Osea's Gaff Rig

Things have moved along with the rig,The mast was put up today in its tabernacle and what a joy it was to raise after the boom was slotted into its goose neck fitting the throat and peak halyards clipped on and up went the mainsail for a dry run, everything is working as it should the sail looks as good as I had hoped. Trying to keep things as simple as possible Ive rigged the mast with two bands ,two shrouds and one fore stay the lower band taking the fore stay and two shrouds at about where the gaff jaws rest when raised.A pair are also at the top of the mast for the simple reason that I did not have to cut them down at all.The Jib will come from the mast top band and the stay sail from the lower band .Having fixed an eye either side in the coach roof to take the necessary blocks to run the halyards aft I lowered the mast again to fit a topping lift which will become a lazy jacks system when a long enough piece of 6mm rope can be found.Still lots of little bits and pieces that have to be decided upon such as routes for furling lines and jib sheets etc.I have planned to have a bowsprit that can be run in half way or thereabouts with a Bob stay that can be cleated off and uncleated as this could be use full when having to moor to a large Buoy.I will play about with this more when the head sails are ready and can be raised.
There is quite a lot to think about even with the mainsail attachments to the boom ,I may just screw on an eye to run an out haul to and trying to use old bits I may have lying about rather than racing down to the chandlers who's cap is continually out.

Osea's cockpit has many lines to play with now.So as I know whats what in moments of urgencey I have red fleck run innner for the throat and blue fleck run outer for the peak on the port side and red inner staysail and blue outer jib halyards still to be added the four sheets and two furling lines.

The Gaff Jaws and wooden tabernacle.


The Main, I am pleased how this has turned out. Steve at north sea sails has put a row of reefing pennants in for me and the foot will be laced to the boom as will the luff,initially any how.

The bow sprit extends three foot and runs through a stainless gammon iron which also takes the fore stay.The bits will have a drop nose pin through to keep everything in place and easily removeable. I cut a small peice of stainless plate to size with an angle grinder and got a metalworker to weld together for me.

Traditional Sail Making

Just a stone throw from the top of the creek in Tollesbury sitting on his wooden bench behind the wonderfully textured Essex boarded exterior of this classic sail loft , Blackwater sail maker Steve of North Sea Sails continues to make his sails in the time proven ways dating back generations.
Steve makes, or what I would more accurately say creates, works of canvas art full of intricate details such as hand stitched eyes and hemp luff rope with fine leather corner edging all sown in by hand to last the lucky owner another life time of working sail .
It's almost a crime to have to use the sails that Steve turns out here but that is what they are for to do a functional task .
Steve's fine work graces classic and traditional sailing craft as far away as the USA but to the lucky few he also takes on small repairs or adjustments to all manner of modern and traditional sails from small gaff or lug dinghy's right through to huge East Coast barge sails all made or repaired here in his cosy loft which to me is an Aladdin's cave of old working sail.
Tools of the trade are simple enough, a sharp pair of scissors, needles, one or two Fids and small mallet and of course the sail makers leather palm. Watching Steve work the new canvas ,this a mainsl for a Bumkin while sitting on his bench is an image that is not often seen today And possibly not many people would know that such a sail maker exists here as Steve hardly advertises his services telling me the people who seek the services he provides seem to find him.There is no fancy office here or even an answer phone as Steve prefers his trusty old ring dial telephone that does the job perfectly.
I am visiting today as Steve, known locally as the gaff rig guru as he has a lifetime of experience knowing all there is to know about this specialist art. Steve has finished of Osea's gaff main sail by hand and added a row of reefing pennants and cringles to.
Because I had done such a decent job of cutting it out he kindly offered to help me out with the two head sails for Osea Buoy as well.
Steve had previously asked me to bring him a scaled drawing of the boat with the proposed sail plan which I had brought along today also putting on two pairs of wooly socks as no shoes are allowed up on the lofts boarded floor.While Steve sat at his bench hand stitching a luff reefing cringle eye we chatted, Steve telling me how his good friend and author the late John Leather would visit him at the sail loft every Friday for a yarn about all things sail. While I watched Steve work the thick needle through the tan sail cloth with his well worn leather palm, I said"surely that needle must have come through the leather and into your hand" yes he replied "once or twice". After a little tweaking of dimensions Steve had a good look over the drawing and said that's it that should be fine. Keeping with my recycling theme of the gaff rig Steve is going to re cut a flying jib out of a mouse eaten tan sail and re cut a stay sail from a white gull main and finish them off in his trademark hand stitching.

Ash Block eyelet station where thousands of brass eyes have been fitted


A traditional way of fitting reefing pennants on a working boat is to hand stitch them, so they are without any eyelets.


Among the many old marine bits and pieces hanging from the rafters in the loft was this huge Elm Dead eye, it measures approx 14inches dia and approx 5/6 inches thick. It was given to Steve by a local fisherman who picked it up from his trawling nets at the bottom the north sea.One can only wonder at how old its is and what happened to the rest of the vessel.


Collection of Eyes

Camping and Launching

Camping in Scaffie Caravella II on the River Blackwater.

Some ideas for dinghy and pocket cruisers as to how to get on the water here and places to camp.

