Luke Powell 68 ft Falmouth Pilot Cutter 2020

Romantically named and conceived – a dream come true for Cornwall-based boatbuilder and educator Luke Powell and many who worked on and followed this remarkable project – the replica Falmouth Pilot Cutter PELLEW is one of the most memorable boats we have seen. She’s lucky to have been designed and built, as close as possible to the long lived VINCENT of 1852, by someone bold enough to do it and who really knows what works: as a traditional boat, and as a successful charter vessel. PELLEW has already been very well tested, and has youth, size, and volume very much on her side – as well, of course, as incredible and unique good looks.

There came a point in Luke Powell’s long lifetime in boats when he realised that the wooden ones, and the skills to build them, were disappearing. He decided to do something about it the only way he knew - hands-on. Since moving to Cornwall from Kent in the 1990s, the result of this labour of love is a fleet of beautifully, traditionally built pilot cutters: EVE, LIZZIE MAY, AGNES, HESPER, EZIRA, TALLULAH, AMELIE ROSE, FREYA, and the largest yet, the remarkable PELLEW, in which Luke had the time and the task to pass-on his accumulated knowledge to a future generation.

In preserving skills in this way, the wonderful by-product has been to create a desire for experiencing and owning these vessels. As Luke says: “There’s something quite profound about being on something that is not of our time... When you sail on a boat like this, it’s a time machine; it takes you back to another place; it’s not just an object of conveyance. Whereas a modern boat is like a car - just a factory made object that does no more than take you from A to B - PELLEW takes you through time and space.”

PELLEW is a faithful recreation of one of the longest surviving and best documented of Falmouth’s Pilot cutters, VINCENT. The original boat was built in 1852 for the Vincent family of St Mawes. She worked for 70 years until she was retired in 1922, ending her days on the Percuil River as a house-boat.

After four years in conception and build, on Saturday 29th February 2020 PELLEW joined a select group of leap year launched vessels when she was gently craned into the Truro River. One of the largest and fastest Pilot Cutters to be built in modern times, PELLEW has subsequently enjoyed the busy life of a successful charter boat. There is nothing like her.

Edward Pellew was the son of a Cornish packet boat captain who ran away to sea at 14 to rise through the ranks of the Royal Navy to become, during the Napoleonic Wars, the greatest frigate captain of his time. Based in Flushing across the waters from Falmouth, he would sail out into the channel to attack the French, bringing back enemy frigates as prizes. He showed great humanity to both his crew and the enemy, even becoming good friends with the French captains he fought.

Built to comply with MCA Category '0'
- Oak planking
- Lower hull planking 2 in / 50 mm thick
- Top 3 x planks 2¾ in / 70 mm thick
- On double 4 x 4 in / 100 x 100 mm sawn oak frames every 18 in / 457 mm
- (ie 8 x 8 in / 200 x 200 mm every 18 in / 457 mm)
- Oak wood keel, 9 x 14 in
- All bronze fastened
- Full length 11 tons lead ballast keel 9 x 9 in / 229 x 229 mm
- 1 in / 25 mm diameter bronze keelbolts every 18 in / 457 mm
- 20 tons of lead internal ballast ingots
- Opepe deck 2 x 4 in / 50 x 100 mm
- 3 x Watertight bulkheads with doors

SUMMARY
- Opepe straight laid deck
- Oiled and painted opepe superstructures
- High bulwarks; painted cap rail; rail extensions midships
- All blocks ash

FROM AFT
- Boom crutches at taffrail
- Mainsheet horse below
- 2 x Double bollard mooring fairleads at counter
- Tiller with tackles
- Bronze mushroom vents port and starboard
- Samson posts port and starboard for mainsheet
- Pin rails port and starboard
- Chest housing plotter/ charts/ flares
- Engine controls to starboard
- Stowage chests port and starboard
- Raised, glazed hatch - removable
- companionway for aft accommodation
- inset steering compass
- 2 x Deck prisms

MAIN COMPANIONWAY HOUSE
- Double doors and sliding hatch
- Bronze mushroom vent to port
- 2 x Opening ports port and starboard
- Manual bilge pump starboard aft
- Open stowage box forward
- 2 x 24 V Bronze electric deck capstans the rig and mooring lines
- 4 x Belaying cleats port and starboard at bulwark

