Refits

Jeff restoration: one hundred years on the water

From the Thames to Dunkirk and back again

“Jeff” was built in 1923 by Joe Mears of Richmond, based on the design of fishing vessels used in and around the Thames Estuary at the time. She spent her early years carrying day trippers on the Thames. Less than twenty years later, she crossed the Channel as part of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk. After the war, she was used as a ferry, carrying people from one side of the Thames to the other, before later returning to service as a passenger launch for day trips.

More than a century later, “Jeff” has undergone a comprehensive restoration and rebuild at VMG Yachtbuilders. Olivier van Meer Design was responsible for the overall design, engineering and supervision of the build.

The restoration at VMG

Olivier van Meer had previously restored another vessel for the same owner. As the owner wanted Olivier to oversee his projects from beginning to end, that project was also carried out at VMG. This time, the owner asked Olivier to find a vessel in England that would be suitable for a special restoration and rebuild. That vessel became “Jeff”.

As the owner once again wanted Olivier to take care of the entire project, Olivier chose to have “Jeff” restored at VMG as well. Close to his office and with craftsmen he knows so well that few words are needed.

When “Jeff” arrived at VMG Yachtbuilders in Enkhuizen, she had almost a century of life on the water behind her. Throughout those years, she had been kept in service using the knowledge, techniques and materials available at the time. That is ultimately one of the reasons why a remarkable vessel such as “Jeff” has survived at all. But a century of maintenance and repairs inevitably leaves its mark.

This became clear when the condition of the wooden hull was thoroughly assessed. “Jeff” had originally been caulked using traditional methods, and over the years the seams had been repaired several times and treated with different materials. The original timber was also found to contain high levels of moisture in a number of areas.

It was therefore decided not simply to repair what could be seen from the outside, but to take a much more thorough approach to the restoration. “Jeff” was stripped almost completely, providing full access to the structure and allowing us to assess the true condition of the vessel.

What followed was a process in which patience was every bit as important as craftsmanship. The wooden hull was stripped back in several areas and extensively checked for moisture. The original timber was then given time to gradually reach the correct moisture level under controlled conditions. With a wooden vessel dating from 1923, a process like this cannot be rushed. To a large extent, the material itself determines the pace.

Together with the specialists at Epifanes, the team then determined how the hull could best be rebuilt and preserved. Old caulking was removed and replaced with a flexible filler compatible with the chosen Epifanes paint system. Weakened sections of the wooden structure were repaired and replaced where necessary. Several frames and floors were also renewed to restore the structural integrity of the hull.

The same attention was given to areas that are normally barely visible. In the bilges, beneath the floors and on the inside of the bulwarks, the timber had previously been protected with, among other things, linseed oil. These old protective layers were removed as far as possible. The bilges were cleaned and repainted, while the other internal areas were given a new protective system. The underwater hull was completely sanded and primed before the new coating system was built up.

The covering boards also required a specific approach. The original covering boards were made thinner and narrower, after which templates were made for the new sections. These were then carefully fitted over the existing structure. In this way, as much of the original foundation as possible could be retained while preparing the whole structure for many more years of use.

Olivier, who was born and raised aboard a wooden vessel and has spent much of his life working on wooden boats, felt completely at home with this specialist timber work.

At the same time, “Jeff” received a number of technical additions suited to her new life. These included a bow thruster. Modern technology was integrated in such a way that “Jeff’s” original character and appearance were preserved.

The same principle guided the design. Olivier van Meer Design developed a completely new layout that would make “Jeff” suitable for her new use, without losing sight of her character as a Thames launch and Dunkirk Little Ship. The steering position was rebuilt, as was the aft superstructure, which includes the toilet. An entirely new interior was also built and installed piece by piece on board.

One of the most defining elements was the new roof. The aluminium structure was built by SDH and needed not only to be practical, but also to suit “Jeff” in both shape and proportion. On a vessel with such recognisable classic lines, the wrong proportions can have a major impact on her overall appearance. When the steering position, aft superstructure and finally the roof were installed, her familiar silhouette returned for the first time since the boat had been completely stripped.

Then came a special moment: the launch. For a classic wooden boat, returning to the water is an important part of the restoration process. Once back in her natural environment, the timber can take up moisture again and settle, just as it has done for generations.

Following the launch, work on “Jeff” continued afloat. The systems were commissioned, the final details completed and sea trials carried out.

The restoration is now complete.

A New Chapter in Dinant

More than a century after she was built, “Jeff” is once again ready to be used. Not as a static museum piece, but as a living historic vessel.

She has now left VMG Yachtbuilders and travelled by road to her new home in Dinant. There, her story continues in special company. “Jeff” now lies alongside another familiar vessel, the classic saloon boat “Sally”, the previous restoration project by VMG Yachtbuilders and Olivier van Meer Design.

