Bid to restore famous Lynn boat
A TEAM of enthusiasts led by Lynn jeweller Tim Clayton is making renewed efforts to restore – and hopefully make seaworthy – the first boat built by the town's famous Worfolk family.
Until ten years ago, the 107-year-old Baden Powell was still being used for cockle fishing in The Wash. But then she was lifted out onto Boal Quay while the possibility of restoring the smack was explored.
She was donated to Lynn's True's Yard fishing museum with a view to keeping her afloat and using her as an exhibit, said Mr Clayton, a museum trustee.
But plans ground to a halt after the initial costings of the work were revealed and the boat came close to being cut up and carried away because Boal Quay needed clearing for development work.
About four years ago, the Baden Powell was taken inland on a low loader to a Terrington St John farm, where she now lies with tarpaulins protecting her from the worst of the weather.
A maritime surveyor and engineer recently carried out a survey of the fishing smack and now opinions are divided as to whether she should be restored to sailing condition, or whether a replica should be built as a Worfolk tribute.
One source of professional advice suggests a restoration would take two years and cost 250,000, while making another one like her would take a year and cost 150,000. In both cases, the work would need to be done in a boatyard away from Lynn.
But another source says with volunteer help carrying out non-specialist parts of the job, a less-costly restoration could be carried out locally under skilled supervision with specialists brought in only when needed.
Mr Clayton is forming a trust, under the chairmanship of leading Lynn historian and former borough mayor, Dr Paul Richards, to see how a restoration project can be achieved.
He said: "I want to see the Baden Powell in the water again where she could become a valuable town resource. The sea cadets could use her for training and other youth groups could use her as part of their activities.
"She could be brought into the school curriculum relating to the town's history. She could run trips into The Wash to see the seals, or take small parties out to a sandbank to experience how the boat would have been used a hundred years ago.
"There are obstacles of course, but anything worthwhile has obstacles. I and the people who are helping me as part of the trust are getting to know those obstacles to see how they can best be overcome."
Fundraising efforts began with a well-attended hog roast in June which brought in 2,900 to pay for the survey, a feasibility study, proper scaffolding for the boat to rest on and better covers.
The Baden Powell was the first boat built in Lynn by Walter Worfolk when he moved to Norfolk from Yorkshire while he was in his 30s.Named after the hero of Mafeking in the Boer War rather than the founder of the scout movement, it was commissioned by Lynn fishermen, the Cook brothers, in 1900.
They paid Walter the 50 asking price — but added an extra fiver and a cruet set for his wife in appreciation of the fine workmanship.
Mr Worfolk's two sons, Gerald and Bill, were taken on as apprentices and Lynn's most famous boatyard was soon producing all types of wooden boats.
Their first boatyard was on the River Nar, near Gladstone Road, but it then moved closer to the South Gate, employing up to 30 men.
Local fishermen were a major market but there were also whalers for the Royal Navy and a variety of other boats, including yachts and a pilot cutter.
The Baden Powell used to sail out to a Wash sandbank on a falling tide and the fishermen would tap down with a long oar to locate the cockles and mussels before dropping anchor and waiting for the tide to go out.
They would rake in the cockles before returning to harbour when the rising tide lifted them off the sandbank.
It is the only boat of its kind – with a bow at each end – in existence, a construction which meant easier handling when out on the sandbanks.
Readers can register an interest in the project and offer help.
Either leave your details on the website: www.floatourboat.co.uk or send a stamped, addressed envelope to The Baden Powell Project, Tim Clayton Jewellery, 21 Chapel Street, Lynn PE30 1EG.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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