Rogue’s restoration

Bruce Askew was long central to Rogue’s restoration. As explained elsewhere on this site, his enthusiasm for returning Rogue to her 1892 flush-decked gaff-rigged configuration initiated the project. Rogue bookended Bruce’s maritime life: as a schoolboy, his curiosity about (sledgehammer) attempts to give Rogue’s replacement cast-iron ballast a more hydrodynamic form led to a lifetime in marine architecture; Rogue’s return to the water earlier this year was the culmination of Bruce’s design, drawings and many other contributions (including observing the sledgehammer marks on the original ballast, and crafting beautifully turned samson posts and pin rail and a 1:15 model) over the years. A larger account of his history is on the RPNYC’s website. Rest in peace, Bruce.

Muscled-up cockpit seats are back in, as are the backstay runner levers on realigned bases, and safety bars fitted to the butterfly hatch (necessary for crew safety, as everyone automatically places a bracing foot there when working around the mast, but regrettably obscuring Sarah Maxey’s etching). Below, dogs finally have been sourced to secure the butterfly hatch closed.

Less welcome is the disassembled engine. Source of water in oil is as yet unclear, both exhaust and water intake being routed well above the waterline. Somehow it appears the gravity-fed sump has become pressurised, so that oil is blown back into engine, perhaps bringing bilge water with it. Investigations continue.

Rogue’s Lombardini LDW 502 M engine — installed in March 2008, but not run until March 2022! — has been increasingly unreliable: harder to start from cold; unceremoniously shutting down. On inspection and subsequent analysis, the oil has “a moderate amount of water and coolant in it, and perhaps some salt”. Despite initial commissioning finding no fault, the preliminary diagnosis is perished seals from its long period of disuse. So, nothing to do but extraction for dis- and re-assembly. Still, it gave opportunity for the cockpit boom tent’s inaugural deployment to protect against passing showers.

And the rainy weekend gave opportunity also to install some thump mats.

Muscled-up cockpit seats; skylight protection bars.

The cockpit seats were built nine years ago, held together by trenails.

Their relatively delicate construction proved no match for crew galumphing about on them as steps to access and exit the cockpit.So, taking advantage of a four-week break in the winter series’ racing schedule, the seats are being beefed up.

And in the same break, father and son riggers review shroud strop placement.