I have made numerous calls to the main marinas here to confirm prices etc.
The information given here is given in good faith to aid small boat sailors planning a visit here but please do make your own checks as prices times etc can change.
Probably The most simple route to get a sail in would be to turn up at say Bradwell marina slipway pay your fee £16.00 inclusive of recovery and parking.launch/recover between 08.30 am and 5pm 2 hrs either side of LW.So after launch, park up and off you go on a flood tide all the way up to Maldon and return on the ebb,Or stay the night camp on board either pick up a vacant mooring buoy or dry out somewhere that looks muddy, returning on the following ebb.
Blackwater Marina which is in Mayland 10-15minutes less drive than Bradwell ,also has a slipway and some parking with fees each way at £20.00 including parking it could be considered an expensive day or a reasonable week.
Tollesbury Marina has a slipway which is very reasonable at £7.00 plus vat each way including parking up to a few days maybe a week depending on space.Its tidal here to and the shoal keel (12") can launch up to three hrs either side of HW.Tollesbury Marina slip is next to the public slipway which is free but has no nearby parking due to yellow line restrictions so the Marina is very good value they also cater for visiting dinghy and pocket cruisers coming from the creek who are welcome to stay for a few hrs at a pontoon for free just ring or radio to let them point you the best place to moor once in over the marina cill you will stay afloat so remember the creek dries out.for longer overnight stays fees are due.
For visitors by car the main concern is parking the car and trailer which can be done at the marinas but probably not for putting up a tent which is OK if you are camping on board.
Another way is to get the tents up at a camp/caravan site then either use a public or marina slip.
For camping sites there is camping at Fen Farm East Mersea where you could base yourself and use the public slipway at west Mersea to get afloat .On the south side of the river Steeple caravan site has a large field for visiting tents/campers which borders the sea wall and which Is good for Large Groups and families and ideally has its own Slip into Mayland creek entrance.
St Lawrence Bay has a caravan site and there is a slipway at the end of the main road next to the pub but not sure this is public but could be worth enquiring further.Eastland Meadow country park in East end rd has room for small tents but for over 50s only, a tranqill static park close to St peters chapel and Bradwell marina it could be a good base for some.
I am based from a sailing club so after paying the usual membership fees have access to launch and recover at will as well as camp in a tent on the club grounds.This could be the answer for a lot of visitors as when you way up the costs involved such as fuel/slipway and marina fees it could well pay you to join one of the many sailing clubs most of which will have their own private slip on the river which gives you unlimited access for the year even if you only want to use it for a week or two. If you would rather not become a member try contacting one of the many sailing clubs and ask if they could accommodate you for a visit you may be surprised this is not as cheeky as you may think, they all advertise that they welcome visiting yachtsmen.
Sailing clubs membership terms can differ so check but Another angle ,Most sailing club members are able to bring guests to use the facility's as a full member which means if you know a member you could bring your boat, launch and use the car park for free they usually stupefy that the same person is allowed in for no more than four separate visits so have a friend here is another option.
For trailer sailors visiting the river looking for places to launch I do recommend studying a local map for your preferred place to be based as for sailing you will want to take the tide either from down river and up or from the top of the river down.If you find a slip at midpoint on the river such as say the top of Mayland creek you will need to work the tide to your advantage and so you may not have a fair tide to get up to Maldon and down to Mersea and back up again to Mayland in a day.Public slipways are few and are namely Tollesbury,West Mesea,Maldon.
Even if you launch from a marina you could still have a visit to a welcoming sailing club pre planned where you could put up a tent for the night and use the facility's.
you can always use the marina facility's which may be more costly but will cater for parking ,toilets etc.
Tollesbury Saltings can accommodate visiting trailer sailors but ring Doug who is the manager to book a place he will find you a comfy spot in the mud for overnight berthing leaning on the narrow pontoons dry out which is fun also has toilets and parking facility's reached by the narrow wooden walk ways (everyone should experience this) the fees are £1.50 per meter + vat per night including parking so launching here would be at the free public slipway. Another option is to ask Doug if you can park only as at £1.50 per mtr is still reasonable.

Local Sailing/cruising clubs
Maldon sc
Blackwater sc
Tollesbury sc
Stone sc
Harlow Blackwater sc
Maylandsea Bay sc
West Mersea sc
Goldhanger sc
Dabchicks sc
Marconi sc
Mill Beach marine club
Tollesbury cruising club
Bradwell Quay yacht club
The Saltings Tollesbury

I hope you find something usefull here,If you have anything that would be help full here I will gladly ad it.

River Blackwater :Creeks/map

Gunner Creek

At my last count there were 22 named creeks in the Blackwater Estuary from East Mersea in the north to St Peters Chapel on the south, not including any small fleets and channels.
Many of them only present themselves at half tide or less.

I have listed them in alphabetical order they are:

Awl creek
Bradwell Creek
Coopers Creek
Earl Creek
Ford Creek
Goldhanger Creek
Gunners Creek
Heybridge Creek
Lawling Creek
Limbourne Creek
Lower Collins Creek
Mayland Creek
Mill Creek
Munden Creek
Old Hall Creek
Salcott Creek
Samsons Creek
Southey Creek
Steeple Creek
St Lawrence Creek
Thirslet Creek
Upper Collins creek
Woodrolfe Creek

Let me know of any that I may have missed .