Ed Burnett 45 ft Gaff Rigged Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter 2008

MISCHIEF is the fabulous result of naval architect Ed Burnett and traditional boatbuilder John Raymond-Barker’s deeply informed research in creating an as near as possible replica of the 1906 Thomas Baker of Cardiff designed and built original Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter - internationally famous in the 1954 to 1968 ownership of mountaineer, explorer, voyager, and author H.W. "Bill" Tilman. Since her 2008 launch at Bristol, MISCHIEF has been a much loved, far travelled, and well proven family cruiser on the west coast of Scotland, Spain’s Atlantic seaboard, and in the Mediterranean. After a first decade refit by her builder, including the replacement of all standing and running rigging, the Covid pandemic has resulted in this vessel of great character, purpose and comfort being lightly used, and thus ready to go again.

2022
- Topsides re-finish
- 3 x Antifouling

2018/19
By Dennis Platten, Traditional Rigging, Underfall Yard, Bristol
- All standing and running rigging replaced

By RB Boatbuilding, Underfall Yard, Bristol
- Deck planks aft of the mast, beneath cockpit and in the lazarette tested
- where soft replaced
- All deck seams re-routed and re-caulked
- New electrical panel fitted with watertight connection box behind
- Shore power installed
- New Morsø 'Squirrel' stove fitted
- Faucets and shower heads renewed
- Forward and aft heads renewed
- Beta Marine engine was overhauled/ complete service
- Aqua drive and shaft were replaced
- New 3-blade folding Max Prop fitted
- New Rocna 33 kg anchor
- New roller gear fitted for anchor mounting on bow
- Sails cleaned and stored
- New oak tiller
- New Isotherm 50 L top loading fridge
- New No. 3 Jib
- Jon-Buoy
- Flare pack

Circa - £50,000 of expenditure

"I think we all agree... that Tilman was pretty hard on his cutters, but that after all is what they were built for, not for posterity anyway."

So wrote MISCHIEF's builder, John Raymond-Barker in a 2003 internet forum when, together with naval architect Ed Burnett, he was seeking the lines of mountaineer, explorer, voyager, and author H.W. "Bill" Tilman's Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter MISCHIEF.

They never did ‘just find’ her lines: after all, these were boats first sculpted as a half-model by their builders, then constructed quickly in the time-honoured way; to do a job; that they did very well - and after sail gave way to motor, many became enjoyed as excellent long distance cruising yachts.

This MISCHIEF's lines instead result from Burnett and Raymond-Barker’s deeply informed research in creating an as near as possible replica of the 1906 Thomas Baker of Cardiff designed and built original, which became internationally famous through Tilman's ownership from 1954 until her 1968 loss at Jan Mayen in the Arctic Ocean.

And thus, posterity was in fact achieved. And thank goodness for it. The original MISCHIEF became surely the most universally known of the pilot cutters. What an exciting project and wonderful result.

Completed and launched in 2008, MISCHIEF has became a much loved family cruiser and sailed extensively in the Inner and Outer Hebrides from her Oban base. She participated in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race before heading south in 2013. After stops in the Scillies, Northern France and La Rochelle, she crossed the Bay of Biscay to a new home in Vigo in north west Spain. Two years of wonderful Galician cruising followed, the highlight being the annual cruise with locals around the Cies Islands.

In 2015 MISCHIEF passed through the Straight of Gibraltar bound for Mallorca, where she (very slowly) circumnavigated the island - over a blissful two years! In 2017 she was bound for home and a refit in her home port of Bristol under the watchful eye of her original builder.

The refit was completed in 2019 and she was sailed to Gweek, Cornwall to over-winter, ready for the new season. And then sadly for us all Covid-19 struck.

MISCHIEF has been lightly used since her extensive refit in 2018/19, spending winters safely alongside Gweek Quay and summers on her mooring in St. Just in Roseland (possibly the best kept secret in the South West of England). She is ready for new adventures.

