MB 278
PRICE: £57,500A newly refurbished Dunkirk Little Ship
W. White and Sons, Cowes
1914
30ft
Perkins 4 - 108 diesel
8ft3ins
Built by W. White & Sons of Cowes on the Isle of Wight during the early months of World War I and powered by a steam engine, the naval pinnace MB 278 was delivered to Harland & Wolff, Belfast, to join her first mother ship, HMS Sir John Moore, in 1915. Her next ship, HMS Raglan, was sunk off the coast of Imbros in 1918, but MB 278 survived and after five years in Malta, joined the battleship Iron Duke in the Mediterranean. Then she went to HMS Barnham and later to HMS Resolution, in the Atlantic. In 1929, she had her first major refit in Malta and received a new 22hp Ferry engine before joining the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth in 1930, the first of the 'fast battleships'.Just before World War II, she was assigned to HMS Erebus and she nearly missed Dunkirk when she was crushed in an accident in Portsmouth dockyard and sank in March 1940. When hauled to the surface, her hull was badly damaged but she was quickly repaired and received a new engine. She has the scars to prove her Dunkirk service: repair of planking and damaged ribs were found in the bow where machine gun bullets passed through port and starboard sides. You may contemplate this event as you make use of the newly fitted heads...When the Admiralty disposed of MB 278 in 1948, Thomas Duffy bought her for £125 and when he died in 1983, his son took over. She was then renamed Susan K.after much time and effort had been spent restoring her. When the Admiralty sold the ship, her description did not do her justice, 'round bilge ex-Naval hull of double-skin mahogany with mahogany shelter aft. Fair condition. No engine.' In fact, she is of double-skin teak on rock elm and oak frames, with a third skin fitted internally athwartships. She has five steel bulkheads and when her present refit is complete, should last another hundred years - with a lot of love and care, as is due to a boat with such a history.In late 2009, enthusiasts John and Louise Dudgeon learnt that Rona (as she was now renamed) ws abandoned and at risk of being scrapped, as she had fallen into disrepair. They arranged for her transport to Michael Dennett, the boat builder based at Laleham, who took on the restoratiion and renamed her MB 278. In preparation for the 2010 Return to Dunkirk MB 278 has undergone extensive restoration and now sports a new diesel engine which should take her up to her respectable hull speed of about 7 knots. Internally she sleeps two in the aft section of the saloon with a galley forward to port and starboard leading into a toilet compartment in the forepeak. The wheelhouse has been completely newly designed and is open into the large aft cockpit making this the ideal boat for cruising on the Thames and entertaining friends.Now rebuilt for minimal future maintenance in a mixture of solid hardwoods including a hull of teak on rock elm and oak.Plenty more photos available, please call HSC on 01491 578870 for more information.
1914
30ft
Perkins 4 - 108 diesel
8ft3ins
Built by W. White & Sons of Cowes on the Isle of Wight during the early months of World War I and powered by a steam engine, the naval pinnace MB 278 was delivered to Harland & Wolff, Belfast, to join her first mother ship, HMS Sir John Moore, in 1915. Her next ship, HMS Raglan, was sunk off the coast of Imbros in 1918, but MB 278 survived and after five years in Malta, joined the battleship Iron Duke in the Mediterranean. Then she went to HMS Barnham and later to HMS Resolution, in the Atlantic. In 1929, she had her first major refit in Malta and received a new 22hp Ferry engine before joining the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth in 1930, the first of the 'fast battleships'.Just before World War II, she was assigned to HMS Erebus and she nearly missed Dunkirk when she was crushed in an accident in Portsmouth dockyard and sank in March 1940. When hauled to the surface, her hull was badly damaged but she was quickly repaired and received a new engine. She has the scars to prove her Dunkirk service: repair of planking and damaged ribs were found in the bow where machine gun bullets passed through port and starboard sides. You may contemplate this event as you make use of the newly fitted heads...When the Admiralty disposed of MB 278 in 1948, Thomas Duffy bought her for £125 and when he died in 1983, his son took over. She was then renamed Susan K.after much time and effort had been spent restoring her. When the Admiralty sold the ship, her description did not do her justice, 'round bilge ex-Naval hull of double-skin mahogany with mahogany shelter aft. Fair condition. No engine.' In fact, she is of double-skin teak on rock elm and oak frames, with a third skin fitted internally athwartships. She has five steel bulkheads and when her present refit is complete, should last another hundred years - with a lot of love and care, as is due to a boat with such a history.In late 2009, enthusiasts John and Louise Dudgeon learnt that Rona (as she was now renamed) ws abandoned and at risk of being scrapped, as she had fallen into disrepair. They arranged for her transport to Michael Dennett, the boat builder based at Laleham, who took on the restoratiion and renamed her MB 278. In preparation for the 2010 Return to Dunkirk MB 278 has undergone extensive restoration and now sports a new diesel engine which should take her up to her respectable hull speed of about 7 knots. Internally she sleeps two in the aft section of the saloon with a galley forward to port and starboard leading into a toilet compartment in the forepeak. The wheelhouse has been completely newly designed and is open into the large aft cockpit making this the ideal boat for cruising on the Thames and entertaining friends.Now rebuilt for minimal future maintenance in a mixture of solid hardwoods including a hull of teak on rock elm and oak.Plenty more photos available, please call HSC on 01491 578870 for more information.
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