbour.

Running bowsprit can be run in when in harbour.

 

Sails

All sails by North Sea Sails, 2013 and have only seen 2 seasons regular use.

Jib 221 sq ft

Staysail 143 sq ft

Main topsail 220 sq ft

Jib topsail 120 sq ft

Mainsail 477 sq ft

Mizzen 178 sq ft

Mizzen topsail 77 sq ft

 

Engine            

Vetus M417  4-cyl 42hp installed new in 2012

The engine is set transversely  under the cock-pit sole with Vetus hydraulic drive to a centre line conventional drive shaft turning a 3-blade prop.

Usual single lever controls.

Cruising speed:           5knts with a max of 7knts

Consumption.  Approx3 litres per hour.

 

Guages:          Rev counter. Oil pressure and temp gauges also on audible alarms.

 

Tanks:                        

Fuel     90 litres in one stainless steel tank under the stbd side deck adjacent to the engine.

Water 290 litres in 2 stainless steel tanks, one under the port side deck adjacent to the engine and one under the cabin sole midships.

Grey water. 8l grey water tank under the saloon cabin sole with internal 12v pump and float switch takes the waste from the galley sink and the aft cabin hand basin.

Black water 60l black water tank under the galley sink. Manifold in the heads allows either direct pump over-board or pump into waste tank and also tank evacuation over board or tank evacuation       through a deck fitting in port.

 

Electrics.                    

12v systems with 2 x 12v service batteries , cleverly located in a tray under the saloon table keeping weight midships and low down.

1 x 12v engine start battery in the aft cabin thus close to the engine.

Shore power connection with shore power battery charging 

 

Accommodation                    6 berths

The interior is divided into 3 separate compartments – the fore peak with galley and heads, the midships saloon cabin and the aft cabin.

 

Midships saloon cabin

The entrance to below from deck is on the stbd side of the coach-roof about midships.

Sliding hatch and wash-board to steps down into the cabin.

A small desk is tucked under the steps.

Port and stbd settee berths.

Pullman berths fold out above when required.

Central drop-leaf table with a traditional sky-light above.

Nicely made glazed cabinet units in the corners.
Pascal Atkey Pansy charcoal stove on the forward bulkhead(not commissioned)

A port side door in the forward bulkhead opens into the forward compartment.

 

Forward compartment.

The galley is arranged with a top-loading deep freeze and a 2-burner Origo spirit cooker in a recess along the port side. Opposite to stbd is a porcelain “butler’s” sink set in a teak work-surface.

Sails bins forward on both sides up to the exposed twin Samson posts.

 

The heads compartment is in the after stbd corner with a cleverly angled door. Lavac sea toilet.

 

Aft cabin.  A port side door in the after bulkhead opens to the aft cabin. Double berth to stbd.  Porcelain hand basin. Good locker space. Sky-light above.

 

The joinery all through is totally traditional, the raised and fielded panels and mouldings copied from joinery of the same period and all constructed in a wonderful dark polished mahogany to give a warm and atmospheric cabin.

Approx 2 meter head-room in the saloon cabin and the aft cabin.

Approx 1.8m head-room forward.

Polished sole boards with various lifting sections to access  the bilge

 

 

Equipment

 

Navigation

Sestral Medina steering compass with light.

Echopilot forward sonar sounder.

AIS VHF Ais Vesper XB800 wifi transponder.

Garmin gps

(The owner currently uses an Ipad with iNavx for navigation)

 

Safety

6 x auto-inflate life jackets with lights.

Horse show life buoy

Plastimo Open Sea 6-man life raft.

3 fire extinguishers

2 x 12v bilge pump

1 x manual bilge pump.

 

Ground tackle

A vintage bronze manual windlass by Metayer ingeniously converted to be powered by a 12v motor.

16kg Fortress anchor

16kg Admiralty pattern kedge anchor

40m 10mm chain

60m 25mm warp. With 10m 10mm chain.

Usual mooring warps, fenders, deck brushes and boat.

Disclaimer:

These particulars have been prepared in good faith from information provided by the Vendors and are intended as a guide, Wooden Ships cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. The Purchaser should instruct his agent or surveyor to validate all details as necessary and satisfy himself with the condition of the vessel and its equipment.