- Larch planking
- Oak centreline
- Sawn oak frames c 70 mm x 130 mm @ c 550 mm centres
- Copper fastened
- Bilge stringers 130 mm x 50 mm
- Internal, fixed lead pig ballast
- Full wood keel length 20 mm galvanised steel protection band
- Douglas fir traditional deck 1¾ in / 44 mm
- straight laid; nibbed to covering boards
- Oak deck beams c 100 mm x 65 mm @ 650 mm centres
- Full length beam shelf 130 x 60 mm
- Iroko deck structures

GENERAL
- Stanchioned, fully scuppered bulwarks; belaying cleats
- Iroko painted capping rail
- All new galvanised guard rail stanchions
- 4 x Belaying cleats at painted inner bulwarks

AFT DECK
- Open taffrail with fairleads
- Bronze Panama mooring fairleads port and starboard
- Galvanised and painted main sheet horse; rubber buffers
- Ash and bronze mainsheet blocks
- Bronze mushroom vent
- Boom gallows
- Galvanised and painted rudder head fittings; iroko fashioned bush
- Oak tiller
- Oak Sampson posts port and starboard

COCKPIT
- Large for a pilot cutter
- Well type with deck as seating
- Varnished iroko vertical lining capped coaming
- 2 x Port and starboard sheet cleats
- Teak grating in well sole
- Engine morse control and panel within after hatch
- Cockpit throttle
- Shore power socket
- Deck prisms in deck over chart table
- Steering compass in bridge deck step
- VHF handset

RAISED PILOT CUTTER STYLE COMPANIONWAY HOUSE
- Leading to Aft Pilot Cabin
- Deck light forward

SIDE DECKS
- 2 x Deck prisms port and starboard
- Padeyes for runners and headsail sheeting
- Ash and bronze runner blocks
- Panama mooring fairleads port and starboard
- Stove pipe socket
- Pin rails port and starboard

TRUNK CABIN
- Varnished companionway hatch
- Varnished iroko butterfly skylight over galley and saloon
- 2 x Dorade boxes and vent cowls

MAST POSITION
- At deck just fwd of trunk cabin
- Gas locker box

FOREDECK
- Offset to port varnished iroko forehatch; bronze portlight
- Deck prisms port and starboard
- Bronze mushroom vent to starboard
- Bowsprit bits
- Bow roller to port of stem
- Bronze Panama fairleads port and starboard

GROUND TACKLE
- Bronze 12 V electric anchor windlass
- Chain gipsy and vertical warping drum
- 33 kg Rocna anchor stored in bow roller (2019)
- Secondary 35 kg Delta anchor stowed on port side
- 60 m Anchor chain
- 40 m Warp rode

GENERAL
- Oiled Oak and brilliant white gloss painted pine finish
- Oiled pine sole
- Designed to comfortably sleep up to 10 persons (Max. 12)
- Entry via aft and mid companionway hatches
- New LED lighting (2019)
- Mattresses with wet weather covers

AFT COMPANIONWAY HOUSE
- Down 4 x steps to
PILOT CABIN AFT
- Starboard Double Berth
- Port Single Berth
- Oak banquette seating to port
- Access to lazarette (Port and Starboard)
Navigation area over engine box aft
- Ship's electrical panel (2019)
- Beta engine panel
- Rathmarine VHF Radio with additional handset at hatch
- Rathmarine E80 GPS chart plotter
- Icom 13/C162 hand held VHF
- Raymarine 218E VHF
- EPIRB
- Barometer
- Chart reading light (2019)
- Isotherm 50 L Fridge - top loader
- Large hanging locker to port
- 2 x Deck prisms
- 1 x Deckhead lamp
- 2 x Bulkhead lamps

FORWARD TO PORT TO AFT WC/ SHOWER COMPARTMENT
- Also through passage to main saloon
- Jabsco Manual Toilet (2019)
- Shower (2019)
- Teak grating sole
- Stainless steel basin
- Mixer tap
- 2 x Lockers
- Medical Kit
- Deck prism in deckhead
- 2 x Deckhead lamps

