VINTAGE 61ft FEADSHIP REBUILD

It occurred to me that you may be interested to hear about the rebuild of my 60yr old steel motor yacht - a vintage 61ft Feadship - Alto Volante (ex Tiki, ex Lenton Rose ) built by van Lent in 1960 , which apparently spent many years in (I believe) Rotterdam and then on the Dutch waterways before moving to the Med in the 1980s, where I found her

I live in London where I work as a music publisher and I am a lover of interesting and beautiful boats of all types. I’ve owned and restored various wooden yachts (ranging from a 12ft American catboat built in 1900, a 25ft 1930 estuary motor-cruiser, a 1950's BB11, a 34ft 1959 sloop, a 26ft 1938 ChrisCraft and, latterly, Amokura a stunning 51ft Fred Shepherd designed yawl built by Moody’s in 1938, and that I rebuilt over 7 years, before selling her because my young sons didn’t like sailing!) I then decided that my next project would be a small classic motor yacht that my family could enjoy and use without a full-time crew. Eventually, I settled on Tiki, which I found lying in very poor condition, in Pollenca in N. Majorca.

We did some work on her in Spain, using a combination of the local yard staff and a variety of itinerant and in the main incompetent labour. This involved large section of rusted bow being re-plated, replacing so so-called "new " teak deck (that had been laid on the "old"teak deck without attending to the rusted structure beneath) , replacing the worn out engines and boxes with re-built Gardners 6LXB engines ,fitting new stabilizers, bowthruster and shafts etc .

That was a very slow, frustrating and expensive process. After 3 years I finally realised that completing the work by remote control in Majorca was going to be uneconomic and an impossibly long process. Accordingly, as soon as she could move under her power we took her to the Classic Works yard at La Ciotat in France. Doing work there proved to be impossibly expensive for me so we took a deep breath and took her through the French canals back to the East Coast of England, where she is now entirely stripped out and waiting for work to begin at “Landamores”, a well-known family owned & operated boatyard, known for the quality of its workmanship and at a price that will be approx 50% of the rates quoted in France & Spain.


work remaining to be done:

rebuild entire interior in light oak
rewire & re-plumbing throughout
build new Pilot-house
sort out rusted fuel and water tanks (not sure how, yet!)
more hull plating
much else.....!

Tiki is an interesting boat - she was built with a typical Northern European displacement hull with a flared bow, but with a superstructure based on 1950's planing ChrisCraft design - presumably with a view to selling her to the USA, which as I am sure your are aware, was the reason for the Feadship federation of Van Lent and de Vries yards, in the early fifties.

Tiky would look lovely with the original open helm but I'm not sure that is the best/most practical solution for a 61ft displacement yacht which will be used as a family holiday boat in the Med, or even if it is the most aesthetically pleasing, so were currently looking at alternative designs

More posts to come as the work progresses…could be a while , though!
best
D

Hi

it has often occurred to me that having re-plated much of the hull, ripped out the entire interior (bulkheads, deck lining, furniture and cabin sole), replaced the deck, replaced the engine shafts exhausts and all systems, fitted a new stabilzer and bow thruster, rewired and re-plumbed, I have paid a tidy sum for what is in effect a builder's plate...but I dont regret it as building anew wouldn't be so satisfying as saving a graceful old lady from the scrap heap. ...

the BB11 is 20' 3/4 decked keelboat sloop, conceived and built in mahogany in 1956 by Borge Bringsvaerd, Drobak, Norway a very pretty boat that looks like a small Dragon

I was thinking of building Tiki's new PH with ply/epoxy sides and either strip planked or balsa core for the roof..aluminium is a possibility that I hadn't really considered till now, mainly because I dont know anything about it ... so I'll now have to fine someone who does..
best
D

Pilothouse for vintage 62ft feadship Tiky

Believe me, adding a PH is not something I will do without a great deal of thought - clearly , doing so will change the way she looks and may detract somewhat from her sexy 1960s curves (but not nearly as much as did the 1980s addition which Ive posted). Bear in mind she is a displacement boat with a max speed of around 11 knts, rather than a fast sports boat, which i think has some bearing on how she should look. I also have to think about how the boat will be used -ie as a family boat in the Mediterranean where in Summer it is either too hot, or in winter toocold and wet for there to be no shelter. I considered a bimini top but I dont think that works visually on Tiky and since it would be up all the time, it might as well be permanent. I am therefore considering a small "cuddy" type structure that will be in white, rather than teak, and open at the rear so as to be less heavy visually. In any event Id appreciate your thoughts on my design (which is far from final)

Feadship Tiky GA with proposed new Pilothouse

here is the General Arrangements of what i had in mind for the new PH

Hi
thanks for the kind words - its messages of encouaragement such as yours that give me the enthusiam and impetus to carry on. In fact, she is a "one -off" and that's what make her special and worth all the aggravation & expence.... However, who knows, if I run out of steam and or money, she may be for sale one day!
best
david

Im Not as yet certain as to constaruction method - possibly ply sides and either strip- planked or balsa core roof and radiused edges ...all encapsulated in epoxy.

so sorry .Im going to ask someone at my office how to handle attachments..

