oldspeedboats Forum
RESTORATION & HISTORY => Simmonds Boats => Topic started by: Thumper on January 19, 2012, 02:38:37 PM
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Some of you may recall a Simmonds that passed through eBay a couple of years ago. It received some notoriety because of the way the boat had been painted in combinations of bright red, white and sky blue, with strips of mohogany along the sides, and a ladder strapped to the rear. I think I recall some comment about a "fairground attraction" being made! It changed hands then for a few hundred pounds, but then lay relatively untouched in Cumbria for a time. It has now changed hands again, and looks set to undergo a full and faithful restoration. For the sake of interest, this is what she looked like in 2010. I hope to see "Miss Pilgrim" looking prim and proper again before much longer!
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That is so good to hear, because the comments of a fairground ride were used. It will be so good to see her back to as near original as possible :D
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I suspect this boat, after some preliminary work on returning her somewhere nearer original condition, may be back on the market again soon. If anyone's even mildly interested, drop me a note. I'm waiting for the current owner to send me some photos and then I'll add a page to the website.
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It will be interesting to see the boat now?
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Still waiting . . . .
Obviously can't be so keen to sell after all. May be the change in the weather? Where better to be on a baking hot summer's day than messing about with boats!
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I wish, I cannot get near mine. One thing I have proven, if I do not go near it, the sun comes out. I plan to get to it tomorrow afternoon, wait and see :(
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If the new owner does restore her, that would be brilliant. Another bit of history recovered ;D
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Hi
Thats me you're talking about, I'm the proud new owner of Miss Pilgrim.
I couldn't resist the looks of her on ebay, even in the sorry state she was in.
She is going to get as near original restoration as I can manage. This however is going to be tricky as she needs so many parts.
Engine, Screen, rudder, ladder, fuel & water Tanks, steering wheel, clocks, switches, forward facing air scoops, throttle lever, nav lights pretty much everything really.
Also a copy of the plans for the original trailer would be great.
Any history of Miss Pilgrim and Simmonds in general.
Were there standard colour schemes for the Simmonds, Miss Pilgrim seems to have a pale blue in the lower layers of paint.
Should the gunwale strip be painted for left natural?
Any help thankfully received.
Regards
RD
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Hi, as I have said in another post, you are our hero and any help we can give we will.
Engine, steering and screen are not too much of a problem, neither are fuel and water tanks, I can get most of those sorted for you, if you are in the middle of England.
Clocks etc, Firebird may be able to assist you with.
The trailer, I am sure Thumper will be able to help on that.
Keep me posted and if you wish to do a pictorial rebuild, I can set aside a board for you.
Go for it :D
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BN
I am so pleased that you are so capable and enthusiastic, I've been scouring the web looking for parts and was beginning to think I would be unable to find any parts at all.
I'm on the Wirral which makes travelling up or down the country fairly easy.
Needless to say I am interested in any parts you can help me with.
My plan was to fit all the original parts get everything commissioned plop it in the water to check for leaks and then disassemble for grit blasting (inside & out), preparation, filling and then painting. There are a large number of small holes where the teak strips were fixed, I was planning on tig welding these.
I guess there would be some benefit to myself & Miss Pilgrim if I were to do a pictorial rebuild as yourself and other members could offer guidance.
How can we progress with the parts?
Thanks & Regards
RD
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Some parts may have to be new for safety, like the petrol tank, unless Thumper has a good one somewhere. Water tank again, possibly better remade. Try MetalFabs in Corby for both and ask for Mark on 01536 202448, they are brilliant.
A screen can be remade from new if it is pastic by Littleport Boat Haven in Cambridgeshire, 01353 863763, ask for Gary. Sometimes he has the mould or similar, however if he has to make a mould (which he did for me), it hurts a bit on the pocket, but worth it eventually. Maverick was lucky, Gary had a mould for his boat and I think it was very reasonable.
The rest can all be sourced, just takes a bit of gathering together. Down side, restoration is never going to get your money back, but boy the satisfaction when you finish and use the boat.
Below is my Albatross, which is now having a new petrol tank fitted and a few changes. I have the original steering wheel, but it is too big for comfort, so a cheapy is added for comfort.
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BN
Nice boat, what sort of speed can she reach? I think miss Pilgrim may have been a similar colour to that originally.
At work I use Solidworks Professional 3D CAD to design all kinds of things, usually in metal.
Perhaps if somebody were to provide photos and drawings of the original fuel and water tanks I could design models and post them here along with fabrication drawings for others to benefit from.
I could do this with any parts I have to get made. Screen would be fairly easy. Not sure if this was toughened glass or a type of plastic though.
BTW I'm off to Windermere for a few days this weekend, do you know of any Simmonds Boats on or around the lake which I could take a look at?
Are ther any places which may have relevant spares up there?
Thanks & Regards
RD
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http://www.oldspeedboats.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=460.msg1465#msg1465
Details I made of my old tank, which is in the picture.
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Goos Job...
Thats just what I need from somebody with a Simmonds original Tank.
Unless they were the same?
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Sadly they are totally different tanks, but the reason I posted them was that the guys I use, work from sketchy plans (like mine) and come up with excellent goods.
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I rumnmaged in my garage last weekend and found the original glass screens, so will create a template from those for you. They're flat glass, toughened, so should be relatively straightforward to replicate.
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You may want to contact Alan Fawcus for parts if you do not already know him.
SimonP