They are two very different vessels, each with a history of her own. “Jeff” began life as a passenger launch on the Thames and became part of one of the best known maritime operations of the Second World War. “Sally” carries her own story and character. What they now share is that both have been carefully restored with respect for their history and original character.

Today, they lie side by side in Dinant. Two classic vessels in museum condition, but certainly not intended simply to be looked at. They have been restored to be used, to be enjoyed on the water and to keep their history alive.

For VMG Yachtbuilders and Olivier van Meer Design, it is special to see both completed projects together in one place. Above all, there is great appreciation for the trust placed in both teams by the owner, who entrusted these two remarkable vessels to them.

“Jeff” has experienced a great deal in more than a century. She carried day trippers on the Thames, crossed the Channel during Operation Dynamo, survived the war and continued working for decades afterwards.

During the restoration, that story did not need to be rewritten. It simply needed to be preserved.

Now “Jeff” is ready for her next chapter.

Jeff’s History

A Thames Character

In the early 1920s, Joe Mears was one of the most successful passenger boat operators on the Thames. From his garage in Richmond, he maintained the coaches that brought holidaymakers to the river. For smaller groups wanting to take to the water, he needed suitable vessels. So, in 1922 and 1923, he built two sister launches: “Mutt” and “Jeff”.

The names came from a comic strip. Bud Fisher, a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle, had created the characters around 1907, and by the 1920s Mutt and Jeff were internationally known. They were an unlikely pair: one tall, the other short, constantly at odds, with Jeff usually coming off worse. The boats followed a similar pattern. “Mutt” ran from Westminster to London Bridge, while “Jeff” ran from Westminster to Old Swan Pier. Of the two vessels, Jeff was also the smaller.

Both launches were small, open craft of less than 40 feet. They were carvel built and among the first Mears boats to be fitted with internal combustion engines. They were lively little vessels, perfectly suited to the busy and social life of the Thames between the wars. When Joe Watson was skipper and Bert Wheeler her engineer, a return trip aboard “Jeff” cost just one shilling.

For more than twenty years, she was part of everyday life on the Thames. Summer trips, families enjoying a day out and a working river launch simply doing what she had been built to do.

The Call to Dunkirk

By May 1940, the situation in Britain had changed completely. The German advance through France and Belgium had left more than 330,000 Allied troops trapped around Dunkirk. With nowhere else to go, they waited on the beaches of northern France to be evacuated. Churchill also recognised the gravity of the situation. A large scale evacuation by sea appeared to be the only way out.

On 27 May, the British Admiralty launched Operation Dynamo, a major evacuation by sea. Destroyers and other large naval vessels could not get close enough to the shallow beaches where the troops were stranded, sometimes standing shoulder deep in the water. An appeal therefore went out to private boat owners, river operators and anyone with a shallow draught vessel capable of helping.

Over the nine days that followed, more than 800 vessels of all kinds made the crossing. Pleasure craft, fishing boats, paddle steamers, lifeboats, tugs and Thames passenger launches such as “Jeff”. Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, they carried troops from the beaches to the larger ships waiting further offshore. Under enemy fire, they travelled back and forth between the beaches and the ships offshore, operating in conditions far beyond the normal working environment of these small craft.

What followed would become one of the most remarkable rescue operations in history. More than 336,000 troops were evacuated.

“Jeff” was among them. She crossed the Channel and worked off the beaches at La Panne, one of the evacuation points east of Dunkirk. She returned safely. Her sister ship “Mutt” also returned, although she no longer survives. Only a proportion of the Little Ships that made the crossing have survived to the present day. Fewer still have remained so close to their original appearance.

A Long Life After the War

After the war, “Jeff” returned to the Thames. In 1946, she was sold to Thames Launches and once again went to work as a passenger boat. In 1952, Arthur Jacobs of Windsor acquired her and renamed her “Windsor IV”. She subsequently carried passengers to Boveney Lock near Windsor. When another boat in the fleet was broken up, “Jeff” also took on that vessel’s name.

She later passed to Whatford & Sons of Hampton Court. When the company was sold in 1981, Turks Launches, one of the oldest operators still active on the Thames, took her on as a spare boat. She remained there for decades. She continued to work, remained in use and was still clearly recognisable as the vessel she had always been.

That is more significant than it might seem. Many of the surviving Little Ships have changed considerably over the years. Superstructures have been replaced, layouts altered and technical systems modernised. As a result, many have lost some of their original appearance. With “Jeff”, this is much less the case. Despite her long working life, her original character has been remarkably well preserved. According to the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, a trip aboard “Jeff” takes you straight back to the era in which she was built.

She looks like a boat from 1923 because, in many respects, that is still exactly what she is.