Instead of whiling away their retirement playing bowls, Rob and Shona Adams decided to invest their time and money in a classic Silver gentleman’s yacht. Would the gamble pay off?
April may have been the cruellest month according to T S Eliot but for me, it’s March – the month when boredom gets the better of me, my mind wanders and mad projects take shape in my mind. Last year, the mad project was to buy a classic motoryacht.
Such ideas never come out of thin air and this one probably dates back to 1977, when I crewed a Bristol Channel pilot cutter from Iceland to Lymington. The skipper was Bill Tillman, a legendary explorer. The desire for the sea and adventure never disappeared and every season, I’d sail on friends’ boats and even took part in RORC races and the Fastnet. Roll on 40 years, and I was in retirement, had a bit of cash to spare, an undimmed love of the sea and my usual March madness.
My criteria were twin engines, liveaboard comfort and sea-kindly handling. Photo: Rob Adams
March Madness
That’s how, in March 2023, I found myself searching the internet for something to scratch that itch, though this time I thought I would go for a motor boat. I reckoned if I got a sailing boat, I would end up doing all the sail changes and helming, whereas on a motor boat, my wife could get involved too.
My criteria were twin engines, comfortable to live aboard for a few months at a time and seaworthy – as in not a river cruiser. My long-suffering wife, Shona, was supportive of the mad project, if not exactly over the moon, and the dogs seemed unconcerned. Little did they know.
I found what looked like a promising project in Norfolk. Enola was a 48ft Thornycroft with beautiful lines, but… she had been out of the water for more than 15 years and although the asking price was a tempting £15,000, the estimate for the hull and deck work was £30,000. So I was looking at a £45k investment. I changed my search criteria to £45,000 to see what else that could buy me, and found Silver Bird. She was lying in Fort William and was well within my revised budget.
The whole crew, hard at work, whipping the lines for the tender. Photo: Rob Adams
Life-Changing
We left the hounds with the in-laws and drove 600 miles to see Silver Bird lying in Loch Linnhe. It was love at first sight. The boat had been built in 1938 by James Silver in Rosneath, to a design by John Bain. It was pitch pine on oak frames with lots of mahogany inside – 43ft, two cabins, two heads, large galley, spacious saloon. Perfect.
We went for a sea trial, agreed a price and made plans to cruise her home. She had been surveyed in 2019, with a few small issues fixed, so I was happy to drive all the way back up north a week later, this time with the dogs, and set off on our epic trip south.
Looking after Silver Bird has transformed our lives. I say looking after as we are acutely aware that we are just custodians of a piece of history. She was originally launched in 1938 and commandeered in 1939. The first owner had one summer enjoying his new yacht before she served for five years patrolling the Clyde.
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I like to think of German U Boats putting the periscope up, seeing Silver Bird and then making a discreet exit. How could anything get past her? After the war, she was returned to her owner and began her life as a luxury gentleman’s yacht in Scottish waters, Brighton, Mylor, Scotland again, then Birdham Pool, Chichester, where we keep her in winter, and in Mylor, Cornwall, as I write these words. Her twin sister, Silver Crescent, lies alongside. And that is very special.
Some will question our sanity to take on and cruise a classic motoryacht from Scotland to the Solent with just the two of us and two spaniels. Luckily I had forgotten none of my basic seamanship, so passage planning, tides, rules of the road and boat handling were not a concern.
Marine electronics have come on in leaps and bounds though. I was amazed at the functionality of modern plotters, tablets and NMEA instruments and I love them! So the first thing I did at Dunstaffnage marina was buy paper charts. Charts for planning, GPS to tell you where you are.
As we left the shelter of the Scottish lochs, we got to know how Silver Bird handled a reasonable sea. Let’s be honest here, all motor boats bob around like corks in bottles compared to long keel sailing boats, but John Bain knew his stuff.
Rob in his element, Welsh ensign flying high. Photo: Rob Adams
Silver Bird went through some nasty seas in a Force 6 but she never buried her bows and never lifted a prop. We have total confidence in her. Like all wooden boats, she ‘works’ a bit. I run the bilge pumps last thing at night but a bit of water keeps her bilges sweet!
Pilots say that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. It’s much the same with boating. The trickiest part is mooring and at 43ft and 15 tonnes with no bow thruster, getting on to a pontoon in a marina when surrounded by millions of quids worth of plastic certainly concentrates the mind.
This is where twin screws are pretty well essential, as is that feel for where the old girl wants to go, in the hope that’s where you want her to go too! But even if I say so myself, I’m getting pretty good at spinning her round – one engine ahead, one astern and leave the helm well alone. We now make the breast rope the first rope ashore. If you have a line amidships, you can then pull the boat in and the skipper can use the engines to go forward or backwards.
We are acutely aware that we are just custodians of a piece of history. Photo: Rob Adams
Homeward bound
We set a leisurely pace on our trip south, stopping every night, and preferring marinas as it’s easier to get the dogs off and on. We loved Kerrera marina opposite Oban – very tranquil, superb host, a great bar and restaurant and frequent ferries to Oban.
My wife suggested we take the Crinan canal to avoid going round the Mull of Kintyre, which was a great idea. We took three days and hired a guide. Peter, who was worth his weight in gold, phoned ahead to ask for locks to be set in our favour. He also did most of the work with the gates, leaving me to do the parking. We stayed one night at the midpoint and one in the basin at Ardrishaig, all included in the price.
