Wraysbury - 20ft Thames coaching launch

[solitaire]

A new thread for a new project -
Sunday - I picked up my winter project from Sheffield Univerity Boat Club, and just for once had an uneventful 150 mile tow back to Oxford (once I had changed the tiny wheelbarrow trailer tyres for a couple of 12" ones)...
WRAYSBURY is a 20ft long by 3ft 8ins beam coaching/umpire launch, I think she was built on the Thames, and would really welcome any information readers of this thread may have on her..............
All Ply construction - low weight and designed to leave minimum wash, these little outboard powered launches have to achieve at least 15k to keep up with a racing eight, "Wraysbury" was fitted with a 15hp Mariner which easily achieved this requirement, I declined to have the engine as a I already have a shed full of 10-25hp Mercury engines that will do the job (triplets picture)
She is in a pretty bad way and will require some new ply in the bottom and I think I will have to replace the decks where she has been attacked with a orbital sander at some time
Here are a couple of pictures of her today (as she arrived at mine!) plus a picture of the triplets!!
1st job will be to invert her and strip off all of the layers of paint and fiberglass patches to see what I have, and where to go!

9303687-145-640x853.jpg

Wraysbury 1.JPG

Wraysbury 2.JPG

Quins 2.JPG

[water_buoy]

Looks like a nice little project, I saw plenty of these the other weekend on the Thames rally and your certainly right about the low wash they cut though the water beautifully!
I look forward to seeing the progress
P.s. although I'm a bit of an Evinrude fan I have to say the triplets do look nice, perfectly suited

[Woodwych]

Fabulous!
Does it fit in your garage??
Curious ,why the outboard in the middle, is that to do with safety?

[water_buoy]

Would it be to do with weight distribution?!? Since it's quite long and narrow I'd imagine with an outboard stuck right at the back it might end up resembling a uni-cycle I could be wrong though ...

[solitaire]

The Garage is just 24ft and with a 3ft bench across the end - so it still leaves just enough room to sqeeze around one end - I thought I would leave it outside to do all of the nasty paint removal.......... have seen a few on the Thames and all seem to have the "mid engine" configuration - the stern section and either side of the engine are sealed bouyancy tanks and possibly the tail section also flattens any wash.............the design is all about low or minimum wash and the Authorities on the lower Thames (PLA) even run a wash trial forcoaching boats and issue and a speed exemption certificate if the hull meets the requirement. - sitting in the cockpit with the round deck makes me think it would look nice with a couple of Brooklands Aero screens on mahogany plinths and an old woodrim steering wheel

[Rapier]

Don't forget a gosport tube..your passenger can then shout instructions to you...port..startboard..oops we've just run over a sculler...

[solitaire]

Some other comitments and projects have come along and I would like to pass this onto another member if any one is interested - £75 - no trailer but prepared to deliver for fuel cost up to 25 miles from OX13 , please pm if interested and I will let you have a contact number..

[neilgreenfield]

oooops

[Rapier]

Sleeping with the dogs tonight..

[neilgreenfield]

again!!!!!