If we do the transportation, do you fancy bringing SJB to the Nats? I'd love to see the wingmast in use!
Not advisable. She operates on a strict max force3 and no waves rule. As it is I seem to have to deal with a different failed glue joint after every outing... And yes, I even had a repair to do after one day in drifting conditions on the river Thames.
Talking to some of the Rater sailors on Sunday I heard it said (no idea whether its true or not) of one boat that the only remaining component that was actually present in the boatyard when she was built is part of the hog... Everything else has been replaced in one major overhaul or another... I guess that's probably what would be needed to get the old girl into a state where ytou could happily sail in anything, but what would be the point?
And its worse with a ply dinghy because you can't just go along the shell replacing each rib in turn with a new one and maintain the shape and soul of the boat. And frankly I don't know what you'd keep... I don't reckon I'm skilled enough to be able to remove and replace plywood so all you'd be doing is reducing the boat to a few tatty stringers - and two of those need replacing because they snapped back in '88 and are just held together with carbon sheathing...
But Lucy and you are welcome to run down to Island Barn if you've got a quiet weekend (or even the next two Tuesday evenings) over the next few weeks and have a little nostalgic sail. She's probably going to have a couple more outings before she goes back in the warm and dry...