All of our Luggers have been lovingly restored in our workshops in South Wales and you can follow some of their stories here. In 2022 we launched Just Lugger Joinery as a service to other Lugger enthusiasts, providing ready-made parts and instructional pages and videos for you to do your own restoration work.
Angie rigged and ready to go
After eight weeks, Angie has turned out a truly magnificent Lugger, totally rebuilt and with modifications to suit her new life in the Med including full Bimini sun shade and picnic set. It will be a pleasure to have her moored on the apartment jetty at Geni Garden Apartments, awaiting one’s desire and time to…
Angie – Week 4
So at last, Friday 28 May 2021! Angie is rolled out into the sunshine in Wales, a very exciting day to see the endeavours of the past 7 weeks come to fruition. You will note that I have managed to straighten and clean up the original 1967 builder’s plate. She is now completed with just…
Angie – Weeks 2/3
Whilst acknowledging her age now since she was built 53 years ago, it is evident that she has been used extensively, based on the damage and repairs that have been undertaken, some reasonable and others at best negligent in terms of safety of the craft. But yes, she has survived and will be of a…
Angie – Restoration Begins
So here she is on 10 April 2021, at last in Wales ready for work to commence. I’ve removed most of the clutter and debris that came with the purchase, it wasn’t even cleaned out! One thing I had not realised is that she did not have a Bumpkin stern spar, or rather there were…
Clara’s maiden voyage
Less than 24 hours after discovering the leak and the damage to Clara, the repair has been completed and she sailed across to Frikes Bay. The daytime heat meant that the glassing had to wait until nearer to sunset, but the job was soon done. So at 6.30am on Friday she was back on the…
The Dangers of Automotive Filler
To all DIY Drascombers, avoid using automotive body filler on your ‘Pride and Joy’, especially below the water line, it could be disastrous! You will have ready my review of the rebuild of Clara by my cabinetry making company, Dragon Design in Wales. Despite a thorough check of the underside when we cleaned all the…
Final completion and debut of Lugger Clara
On a cold and grey Wednesday, 12th December 2018 at the home of Dragon Design, Cabinetmakers, Clara was wheeled out for the first time after undergoing a full and extensive refit. It has taken 6 weeks, not all full time work, and 280 man hours to complete. As a Mk 1 Lugger, with a hull…
Clara Restoration – Week 4
She is not quite completed as I had anticipated, and it’s the small and time consuming work on the boat in readiness for her launching in May 2019 that has taken the time. The fittings have now arrived from Jimmy Green Marine Company to enable its last stage of fit out. The hull graphics have…
Clara Restoration – Week 3
So here we are at the end of week 3. All the spray finishing has been completed to the cockpit in Manilla with the hull lower section in white and the top plank in a grey, and she’s looking good. The next stage was the fitting of the Iroko hatches and centre board casing cheeks.…
Clara Restoration – Week 2
The hard work on preparing the hull is over, with all the masking up done, and by Tuesday the upper plank was in grey and the lower part in white, all left to cure for 48 hours. Next was to prep the underwater area up to the white hull before roller-painting with a Seajet primer.…
Clara Restoration – Week 1
Clara with a hull number of 937 would have been an early 1970 boat and a Mk 1 model, still with the original short Gaff. Despite being a little dirty from some 4 years of being unused and left undercover, her hull gel coat was original, very little damage apart from some scratches. The early…
Clara – the refit begins
So this is Clara, an early 70’s Lugger bought just in the last week or so. She was owned and sailed as a part of a University Marine Studies programme in Cardiff, predominantly in Cardiff bay and the Bristol Channel. She has been lightly used and in a clean condition, requiring now to be stripped…