Express Grp Dinghy

[Phil]

Hello all,

First of all I would like to say what a wonderful job you sailors and non sailors do in keeping Burnham clean and tidy during the summer, it would be so easy to "let the storage area's" just go into decline, the harbour and sailing area retains such a delightful atmosphere and looks to be in good hands.

I have been sailing most of the summer, learning I must admit, with my express dinghy and found that your members have been very helpful with your comments and suggestions, the little pointers and comments, well meaning, have been of such use.

Now the season is coming to an end, sadly , and I intend to renovate my dinghy. I have been looking everywhere for information regarding the Express dinghy class, with out to much luck, is there any one among the membership who would be able to help me in my quest for manuals or drawings / plans ?

Failing that can anyone point me towards a local company / tradesman who is into dinghy renovations ?

Best regards all

Phil

[davecooper]

Hi Phil,
I think you'll find it pretty tough to find much about the Express dinghy. For whatever reason they didn't catch on particularly strongly (probably not enough editorial support from the paper!) and I don't think there's any kind of class organisation. Maybe the Classic & Vintage Dinghy Assoc (http://www.cvrda.org/) could help? They seem to be pretty clued up on rarer classes.
I suppose it might just be worth asking the paper if they still have any details. It was their boat, after all. Even if they don't have anything very technical there must be some articles from the original launch and whatever follow-up they did.
Dave Cooper

[Phil]

27/09/08

And so it begins, I though I would keep a log of my trials and tribulations in my restoration of my express dinghy and share it with you all.

The dinghy is an express, red hull, white deck and cockpit and looking quiet good for its year, usual dings and scratches abound but importantly water tight and sails well.

As a restoration project I think have picked a winner more bye luck than wisdom!

Today began the “strip down” as our colonial cousins would say , I removed the transom, low and behold found it came off quiet easy, upon inspection I found that the GRP moulding outer casing was in very good condition but the infill of ply was rotted away, bottom quarter.
Here we go, I though, problem number one! Remove the ply in as larger bits as possible so as I will have a decent pattern for the making of the new ply insert. Now I think age worked in my favour here as the ply came away from the GRP transom with very little trouble at all! Quick wiz around with the Dremal and all is ready for the new ply insert!

So I turned my attention to the main hull, could my luck hold out, well it has, I removed all the fittings and the centre board , inspection saw that the fixing points are all strong and ok ! Well this is going very well indeed I thought, so trying my luck even further I thought I would carry out the acid test, fill the bouncy tanks with water to see if there’s any leaks at all, reasoning if water can get in it can get out!

The buoyancy tank on an express is basically a double hull and not segmented at all, but stuff with polystyrene blocks. There’s a drain plug in the cockpit which drains water through the double hull and a second drain plug low-down on the hull transom.

First off I filled the tanks with water, leaving on the two side inspection hatches, filling from the bow inspection hatch. Wonders! No leaks at all to the outside or to the cockpit area. My luck is definitely holding. So I drained the water down and proceed to clean all the debris out that had surfaced.

Inspection of the cockpit floor area has shown that the floor Gelcoat is flaking also upon turning the hull over I found two gouges which will need filling, so with these two problems I now have to make a decision, I admit I have no GRP skills what so ever, do I get a professional to do these jobs or do I attempt them my self? Well reading all the information on Gelcoat repairs and GRP repairs they make it sound so easy! Yeah right! Been caught before like that. Also in making my decision I have to take into account I want to change the hull colour.

So this is the point I have arrived at, I have a really worth while restoration project, which will end with me having a rare dinghy at the end. A dinghy which has already given me loads of fun taught me loads and is more than capable of teaching me loads more.

So as and when I make further progress I will report back here.

I have found on the hull a number, 1-7-1-6A; could this be a moulding number or an identification number? Any help would be much appreciated.

Phil

[Phil]

How rude of me, thank you David for your reply and very good thoughts

Phil

[davecooper]

It all sounds exciting: any chance of some pix?
Dave

[Phil]

Not really been the weekend for restoration works!! But most of the lower cockpit gelcoat has been chipped out now and the under surface is really good no cracks or the like, so should be a quick clean up and then re-coat.

