first view

We drove up to Shotley on a beautiful Autumn morning. Quick and easy trip (1 hr 5 minutes) so we were half an hour early, but Mike was already there. Robinetta is out of the water, and looks rather shabby, but cared for. She needs re-antifouling (which is hardly surprising a the end of the season), and some of the caulking is obvious beneath the blue enamel paint of her upper hull.

Julian immediately spotted that the planking on the starboard bow is not flush to the prow. It needs nailing back into position, and Mike fetched one of the boat yard supervisors, who gave an estimate of £300 to strip the paint and renail/caulk the planking in that position; this would be sufficient if the wood was sound enough for renailing. I clearly heard a “but it would cost more if more is wrong” implied in that statement!

The rigging looks like hemp as she would originally used, but is actually artificial hemp, and a modern durable rope. She was re-rigged six years ago. All ropes are made off on metal belaying pins, which are solid, but superficially corroded. There are two winches, not self tailing, and with fixed handles, mounted on the coach roof. Her sails are about ten years old, but Mike says while the topsail needs repair the rest are sound. He kept the old main sail as a spare, and that will go with Robinetta.

Once on deck the neglect became more obvious. Her topsides are grubby, with peeling varnish on the cabin door, and sadolin instead of varnish in most places. The foredeck and cabin roof are painted with masonry paint, as is the seating in the cockpit. Her above the hull woodwork has been painted in white gloss, which should have been repainted last year. Despite that she definitely projects a basic sturdiness. This is no modern fibreglass “last until the purchaser gets bored” boat, but an over designed enthusiasts vessel with life in her still.

Down below she is basically shabby. The wooden hull is featured rather than concealed, and has been gloss painted white in the past. It is now pale cream, and in need of a good wash, as are the all the surfaces. A table is fitted between the benches and there is no way of converting the two singles into a double. Mike says he has a hammock that he slings across the cabin to use when there are three on board. It acts as extra storage under way.

The heads are a proper sea toilet, up in the fore-peak, with a rather smart curved vanity unit for washing in. The kedge anchor is stored on a shelf in the fore-peak, as is the motoring cone and anchor ball.

Water is stored in two tanks, and delivered pressurised to the heads and the galley area. Cold water only.

The electrics are run off two batteries which are stored one each side in the cockpit lockers. These can be charged off the engine, or off the mains via a car battery charger. They are not proper marine batteries, but caravan ones. Mike gives their life as about three years (one is totally dead and needs replacing, cost £50). They supply power to the water, echo sounder, radio, lights, and bilge pump. There is a small solar panel for trickle charging the battery, which is necessary as the bilge pump is set on auto.

The echo sounder is a generation or two out of date, and will need practice to read. It is mounted in the cabin, and not visible from the tiller position. The radio too is much older than anything we’re used to.

The engine is diesel, a 10 or 12 hp Yanmar which Mike fitted himself new 12 years ago, and had self maintained ever since. There are two fuel tanks. Access is very good, under the companionway steps as we are used to, but with plenty of clear space around it. The water tank switching taps are close to it. Will they overheat when the engine is running? They are turning taps like you would find in a house, rather than the in-line levers I am used to on a boat.

The engine is started from the cockpit, with the key and coil heated switches mounted just under the companionway door. The throttle is concealed inside the starboard locker on a panel that swings forward when needed. It can be concealed even when in use, for example when motor sailing; this means ropes don’t get caught on it, and it can’t be accidentally knocked by someone walking past. I think this is a good feature, and it’s certainly unusual.

The cockpit lockers are a generous size, with lots of usable room. The diesel tanks are in them, as are the batteries, and the manual bilge pump. Ropes and fenders are kept in them, plus a bucket and boat hooks. There is an electric auto steering “arm” here as well.

The cabin roof runs all the way to the hull at the sides. This is one of the features that gives the good headroom below, but it does mean a step up from the cockpit to go forwards, and then a step down onto the foredeck. The main (fisherman’s) anchor is “stored” (loose) on the foredeck, with the chain running into a locker which is open to the heads. There is an anchor windlass (hand ratchet variety), which lives down in the cabin. This is necessary as the anchor is heavy, but so is the winch, and I don’t really fancy having to carry the windlass on deck to use it! Mike says he normally uses the kedge anchor instead, and that is enough to hold her in most conditions. The side lights here are in mounts that look like old fashioned oil lamps, but they are in fact electric. The anchor/motoring light however is an oil lamp! The stern light is not permanently mounted, but plugged in by the tiller when needed.

Cooking is done in a galley area just to port of the companion way steps. There is a tap here, but no sink to speak of, just a small deepish tray to catch drips from the tap. The washing up is done in a bowl stored separately. The cooker is a two ring gas type, with a grill, and oven. It is fixed, not gimballed, and according to Mike it will not be possible to change this to a modern yacht safety spec. Plates and mugs are stored on open racks above the tap. The only work surface is in front of the hob, and its presence means access to the oven is concealed inside a cupboard!
Opposite the galley are a set of four drawers, (cutlery in the top one) and a hanging “wardrobe” for oilskins and life jackets. This is supposed to be self airing, but Mike says this does not really work, and the door should be left open to keep it aired whenever convenient.

There is plenty of storage space throughout in original (?) cupboards and under the benches, plus Mike added enclosed box cupboards along the sides. These have pictures of Robinetta and other boats Mike’s owned in his life (he got his first boat when he was twelve) set into them. Drinking glasses are stored in these, plus the compass which is mounted on the sliding hatch when in use.
The lights are electric strip lights, but I suspect they are only used when Robinetta is plugged into the shore power. She also has two chromed gimballed oil lamps in the cabin. They are not in great condition looks wise, but are fully functional.

Mike has owned Robinetta for 21 years, and although he did a lot to her at first (he totally remodelled the cockpit) he hasn’t sailed her for eighteen months. His wife does not like sailing, and he is in much demand as crew for his friends’ boats. There is no place left in his life for solo sailing, and Robinetta represents a drain on time that he does not have enough of. He keeps her at Shotley because it is available at all states of the tide, but it costs £1800 a year, plus about £300 for insurance, and he is just not getting value for money. He’d love to keep her, but having a boat you don’t use, and aren’t going to, is not sensible.

Robinetta needs a loving hand. There is work that needs doing before she can be put back in the water (the anti fouling and bow planking), and then a lot of general maintenance to get her back up to a good condition. She definitely appeals, but is a big commitment.