My Story of Lily the Boat
I first saw Lily at the factory in the Midlands where my friend, Mike Flavell began stripping her down. He had bought her around 1982/83 from Edgar Cove's boatyard in Salcombe which was closing down and he intended to rebuild her. Mike then moved to Torquay to retire one day, taking Lily with him but did not have time to continue working on Lily due to other projects he had on the go, so she lay in the corner of the garage for 23 years.
Mike passed away in 2006 and Pat, his wife, gave Lily to me with the proviso that she would not be sold on. She was brought back home to Quethiock, Cornwall, to my workshop and I began work restoring her. She had no engine and all the fittings had been removed and lost.
My friend, Paul and I took a trip to Salcombe and began asking around and showing a photo, to try to find any information on her history. An elderly gentleman in one of the boatyards directed me down an alley next to a chandler’s shop to a little boat builder’s yard belonging to Mike Atfield. I showed him the photo and he could remember, as an apprentice, helping to build Lily and told me a little more of her history. He suggested I contact Roger Simcocks of Kingsbridge who used to supply Edgar Cove with fittings and he made me the rudder stock.
I found a 1.5 Stewart Turner centrifugal clutch with a weed propeller on an old marine engine website, which would suit the engine bearers, and an engineering company between Newton Abbot and Totnes who used to supply prop shafts and stern tubes suitable for Lily. She required new rubbing strakes which I replaced in oak and for 18 months I continued to restore her.
We took her to Cargreen, on the Tamar river for her first river trial and she took up water for 2 days but then went tight after all those years out of water. Arrangements were made for me to take Lily to Mike Atfield’s boatyard and we left her on the slip. Pat and her friends John and Margaret came from Torquay and we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate her re launch. We went out on the water and returned later in the day for a celebratory meal in one of the local pubs in Salcombe.
There is a brass nameplate inscribed, “Edgar Cove boatbuilders”,as seen above, which is my prize possession. We have used Lily on the Tamar river several times and Murphy, our Bernese Mountain dog loves his trips out on her. There is a slight problem with the engine at the moment as it starts for a few seconds and then “dies” ------ another winter project.
Dennis William Sidebotham |
