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Details
Function
Fighting Vessel
Location
Brixham
Vessel type
MFV
Current use
Private use
Available to hire
No
Available for excursions
No
Info required
No
Construction
Builder
Unknown
Built in
1944
Hull material
Wood
Rig
None
Number of decks
Number of masts
Propulsion
Motor
Number of engines
1
Primary engine type
Inboard diesel
Boiler type
None
Boilermaker
None
Boiler fuel
diesel
Dimensions
Length: Overall
49.83
feet
(15.19
m)
Breadth: Beam
15.25
feet
(4.65
m)
Depth
6.25
feet
(1.91
m)
Air Draft
31.00
feet
(9.45
m)
Tonnage: Gross
29.40
History
WILD GOOSE is thought to have been built in 1944 as an Admiralty MFV and is a vessel of timber carvel construction, powered by a Foden FD6 Mk 1 diesel engine. Although the present owner has no evidence, it is believed that she was sent to Malta on completion, and was rebuilt at Toughs yard in 1971.
Additional history provided (January 2021) by former owner Penny Bartlett: We bought the vessel from the Bursledon Boatyard on the Hamble on January 29th 1989. She was already named TRACEY LEE. We were not able to have the log book or other details of her history, because they had been destroyed in a fire at the Teddington Boatyard where she had been rebuilt after her years as an Admiralty Fleet Tender. We sailed her to Cobbs Quay Marina in Poole on April 8th 1989 where we were moored alongside the end of one of the pontoons overlooking Poole Harbour. My partner Keith and I lived on board TRACEY LEE at Cobbs Quay until the circumstances of the recession compelled us to put her up for sale. In December 1993 we sold her to a couple who had a TV company and bought her to sail around the British Isles to make children's TV programmes. The sale was completed on December 12th and TRACEY LEE was sailed to Plymouth in January 1994. Several years later she was sold to a man in Dartmouth. My partner Keith went to meet him there and stayed the weekend with him on board Tracey Lee. When she was sold again, she was unfortunately left to rot for some years until a new owner took over her restoration and reconstruction, renaming her WILD GOOSE.
The vessel is undergoing substantial repair/replacement of rotted timber frames/planks/bulwarks, updating electrical wiring and making good poor quality below-deck accommodation. There is currently in progress a general overhaul of her mechanical parts, which includes the installation of a small marine generator. A new deckhouse roof and mizzenmast is underway and, on completion, she will be recaulked and repainted.
Update, January 2021: For the past 5 years, WILD GOOSE has been based in Brixham. The owner plans to return to MDL Galmpton once COVID restrictions allow, to attend to a few issues and for a general tidy up for the return to water. After that, the plan is to move WILD GOOSE to a new base.
Key dates
-
1944
Built as an MFV for the Admiralty. Year and builder not established
-
1944
Thought to have been sent to Malta on completion
-
1971
Vessel rebuilt at Toughs Boatyard, Teddington
-
1977
Thought to have been registered as TRACEY LEE at Port of London Authority
-
January 1989
Bought from Burlesdon Boatyard in Hamble by Penny & Keith Bartlett, who sailed her to Poole and lived aboard the vessel until forced to sell in December 1993
-
December 1993
Sold by Penny & Keith Bartlett to a couple who owned a TV company, and bought her to sail around the British Isles to make children's TV programmes. TRACEY LEE was sailed to Plymouth in January 1994.
-
2016
Returned to water by present owner after restoration work completed
Grants
-
2015
A sustainability grant of £1000 for re-caulking was made from the Strategic Development Fund of National Historic Ships UK
Own this vessel?
If you are the owner of this vessel and would like to provide more details or updated information, please contact info@nationalhistoricships.org.uk
