Gates & Co, Emsworth.

Gates & Co, Emsworth. A regular update on work in progress. Yacht restoration and repair, painting, spraying, polishing. Light engineering, welding, electrics, and Kayak Hospital.

With the interior completed, and the bunk insert in, its a lovely place for forty winks.We now close the workshop for ...
07/08/2026


With the interior completed, and the bunk insert in, its a lovely place for forty winks.

We now close the workshop for August.
Its time to have a break, sail our own boats, do some walking, windsurfing, cycling and sleeping.

See you in September!




Targa 27.1A temporary repair of a little 'whoopsie' nudge from another vessel.Its hard to justify full replacement when ...
07/08/2026

Targa 27.1

A temporary repair of a little 'whoopsie' nudge from another vessel.
Its hard to justify full replacement when the temporary repair looks this good 😎

progress.Tatla II is looking fantastic now. The electrics have been re-run, new nav lights fitted to the wheelhouse an...
05/08/2026

progress.

Tatla II is looking fantastic now.
The electrics have been re-run, new nav lights fitted to the wheelhouse and mast, and this means the head linings can go up for the last time!
The refurbished windows are in, side linings fitted, and most of the deck fittings are back on.
New wiper motors have also been fitted.
The keel has been Copper Coated, and after our summer break we will transfer the supports so we can get a clear runn with the CopperCoat, with no patches.

Pictures are some before and after shots.




Pond Yacht.This model has been owned by the current owners for decades, but has had no rigging or sails! Bringing it hom...
31/07/2026

Pond Yacht.
This model has been owned by the current owners for decades, but has had no rigging or sails! Bringing it home from New Zealand they asked me if I could rig the vessel. Having owned a similar vintage Pond Yacht for many decades I was familiar with the style required.

What is a Pond Yacht? A model yacht that can actually be sailed, rather than just being displayed. They are heavy, contain a ballast keel, and the rig should be easily flat packed for transport. More advanced model used a vind vane for directional stability, and these days radio control and electric sail winches are the order of the day.

I agreed to the refit, on the proviso that that the model would be sailed at least once, otherwise I wouldn't undertake the task. Thankfully they agreed!

The CT port of registry is Castletown on the Isle of Man.

Helmsman for scale. She is probably between 45 and 55 feet overall.

yacht




Works included smaller spars, running and standing rigging, stays'l, mainsheet and rudder bar in brass, bobstay fitting in copper, sails, sheets. The stand was adjusted to level her up, waterline and mast rake corrected too.
This was delightfully fiddly and time consuming work, but so much easier than the full size version!

Another new mast fitted to a Shrimper!Supplied by , and finished by us in .With a few modifications and attention to...
28/07/2026

Another new mast fitted to a Shrimper!
Supplied by , and finished by us in .
With a few modifications and attention to detail on assembly this will last much longer than the previous one.
Champagne all round! 🥂

16/07/2026

After collecting the new mast from we applied ten coats of varnish before transferring the mast fittings across. A new VHF aerial and cables, teak pad on the mast heel, and a myriad of other details means this mast will last much longer than the original.

With the mast loaded the day before, an 02:30 alarm call had me on the road early, and arriving in Pembrokshire by 08:30.

I was keen to see the mast stepped, so after dressing the mast with running and standing rigging we fitted it to the tabernacle and heaved it up.
Once tensioned and locked off the owners treated me to lunch in the local café, which overlooks the beautiful Milford Haven.

It was a long drive back, another 260 miles, to bring the day trip up to 520.
I was so glad persevered with getting the aircon running in the van, not sure I would have coped without it!

A long day, home by 20:00. Another one done, and a good run for the van.


Channel Island 22 progress.With the wheelhouse top relaminated with a foam core, we could start on re-finishing the surf...
16/07/2026

Channel Island 22 progress.

With the wheelhouse top relaminated with a foam core, we could start on re-finishing the surface.
Decades of sun damage was sanded away before a huge filling and fairing process began. The deck moulding is to be honest, shocking. Is very unfair and rippled, probably from new.

Once it was fair, we built up many coats of hibuild epoxy primer and undercoat. A black guide powder was used to aid sanding back to flat, before two coats of polyurethene gloss were applied.

Now super shiny we can refit the windows that have been refurbished by

Next is wheelhouse head and side linings, and electrics!




The lovely Lady Sea out for a wash, polish, antifoul and anodes.We also cleaned up the propellers and rudders for a supe...
27/06/2026

The lovely Lady Sea out for a wash, polish, antifoul and anodes.
We also cleaned up the propellers and rudders for a super smooth finish, and an extra few knots.

As always we experiment with surface coating alternatives, and look forward to seeing these props next year.

Oh yes, all completed during the heat wave 🥵
An finally, can you spot the stowaway??

This little RIBlet needed a new Teleflex steering fitting, so we offered to give it a makeover too!We bought some from...
19/06/2026

This little RIBlet needed a new Teleflex steering fitting, so we offered to give it a makeover too!
We bought some from and Oh My, that stuff is A M A Z I N G !

Using full PPE this stuff has transformed this RIBlet to nearly new condition.
After cleaning the tubes were treated with Ribshop Hypertec to repel dirt and UV.

These pics are

P bracket replacement.The P bracket on this yacht probably fractured at the end of last summer, but only became apparent...
19/06/2026

P bracket replacement.
The P bracket on this yacht probably fractured at the end of last summer, but only became apparent at haul out last year. Remarkably they motored back across the channel with it dangling down....
Probable cause was a rope around the prop, forcing the P bracket forward and starting the fracture. When? Some time in the last forty years!

Anyway, its a really interesting job to do, and thankfully the owners were happy to wait for warmer weather for us to fix it.

The new P bracket was cast in Italy, and is substantially larger than the old.

So, drain the fuel tank and move it out the way, chop back the GRP, drive the stub out, and then draw the whole set up out fullsize to see which way to open up the hole.
Open up the hole...modify the bracket to clear the tank, and get the bracket to fit loosely in the hole.

Spin up a bearing in the lathe to centralise the (new/straight) shaft in the tube. Centralise the shaft in the hull using clothes pegs. Why pegs I hear you cry? Well, they are identical, so if pushed in an equal amount the shaft will be central!

Weigh the tip weight of the shaft, p bracket and prop bush at the right angle.
Assemble all, and make a frame to support a spring balance to preload at the set weight. This removes the risk of shaft droop and misalignment!!

Plasticine seal underneath, and epoxy resin around the bracket.

Check alignment on engine.

Add foam webs and glass over internally.

Epoxy fillet externally, fair in, apply gelcoat, gelsheild, and a/f primer.

Flow coat internally. Refit tank, new Volvo stern seal, refil tank and clear up!

Simples!

Owner reports engine is smooth as silk!



Address

Unit 3 Emsworth Shipyard
Emsworth
PO108BP

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm

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