'When I bought Lady Dot, Bob Thomas told me she had been built “somewhere down the Channel" over 80 years previously, so in the late 1920s or early 1930's. However, he knew nothing definite about her history, and l have not found out anything, either. His guess is that she was used for inshore fishing; her beam and openness would have been suitable for craypots and nets. Bob had stripped her back and found the timber (King Billy pine over Huon pine ribs and transom) mostly sound. The photographs show that he kept most of her original features, but replaced the fore-deck and decided against the raised edge to that deck. He also built lattice floorboards, which I started to replace with marine ply as I found that the mainsheet could get caught in the lattice. However, I did not complete that work. There was a step for a mast, and it was set far forward, so assume it would have been for a lugsail. I decided to fit her out with a standing lug, and Ned Trewartha made a mast, spars and a rudder. He used Oregon for themast and spars, Tas oak for the rudder blade and Huon pine for the rudder stock. Sails were made by Russell Streckfuss of Storm Bay sails.' Peter Jarman 12th November 2017  Bob Thomas in Lady Dot 2011   |
