Recycling Rosie - It all started with an ad in Afloat classifieds. Suzy and Peter from Afloat answer the ad and fall in love with a timber classic. A beauty is rescued, restored and reused …

Rosie looked like she had reached the end of her days. Sinking at a mooring in Little Manly her owner offered her to Dave Scarborough a shipwright and engineer who has a love for the old wooden boats that dot our waterways. He promptly patched Rosie, gently lifted her out of the water and trucked her to his yard in Gloucester 60kms SW of Taree in NSW.
Not all of these old wooden classics can be saved in an economical way but Dave took one look at Rosie and realised she was a good candidate for restoration. Although her hull was leaking, it was still sound.
Made from spotted gum ribs and old growth Oregon planking she looked rough but to Dave’s eye she was in good nick and could be saved with modern technology. Using West System epoxy, the hull was sheathed in double bias cloth making her very strong, impervious to water and reducing the maintenance to that of a modern GRP boat.
Just add a new deck, cabin, cockpit and a 40hp Yanmar diesel.
See Rosie at the Classic & Wooden Boat Festival in October.
Recylcing Rosie