FORWARD TO GALLEY, SALOON & FORWARD ACCOMMODATION

GALLEY TO STARBOARD
- 3 x Burner Force 10 gas hob; grill and oven
- 1.5 Inset stainless steel basins
- Mixer tap
- Seawater wash/ rinse tap
- Athwartships work surface; lifting lids, storage cupboards
- Isotherm 50 L Fridge - top loader (2019)
- Athwartships 1.5 inset sinks fwd; mixer tap
- Plate racks; cup hooks; food lockers/ shelves
- Pot lockers
- Skylight in deckhead
- Lemon squeezer deckhead prism

MORSØ 'SQUIRREL' STOVE TO PORT (2019)
- Bookcase over outboard

FORWARD TO SALOON
- Settee berth to port; stowage under
- Generous pilot berth outboard; stowage under
- L-settee to starboard; converts to double berth
- Stowage under
- Generous pilot berth outboard; stowage under
- Large double drop leaf saloon table
- Drinks store under
- Bookcase at forward bulkhead
- Butterfly skylight in deckhead
- Reading lights throughout
- Over head lights throughout
- Oil lamp
- 4 x Bulkhead lamps
- 4 x Deckhead lamps
- 4 x Deckhead prisms

MAST POSITION
- Passage forward to port

FORWARD CABIN
- Double berth to starboard
- Single berth with pipe cot over to port
- Stowage shelves above
- Water tanks port and starboard
- Raised forehatch in deckhead
- Door to forepeak and forward head
- 2 x Deck prisms
- 2 x Bulkhead lamps

FO'C'SLE
- Jabsco Manual Toilet (New 2019)
- Shelving
- Sail and rope stowage
- Bosun's Locker
- 2 x Deck prisms
- 1 x Bulkhead lamp

RIG
- Gaff Cutter rigged
- Galvanised mast and spar fittings
- Laminated Longleat Estate Douglas fir mast
- Stepped topmast; single spreader set
- Longleat Estate Douglas fir solid boom
- Laminated Douglas fir bowsprit; jib tack traveller
- Chain and tackle bobstay
- Bowsprit shrouds let to tackles port and starboard
- Laminated Douglas fir gaff
- All galvanised 7 x 7 rigging renewed by Dennis Platten (New 2019)
- All new running rigging by Dennis Platten (New 2019)
- All blocks checked and re-varnished by Dennis Platten (2019)

SAILS
- All cleaned and serviced 2019
- Gaff vertical-cut mainsail
- Topsail
- Staysail
- No. 1 Jib
- No. 2 Jib
- No. 3 Jib (New 2019)

CANVASWORK
- Full boat cover over boom to gunwales -
- gooseneck to end of boom & fwd of mast to forestay (2016)
- Sun cover under boom
- Spare water-resistant cushion covers for off shore

MECHANICAL
- Beta Marine BV3300 75 hp diesel (overhauled and serviced 2019)
- Aqua Drive and stainless steel propeller shaft (2019)
- Max Prop Three bladed folding bronze propeller (2019)

ELECTRICAL
- 12 V Charging system
- 4 x House batteries
- 1 x Start batteries
- Electrical panel and fuse board (2019)
- 240 V Shore power (2019)

TANKAGE
- Stainless steel diesel tank; 360 L
- 2 x Stainless steel water tanks; 600 L total
- 12 V Water pressure pump
- Hot water tank aft of engine; c 30 L calorifier/ electric immersion
- Black water holding tank in aft heads; plastic; 50 L

NAVIGATION
- Plastimo steering compass
- Raymarine E80 chart plotter
- Raymarine Tridata deck repeater

COMMUNICATIONS
- Raymarine 218E VHF (with deck extension)
- Icom 13/C162 hand held VHF

- 12-Person canister liferaft stowed by mast (Serviced April 2022)
- Jon-Buoy (2019)
- Flare pack (2019)
- EPIRB
- 2 x Life rings
- Whale auto bilge pump
- Manual bilge pump at port Pilot berth
- Manual bilge pump in forward cabin
- Engine fire extinguisher (2019)
- Fire extinguishers at all exits and galley
- Fire blanket
- Navigation lights: port, stbd, stern and tri-colour (2019)

'Day Sail': Keith Hardgreaves