The north-west coast has few ports, so choices are limited. We decided to miss the Isle of Man and head from Whitehaven to Liverpool. We had our first problem with diesel bug on that leg, losing the port engine, which reduced our speed and left us plugging the tide for 15 miles up the Mersey, but we made it.
There are port and starboard bunks in the bow cabin. Photo: Rob Adams
Everyone has a pet solution to the problems of diesel bug. I worked on the principle that you cannot be certain of eradicating it, so it’s better to plan for it. I fitted tandem fuel filters so I can switch one out and the other in while underway. I also used 30 micron filters, less likely to block and old diesel engines will happily let small particles through the injectors.
I do use Marine 16 as well and so far this season, we have been trouble-free. We spent a month in Liverpool so I could clear the ever-growing job list. This included fitting a Garmin autohelm, a complex job requiring some new pipework for the hydraulic motor, as well as fitting the main box and the wibbly wobbly sensor.
Once I got it talking to the GPS, it held the desired course in seas up to about Force 5 before I had to take over. Other work included fitting lots of sheets of Treadmaster in order to generate some grip on deck, as well as making a pair of deck lockers, an outside table and some davits.
We set sail again for Conwy, then the Menai Strait and Caernarfon, where we were stuck for 10 days, waiting for a decent weather window. The time was well spent as we applied to join the Royal Welsh Yacht Club and were accepted by the time we reached the Solent.
The galley is also split over two sides. Photo: Rob Adams
Legs south took us to Milford Haven, where we needed a new exhaust elbow to be fabricated, thanks to Dave and Dave of Windjammer Marine, who did a fantastic job of it. Onwards we went to Padstow, which was lovely, and gave me my first experience of mooring stern-to. The harbourmaster had warned the boats on either side of our impending arrival and, as the narrow berth came into view, I noticed about 15 people with as many fenders, ready to assist. As we nudged our way in, the other boats decided that moving sideways was the best course.
We also did a night trip down the Bristol channel and round Land’s End. I love cruising at night, the only caveat being you have to have complete confidence in your crew if you want to get some shut-eye. This was a given for Brian. We may have only met in the pub two nights previously, but as soon as I learned that he had also sailed with Tilman back in 1966, I knew he would turn out to be a top-class crew member.
And so to Birdham Pool for 1 October via Penzance, Falmouth, Fowey, Plymouth, Dartmouth, Weymouth, Poole, Lymington and Cowes. The winter months gave plenty of time for some major work – a 90% rewire, new helm position, new NMEA 2000-compatible Garmin GPS, NMEA instrument senders for the engines, water tanks and bilges. I built and fitted the twin fuel filters using Chinese copy filters, which are excellent and less than a tenth the price of the known brand.
The latest addition has been fore and aft solar panel systems with separate controllers and two separate 100-amp lithium batteries. We haven’t needed the mains all summer. It’s a minimum saving of three quid a night and it lets us stay on pontoons with no facilities, like those in Salcombe and Fowey.
Charts remain the order of the day. Photo: Rob Adams
It takes two
Throughout all this, my wife has been a keen and knowledgeable crew member and a valuable second pair of eyes, spotting lobster pots, navigation marks and other vessels, including working out if they are on a collision course. While I am the only helm, having an active crew member is vital. The dogs are not really keen on making passage. They hunker down by us on the aft deck and snooze, probably dreaming of catching seagulls.
We decided not to take an annual berth, as we felt that would only encourage us to stay put and avoid paying for two berths when we travelled. So this summer, if you can call it that, we rented out our house to help with the mooring costs and left Birdham Pool on 1 June bound for Mylor, Falmouth, with no plans to return until 1 October.
The sociable aft deck has new tables and storage lockers. Photo: Rob Adams
Our route was the reverse of our 2023 route, staying at Island Harbour, south of Cowes, a lovely marina with great dog walks to the Folly Inn and Richardsons, an excellent chandler and boat yard. The Dan Bran pontoon in Lymington also offers excellent value, and a good discount if you stay seven nights. There’s a pleasant walk into town, close to the excellent restaurant and bar in the yacht haven, as well as the Royal Lymington if you fancy a posh pint with a great view.
In Poole, we stayed at the town quay. We were there on Harry Paye day, when the shenanigans of a local pirate are celebrated – it was great fun. We stayed alongside in Weymouth, where friends met us for the rather tedious trek across Lyme Bay to Dartmouth.
If you decide to visit Dartmouth, be prepared for some pretty hefty harbour dues. It cost us £15 in dues on top of £52 for the marina! Onwards we went to Salcombe, then Fowey and then Mylor, where we are now moored alongside Silver Bird’s sister ship. To be honest, life is idyllic.
Proper sea dogs, Mika and Kimi. Photo: Rob Adams
Visiting friends are rewarded with a day trip to Malpas, which takes about an hour. We usually end up at the Heron pub for lunch or dinner but St Mawes and Helford offer choices for other day trips.
Old is gold
We love life on Silver Bird. A classic wooden boat may not be for everyone but if you have plenty of time and you love varnishing, they offer a lot of boat for your money. She also attracts a lot of positive attention. Harbour staff as well as other yachtsmen help with our lines and we are often given a berth close to the shore as the boat makes a great focal point for those in the restaurant or bar. She is rather special.
This winter could see the ageing and noisy BMC Commodore engines replaced. It will be expensive but it will increase our cruising speed from 6 to 8 knots and the noise reduction will be much appreciated.
The investment should also ensure that Silver Bird will continue to be a desirable yacht, and should hopefully make her 100th birthday. As I mentioned earlier, we are only her custodians.
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