THE FRONT WINDOW
The front window was already famous when I bought Pentargon. Her picture had been used to illustrate a magazine article. In the early months of ownership, I was often approached by people saying they had "seen her in a magazine somewhere".
Eventually, I turned up the magazine in the British Library. Covid meant I have not been able to get back to BL and the publishers are sold out of that particular issue. Some day!
I decided early on that few changes would be made to a boat which matched so much of my Wish List, but I wanted a foolproof fire escape at the front of the boat, with no locks or latches.
It had to be able to deal with a head-on wave without collapsing inwards. It had to be impossible to break through so no external hardware, no cracks, no finger holds, nowhere to lodge a jemmy bar.
And, most importantly, it had to use the original glass to 'recall the old window' and keep as close as possible to original.
Tall order? I went downriver to ship's carpenters who had done contracts on the Cutty Sark and on the Golden Hind.
They came up with a plan for a two-piece surround sandwiching the steel superstructure, with hinged leaves mitred like lock gates so that a shoulder would push them outwards. IN SUMMER.
In cold damp winter weather, wood swells and the window seals itself against cold draughts. I triple-glazed it for insulation using tinted perspex inside and out which also reduces glare and resists steaming up.
In winter, outside air temperature has been recorded at -10ºC. Inside the cabin, thanks to the Hampshire heater, it could be +20ºC.
My Ships Carpenters did me proud.
There's a story about fire escape I like to tell. Hugh Malet had a fire aboard his cruiser and I don't mean he had a fire on board to keep himself warm. He set his engine alight and very nearly cindered Mary-Ann. And himself. Hugh was famous for his "Voyage in a Bowler Hat", a journal of an extraordinary trip from Limehouse to Limerick by Liverpool. I keep a copy on board for reference. I've no idea how many times I've read that book but it has been a constant inspiration on my own little adventures. It inspired me to do "Dartford to Dartford via Dudley and Devizes" and also inspired my fire escape.
