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1948 Holiday on the River Nene 1949 Peterborough to Leigh-on-Sea   1949 Leigh on Sea to the Medway 1950 Leigh-on-Sea and Benfleet

1949: Building 'The Ninx'

Regular readers of my monthly articles will realise, maybe, how ‘Sea Fever’ was slowly getting into our blood. It wasn't long before Geoff. and I were yearning for a boat of our own.

Like most young people struggling to pay a mortgage, money was scarce. “Of course, I could try and build one!”, Geoff. said. No sooner the word than the deed. With David’s help, plans were prepared.

Planks of wood were obtained and, every spare moment, ‘the boys’ set to work. An old table was used for the transom (the stern of the boat); a strong post used for the prow. How many kettles of hot water were needed to bring the planks into shape I simply cannot recall but I do remember my Mother saying, “This is worse than having a baby” as more and more requests for “More hot water, please” kept coming. Old sacks and a Spanish windlass aided the feat.

The far end of the garden soon resembled a Carpenter's shop and the building of our boat took many days but, at long last, an eleven foot dinghy was our pride and joy. It was then my turn to be called into action to make a sail on my sewing-machine. David and Geoff. sewed in the ropes and David taught Geoff. how to splice. They purchased a pole which became a portable mast and our little ‘flattie’ was completed.

We decided to name our boat 'THE NINX', as we were always calling Margaret ‘Little Minx’ and she could never pronounce the first letter correctly. I bought Geoff. a pair of oars. Now that the boat was finished, how were we going to get it into the water?

Having managed to get it sideways on, we carried 'The Ninx' through the house and on to the pavement where we strapped it on to a set of old wheels. Along the London Road we went, all of us trundling beside it and helping to steady our precious cargo. David held up the traffic at Thames Drive (no traffic lights in those days and not so much traffic!) and thus we trolled to Leigh shore.

Of course, we had studied the tide-table so we knew when the tide would be high in Leigh Old Town. Then came the launching. I well remember the huge excitement of the occasion and I also remember being the first person to jump aboard and exclaiming, “It's leaking!”. David then explained that the boards would gradually swell as they became soaked with water and, true to his words, this did in fact happen. In a few days, 'The Ninx' was as tight as a drum.

Then came our first voyage - to Canvey Island! We saw no fear in those days but, just as a precaution, David followed in 'The Puffin' in case we should get into difficulty.

So, we now owned our very first boat and, with our little sail hoisted, we set sail on our maiden voyage. How proud we felt!

Just another memory!

 

Go to Allan's Page Our Home Page Canals Home Page 1940's Home Page Go to Deb's Page
1948 Holiday on the River Nene 1949 Peterborough to Leigh-on-Sea   1949 Leigh on Sea to the Medway 1950 Leigh-on-Sea and Benfleet