114 Year old sailing vessel Vega - Seychelles to Malaysia

Even before the Tsunami, and the pounding of Northern Sumatra's wild West coast, Vega was over due for her 10 year hull work. There was a long list of things we wanted to do so that Vega could face the next 10 years in a sound and safe condition.

Foremost on the list was an extensive survey. For this we chose Capt. Des Kearns, who is the Noble-Denton mega yacht surveyor for South East Asia. Des is a tough, but fair, surveyor who understands wooden sailing ships and historical vessels in particular. He took great pleasure in rooting around through every hidden and seemingly inaccessible place on the boat.

The first survey was conducted in Langkawi. For two days we methodically tested every single system on the boat. We even opened the fuel tanks to check the level of sediments in each. Des with his ever present camera and note book were seen every where from the mast head to the deepest bilges.

The final result was a glowing first half of the survey report. Very few suggestions were brought forward for repair and every one of those suggestions was implemented, including draining the fuel tanks and cleaning them!

From Langkawi. we sailed to Kantang which is a small but important fishing town on the river Trang. Kantang is home to an estimated 150 large wooden fishing boats and has a long history of wooden ship building and repair.

The Keat Sang Ship yard is owned and operated by Mr. Vime and is a very busy wooden boat repair yard. Being a busy yard they do not really need the yacht trade and Mr. Vime is particular who he allows into his yard.

It took us three visits to convince him that VEGA was a type of boat that his craftsmen would feel at home with and that we were not the type of people who expected yacht gloss perfection. We wanted his experience and the skill of his craftsmen for the work we had planned for VEGA.

We Tided our way up the river the day before hauling out after 2 rather enjoyable days of sailing and sight seeing among the islands. The channel is clearly marked and well lit. On the chart it shows several shallow spots but we never found less than 7 meters the whole way.

The haul out went perfectly. It was the first time I have had a boat hauled with not a single moment of doubt. The craftsmen there have been working with hulls similar to VEGAS for generations and it shows with the calm competent manner in which they go about their work.

Once out work began. We sanded the hull down to bare wood from the cap rails down and pulled every single fastening plug for inspection. All of Vega's almost 1 kilometer of caulked seams were raked out, the seams dressed with red lead primmer and recaulked using a double layer of oakum then cotton soaked in preservative mixed with red lead paste. This long job alone seemed to take for ever.

While the caulkers mallets rang others were also busy. New finely curved davits were cut from grown limbs, a massive base plate, pillars, channels, and chain plates were built in for the Mizzen mast, and new gratings were made for the steering ststion, and the rudder woodwork fared off at last.

When Vega was restored in 1995-6 she was restored to work boat standards. This meant that many of her underwater fittings were strong but not fared off to reduce drag. Her lead filled keel was coated with a layer of cement that had not cured properly and through the years had become very uneven. This old cement was chipped away and replaced with proper Portland type 5, but not before all the joints , braces, and keel bolts were inspected then treated with anti corrosives.

Each of the thousands of fastening heads was chipped, wire brushed, and treated with anti corrosives before being sealed and fared with epoxy. Six strategically located planks were removed so that Des could inspect the state of the frames between the inter liners, which were found to be in perfect state. The planks were replaced with fine teak of the same thickness. All the under water metal work was lightly sand blasted and treated. The list seemed to go on for ever as each day saw more improvements and more things that needed doing.

After almost 6 weeks of intense work Vega splashed back into the water. Her underwater body was much smoother. Her total form drag reduced by an estimated 18%-22%. Changes to her rudder had solved several nagging problems with her steering, making her much more responsive while halving her turning radius. It had been hard work but well worth every day of it. The survey was 100%. Everything about the hull was exactly the way it should be. Always a good feeling when the Pacific Ocean is next on ones list.

And bye the way we finally installed the stern windows, which are Lloyds and Veritas approved.


	Even before the Tsunami, and the pounding of Northern Sumatra's wild West coast, Vega was over due for her 10 year hull work. There was a long list of things we wanted to do so that Vega could face the next 10 years in a sound and safe condition. Foremost on the list was an extensive survey. For this we chose Capt. Des Kearns, who is the Noble-Denton mega yacht surveyor for South East Asia. Des is a tough, but fair, surveyor who understands wooden sailing ships and historical vessels in particular. He took great pleasure in rooting around through every hidden and seemingly inaccessible place on the boat. The first survey was conducted in Langkawi. For two days we methodically tested every single system on the boat. We even opened the fuel tanks to check the level of sediments in each. Des with his ever present camera and note book were seen every where from the mast head to the deepest bilges. The final result was a glowing first half of the survey report. Very few suggestions were brought forward for repair and every one of those suggestions was implemented, including draining the fuel tanks and cleaning them! From Langkawi. we sailed to Kantang which is a small but important fishing town on the river Trang. Kantang is home to an estimated 150 large wooden fishing boats and has a long history of wooden ship building and repair. The Keat Sang Ship yard is owned and operated by Mr. Vime and is a very busy wooden boat repair yard. Being a busy yard they do not really need the yacht trade and Mr. Vime is particular who he allows into his yard. It took us three visits to convince him that VEGA was a type of boat that his craftsmen would feel at home with and that we were not the type of people who expected yacht gloss perfection. We wanted his experience and the skill of his craftsmen for the work we had planned for VEGA. We Tided our way up the river the day before hauling out after 2 rather enjoyable days of sailing and sight seeing among the islands. The channel is clearly marked and well lit. On the chart it shows several shallow spots but we never found less than 7 meters the whole way. The haul out went perfectly. It was the first time I have had a boat hauled with not a single moment of doubt. The craftsmen there have been working with hulls similar to VEGAS for generations and it shows with the calm competent manner in which they go about their work. Once out work began. We sanded the hull down to bare wood from the cap rails down and pulled every single fastening plug for inspection. All of Vega's almost 1 kilometer of caulked seams were raked out, the seams dressed with red lead primmer and recaulked using a double layer of oakum then cotton soaked in preservative mixed with red lead paste. This long job alone seemed to take for ever. While the caulkers mallets rang others were also busy. New finely curved davits were cut from grown limbs, a massive base plate, pillars, channels, and chain plates were built in for the Mizzen mast, and new gratings were made for the steering ststion, and the rudder woodwork fared off at last. When Vega was restored in 1995-6 she was restored to work boat standards. This meant that many of her underwater fittings were strong but not fared off to reduce drag. Her lead filled keel was coated with a layer of cement that had not cured properly and through the years had become very uneven. This old cement was chipped away and replaced with proper Portland type 5, but not before all the joints , braces, and keel bolts were inspected then treated with anti corrosives. Each of the thousands of fastening heads was chipped, wire brushed, and treated with anti corrosives before being sealed and fared with epoxy. Six strategically located planks were removed so that Des could inspect the state of the frames between the inter liners, which were found to be in perfect state. The planks were replaced with fine teak of the same thickness. All the under water metal work was lightly sand blasted and treated. The list seemed to go on for ever as each day saw more improvements and more things that needed doing. After almost 6 weeks of intense work Vega splashed back into the water. Her underwater body was much smoother. Her total form drag reduced by an estimated 18%-22%. Changes to her rudder had solved several nagging problems with her steering, making her much more responsive while halving her turning radius. It had been hard work but well worth every day of it. The survey was 100%. Everything about the hull was exactly the way it should be. Always a good feeling when the Pacific Ocean is next on ones list. And bye the way we finally installed the stern windows, which are Lloyds and Veritas approved.





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