From Laid-Up to Lined-Up (Almost): An R19 Comeback

Started from the bottom back in October — and now we’re nearly there.

This R19 arrived well-sailed and well-rested, having spent some time laid up ashore. Structurally sound, full of history, but very much in need of a proper recommission if she was ever going to line up with the rest of the fleet again.

We saw a solid Poole Yacht Club one-design boat worth saving — and took it on as our final restoration-style project of 2025.

Since October, the focus has been simple and practical:

Strip back properly

No hiding tired areas

Repair and reuse wherever sensible

Strengthen what matters and deal with what doesn’t

To the previous owners — with thanks:

A genuine thank you to the previous owners for trusting us with this project, passing the boat on for a small sum, and giving us the opportunity to bring her back into racing condition. This is simply the next chapter in a well-sailed life.

She’s not quite on the start line yet, but she’s close — lighter, sharper, and starting to feel like an R19 again. With the final touches underway, the countdown to getting her back on the water has well and truly begun.

Projects like this are exactly why Dorset Boat Recycling Services exists: keeping good boats sailing, lowering the barrier to racing, and proving that repair still beats replace.

Last winter, tucked away at the back of the yard, sat a small GRP day boat that most would have written off. Her gelcoat was dull, fittings tired, and years of neglect had left her closer to the scrap heap than the sea. But we could see there was life left in her. That’s how Little Molly became our winter project.

At first, the to-do list felt endless — cleaning back years of grime, repairing cracks, fitting the engine, replacing worn gear, and giving her hull the care it had been missing. Bit by bit, we stripped her and her engine back and built her up again. A proper deep clean, new paintwork where it was needed, fresh woodwork & upholstery, covers from our sister company - The Cover and Sail Repair Shop and the odd creative fix here and there brought her back to form.

What started out as a gloomy little hull slowly transformed into something with real charm. By spring, she looked like an entirely different boat — bright, tidy, and eager to be out on the water again.

And when she finally relaunched in Poole Harbour, she turned heads. From an almost-forgotten GRP wreck, Little Molly had become a true belle of the harbour — ready to bring joy to her new owners and prove that even the humblest of boats can shine again.

For us, this is exactly what boat rehoming is all about: saving boats from being lost, and giving them the chance to keep their place on the water.