Restoration of Ripple (1937)

Woodcraft boats is part of the way through a complete restoration of the 35 foot yacht Ripple designed by AC Barber and built by Andy Riddell in Middle Harbour, Sydney in 1937 for T.L.Waylan. Under third owner Ron Hobson Ripple won the Sydney-Hobart race in 1953 and was a leading racing yacht for many years in that period.

The Bruce family bought Ripple in the late fifties and had Darkie Griffin do its first major restoration in the sixties. Sold to R.Hawthorne in 1972, Ripple began to show signs of age again by the eighties and when Nick Hocking bought it in 2002 it was in need of complete restoration. Nick kept the boat in a holding pattern hoping to find someone to finance the project, when he found that Doug Bruce, son of the fourth owner was searching for the boat with the intention of restoring it.   Doug is now the major shareholder in Ripple.

Ripple is planked in mostly full-length Huon Pine on Spotted Gum backbone and ribs.

Fresh water had got into the 1960's teak over plywood deck and completely rotted the ply. Rot had spread into the deck beams, the sheer clamp and the frame heads. Even much of the teak was rotten underneath. A pair of mild steel ring frames in the way of the shrouds had completely rusted away and the damage had spread into the stringers and the planking. We completely re-ribbed the boat with steam-bent spotted gum.

A new Huon Pine sheer strake all around and several plank sections in the way of the chainplates were fitted in April 2008.

New sheer clamps went in during May 2008 and work on the structural floors and on new deckbeams also commenced in May.

We expect to re-launch Ripple in March 2009.

Top Weight, replica 1940’s eighteen footer

Ian Smith is repairing fin case damage to rival skipper John Tierney’s Top Weight, which occurred at a recent regatta in Brisbane. Last year we replaced several of the bottom planks, degraded after a hard eight seasons’ racing.