This weekend attention turned to the mast, as I have said before we have been sailing the dinghy all summer and I had noticed the rigging was getting passed it use by date, also the main sheet up haul was emmmm howed can we say getting harder to up haul!, so I thought a quick check is needed, new rigging has been brought and installed, now this sounds easy well it was but and here’s the but I found out why the up haul was stiff to say the least, the mast when it came had no mast head button / cover and I had noticed that after sailing when the rigging was wet they seamed to be easy to use, warning signs and I should have not ignored them, in taking out the old rigging I pulled in draw strings for the new and here's where I found the problem, a mouse had built its home in me mast ! Right in the middle, soon sorted that out, flushed it all out with a water hose.

I checked all the sheaves and blocks for free operation, washed them down and applied ptfe lubricant to the bearings. All that’s need now is a new mast head button / cover, friend of mine is a turner and he’s going to knock one up for me. Also I’ve made a mast bag from a cheap tarp, brought from the local builder’s merchants, and duck tape. No more animal homing!

Even more exciting news is that I have found the company that built my little dingy and what’s more they are still trading! Details as follows for all you Express dinghy sailors:-

Anglo Marine Services Essex Limited
Wade Road, Gorse Lane Industrial Estate, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 4LT
Tel: +44 (0) 1255 420717 Fax: +44 (0) 1255 426310

They have a web page http://www.aavx76.dial.pipex.com/index.shtml and the company history makes very interesting reading, needless to say an e-mail has gone off today and I hope a real useful contact can be made.

So progress has been made, just the problems with the hull dings to sort then the colour change.

Next report this coming weekend, with I hope good news form Anglo Marine.

Phil

[Phil]

Oh well that din't last long, up's and down's of restoration!
Just found out Anglo Marine Services Essex Limited shut down about five years ago, so the search go's on for information.
Watch this space !
Phil

[davecooper]

Incredible that Anglo Marine's website is still up - you'd have thought somebody would have noticed that the cheques have stopped coming! Could Porter Brothers (http://www.porters.org.uk/) be their successors? Seem to be building Anglo's range of boats.
Dave

PS: Have you seen this: http://forums.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-forums.showdiscussion/thread_id-3253/14f4be83.html? Evidently there is one knowledgable (son of the designer) and enthusiastic Express nut out there! Could this be the same Ian Harris as this guy: ? (this is an 'Ian Harris' at the OK worlds. It was a bit windy! ) If it is the same guy, we know where to find him! Dave

[Phil]

Hi Dave,
Yes he is the son of the designer ! And he still sails an express every Wednesday according to my information (he has 2). The link to the forum you have posted is very good but his e-mail in there is disabled.

Thanks for the other link I will investigate this next week.

I have found out mine is number 570 built out of 800 bye Anglo Marine.

The restoration is going well and I’m very happy with the results so far.

Oh as for “Express nut” think there must be two now ! What has got hold of me is the lack of information and in away its intriguing and mysterious to me. (no accounting for Suffolk people is there).

Have a good weekend
Phil

[Phil]

Been very quiet of late that’s because i have been sourcing fittings ! now found all that I need. the work on the dinghy has been coming along ok, getting to the stage where I will soon be painting the hull. gulp ! this is the make or brake of every project and i have been reading up on the types of product that are out there to use ! also what has slow me down is the general weather conditions, not working in a heated workshop has not helped.
Now is the time to decide what colour the hull is going to be , still “her indoors” has strong feelings on that one ! So its going to be a dark blue, maybe oxford blue.

Well wishing you a very happy Christmas and new year , soon be sailing season !!!! Yippee.

[Phil]

Hi All
I been working loads ! anyways all's coming along really great, I’m aiming for a June date !, i will send you some pic’s soon just got a new camera, have to work out how to use it !!!,
So how’s every one's winter been ? we had great skiing in Austria.
All the best
Phil

Ps found Ian Harris home club ! he's in Bristol ! have e-mailed them.

Pss there’s 2 express's for sale on e-bay at the moment, one in Norfolk, they both look like early examples (I'm starting to become a bit of an expert on the express !!) I have found there is so many variations of the express from home build’s to the Anglo Marine built examples, which mine is.

[mvwuk01]

Hi Phil,

I have just acquired an Express dinghy and wondered if you had any information on the riggin of the boat.

The boat is currently missing the main sheet assemby and the kicking strap so any advice or photos of how the riggin should be set up would be appreciated. The mast is also missing the stay spreaders so I need to find out more about these. My e-mail address is mark@walwyk.fsnet.co.uk.

Regards,

Mark