Celebrating 100 years of tethere

In May 2006 'Pitbox' revealed details of a very early boat that had been discovered. The true significance of this 'find' was appreciated when carrying out research for the centenary. The only other surviving hydroplanes that are known to predate it are flash steam powered, which makes 'Chrysis' one of the oldest known IC engined hydro's. Boats that have survived from the 1920s are exceedingly rare and here is the full story of one that has, along with its subsequent restoration.

In the mid 1980s the dilapidated hull of an old tethered hydroplane was discovered in a shed in Glenridding on the shores of Ullswater. It was originally thought to be similar to Westbury’s Golly design, but as that was a scow and the boat discovered was boat shaped then that could be discounted. The only clue was a name on the sides, Chrysis. At that stage the then owner contacted Peter Hill, the MPBA historian who was able to identify the boat from the name and ascertain that L.J.R. French of the South London Club had built it in the late 20s. As the boat predated Mr French’s record breaking Little Star by some six years it was considered to be a significant find and passed to Peter. The boat had numerous coats of paint of obscure origin and he started strip down the outside of the hull. Having worked through white enamel the original name could be clearly seen incised into the plywood. The boat had been altered numerous times and there was considerable damage to the deck and internal woodwork, and the remains of a very crude fuel tank support were evident. All the running gear was missing, as was the engine. All in all a sorry state, but a very early example of a tethered hydroplane.

Luckily (Lionel John) French was still alive and he and Peter had a most interesting correspondence about the boat. He confirmed that it was Chrysis and related its early history including the fascinating story of how the engine came to be built. Freddie Ford, who was a friend of his, had built a 50cc opposed twin four stroke from castings he had made at his workplace, Messrs Suggs. French suggested that the crank was so light that the engine would only last seconds, and anyway 30cc was the class limit. This news decided Ford to give up boats altogether, but as the cylinder heads on the engine were very nicely cast with a 90 degree valve angle French said he would use the heads and build two 30cc engines if Ford would get the crankcases cast up. John French built two engines, one of which he gave to Ford, as well as another Chrysis type hull called Comedienne to get him on the water. He also recalled that he had originally finished the boat in shellac with the name in white so that subsequent owners must have added all the other paint.

In the early 20s, French was building boats from tinplate as was the fashion, but an inability to form the vee bottom to the hull made him change to ply and Chrysis was one of the first to be built from wood. There is a bit of a mystery here as Mr French talks about Vee bottoms on his boats and in an article in Model Engineer shows the underside of a boat purporting to be Chrysis with the vee clearly visible. Close examination shows this boat not to be Chrysis at all and the actual picture above it shows Chrysis with a flat, single stepped bottom. Chrysis was to be the subject of a series of articles in Model Engineer in 1932, describing how to build a ‘beginners boat’. If it did have a vee bottom at some stage there is no evidence in the construction of the boat. What was clear was that the step had been very crudely moved forward and the engine mounts cut to suit.

Other projects and the lack of a suitable engine consigned Chrysis to the shelf for around 20 years until Peter offered it to another member of the Retro Club for restoration. Luckily, with the articles in Model Engineer and John French’s letters there was sufficient information to make the project viable.

After a lengthy look at the problem it seemed that with the exception of the deck, all the original material in the boat was in excellent condition for its age, and it was only the later additions that had to go. A decision was made to put the step back in the original position and let wood into the bearers, stringers and hull sides to repair the damage. Several weeks were spent removing the shellac from the inside of the hull and the bullet-proof aluminium and fluorescent red paint from the outside until all that was left was the outer hull and the rear half of the bottom. The original step was glued back in and a new front half screwed on and it started to look more hopeful. All the internal frames were rebuilt and put back in and the original engine bearers renovated and refitted. The correspondence detailed the finish that French had used, and so the new wood was stained down to match the old.

The ME articles included drawings of the skeg so a new one of these was built and fitted. As was common at the time, the prop shaft was straight, with the prop mounted in front of the skeg. Peter Hill was able to provide a period prop, no easy feat as it needed to be right-hand rotation and these are particularly rare.

A decision was needed about the deck as it had been liberally drilled for various fittings during its life. A hole had been cut for a battery compartment and part of it had been chewed away somehow. After a bit of thought and cleaning up it was decided to keep the boat as original as possible and use the old deck. To repair the damage new ply was stripped down to individual laminations and then added layer by layer to with overlapping scarfe joints. When stained down the join is barely visible (luckily). The hole for the battery was retained with a frame added to neaten it up somewhat. French finished the boat with shellac, which he brushed on rather than using a ‘rubber’ and so some eight coats of Rustins finest were applied and rubbed down to take the gloss off.

Sign writing is not my strong point so repainting the name and racing number on both sides involved a seriously small paintbrush and a magnifying glass. It does look a bit crooked in places, but it follows the lines cut in the ply.

Chrysis is now 80 years old, and in remarkable condition for its age. Thanks go to Peter Hill for all his advice and assistance during this restoration.