Alto (Tiky), 1961 62ft steel Van Lent Feadship - refit

Here is a summary of the work being done to Alto (Tiky), my 1961 62ft steel Van Lent Feadship, as per of her refit - or is it a "rebuild" ? in any event she's virtually a new boat. About 80% of the work has been completed and we plan to paint her in June /july and then launch in August.

REFIT WORKS
Hull surveyed (3 times!!)
Section of bow replaced
All hull plating doublers removed and replaced
Additional areas replated hull as required (27 sq mts)
repairs to keel at bow & stern
FW & Fuel tanks rebuilt
Several frames replaced and amendments made to prevent water traps
Interior grit blasted and painted
Hull grit blasted and painted in Awl-Grip system

Old deck removed and steel work/beams beneath replaced as necessary
20mm marine ply sub-deck fitted, followed by new teak deck
Entire interior removed including fittings, wiring, pipework etc
Amendments to aft deck hatches inc new drain channels etc
New deck drains
Repairs to saloon superstructure as required
New PH constructed in Ply and foam core covered in white Epoxy inc s/s windows frames
Side Coamings rebuilt

New BHs fitted throughout ship
New interior throughout: inc sole bearers, teak cabin sole,
New furniture: inc doors and BHs etc throughout boat rebuilt in light oak
New door furniture - chrome fittings
New headlining throughout
New venetian blinds fitted in saloon and aft accommodation
New heads x3:new elec toilets, taps, basins, Shower trays & countertops
New galley:black granite countertop, MW, hob, dishwasher washing machine
Portlights removed & refurbed and opening parts re-chromed.
New glass in Saloon windows
New companionway teak steps (3)
New main hatch & doors
New entertainment system inc sound system and Plasma
New Aircon system (4 independent units)
New electric forced air ventilation system
New FW system inc new plumbing throughout and FW pressure pump
New BW Holding tank
New FW H&C deck shower
New SW deckwash

Rewired throughout inc all new 24V LED OH lighting
New DC & 24V breaker -boards
New deck courtesy lights
New charger, inverter, shore power
New domestic and engine start and batteries
Kohler 18kva Generator totally rebuilt
New VHF, navigation inst system & screen wipers etc

2 x 6LXB Gardner engines totally rebuilt
New main engine g/boxes
New thrust bearing CV drives
New silencers and water-cooled exhaust system
New s/s shafts
New halyard lift box and water separator fitted to generator exhaust
New fuel system & filters
New engine insts and Morse controls
New ER insulation: Halyard fireproof material
New ER intake /extracts and fans
New fuel /water inlets and piping
New skin fittings throughout
New water strainers

Rudders dropped and steering system rebuilt with new bearings etc
New Hydraulic steering system - inc new pipes and steering rams etc

New Wesmar Stabilizer system
New Sleipner Bow thruster

New Fire system : inc auto fire dampers
New float switch elec bilge pumps x 3
New engine driven mechanical Jabsco bilge pump

New mast
New navlights
New Buell Triple horns
Windlass rebuilt
New anchor chains
Anchors refurbed and regalvanised

New atlas 1600 davit system
New s/s handrail stanchions and handrail refurbished
New s/s deck fittings and custom made ventilation grills
New s/s davits
New s/s hawse pipes and hull protection plates etc
New s/s deck hatches (3) fitted on foredeck
New s/s PH custom made handrails
New x 4 s/s ventilation cowls

Feadship Alto (Tiky) rebuild

Hi
of course you may photos ! ...here are some photos of the aft cabin and saloon in mid-build, approx 2 weeks ago. FYI the entire interior has been rebuild in American white oak with horizontal grain and horizontal shadow gaps that break the BHs etc into "letterbox" shaped panels. The cabin sole will be teak.
I'll have other more up to date pix of the interior that I will post after I visit her at the end of this week.
best
david

Hi
thanks ...I'll try and post some close ups during the week , but if not I will be able to after next visit
best
D