LARGE RAISED BUTTERFLY SKYLIGHT HATCH OVER SALOON

MAST AREA
- Pinrails at shrouds port and starboard
- Substantial fife rail with galvanised belaying pins
- after posts incorporating lead sheaves to deck capstans
- Ship's bell
- Chain pipe
- Glazed mushroom vent

FOREDECK
- 4 x Deck prisms
- Raised, removable companionway boobyhatch
- Sliding hatch
- Manual bilge pump to port
- Life raft stowage to port
- Vent pipes forward
- Belaying cleats port and starboard at bulwark
- Retractable bowsprit
- Belaying pins port and starboard

GROUND TACKLE
- Working sail/ Deep Blue Engineering barrel windlass
- hydraulically driven from engine
- or by hand spikes
- Samson posts at windlass and bowsprit bitts
- 2 x Fisherman anchors in cats port and starboard
- Chain and warp

ACCOMMODATION FOR 9 x GUESTS AND 4 x CREW
- Oiled oak and white painted surfaces finish
- Douglas fir sole

DOWN 8 x STEPS TO ENGINE BOX
- Companionway house over
- 4 x Opening ports
- Grab rails

DAY WC / SHOWER COMPARTMENT TO PORT
- Blakes manual WC
- Stainless steel sink with mixer tap
- Teak grating in shower
- Locker

SERVICES LOCKER TO STARBOARD
- Ship's electrical panel
- Door to aft accommodation starboard aft

DOWN 2 x MORE STEPS TO SALOON GALLEY AREA

SALOON TO PORT
- Table with seating for 13
- L settee and bench
- Fridge freezer built into table
- Pilot berth to port
- Lockers and book shelves
- Large butterfly skylight hatch in deckhead
Radiator in passage forward
- 8 x Deckhead lights

GALLEY TO STARBOARD
- Fore and aft semi-bulkhead
- Large radiator on passage face
- Servery table aft in semi-bulkhead
- Many lockers
- 240 V AC electric
- Miele 6115 4 x plate induction hob
- Miele H6200BP fan oven
- Stainless steel 1.5 sink
- Quooker 3L boiling water tap
- Fischer Paykel single drawer dishwasher.
- Built-in Frigoboat chest type fridge/ freezer
- keel cooled through fittings in hull
- Crockery, pots and pans etc for cooking, baking etc for 15 people
- Crock-Pot pressure/slow cooker
- Panasonic microwave oven

FORWARD VIA WATERTIGHT BULKHEAD TO GUEST ACCOMMODATION
- Up and over berths for 8 to port and starboard
- Chain locker to starboard
- Lifejackets locker to port
- Ladder to forehatch
- 2 x Tall radiators
- 8 x Reading lights
- 5 x Deckhead lights
- 4 x Deck prisms

FORWARD VIA WATERTIGHT BULKHEAD TO FORPEAK ACCOMMODATION

WC / SHOWER COMPARTMENT TO PORT
- Blakes manual toilet
- Teak grating in tiled shower
- Stainless steel sink inset sink
- Mixer tap
- Locker
- Radiator
- Deck prism
- Deckhead light

WORKSHOP AREA TO STARBOARD

PIPE COT AND BOSUN'S STORE RIGHT FORWARD

AFT TO CREW ACCOMMODATION - AFT OF MAIN COMPANIONWAY
- Enter via watertight bulkhead and door
- or via ladder from hatch in deckhead
- Forward facing chart table to starboard
- Stowage under; bookshelf over
- GPS Plotter and VHF radio
- WC/ Shower compartment to port
- Blakes manual toilet
- Teak grating in tiled shower
- Stainless steel sink inset sink
- Mixer tap/ shower head
- Lockers
- 3 x Deckhead lights

RIG
- Gaff cutter rig
- Spars of Douglas fir from Gunnislake Forest, Devon
- One piece solid mast
- One piece solid bowsprit
- Laminated fir boom
- Laminated gaff
- Laminated topmast
- Galvanised steel standing rigging traditionally served and parcelled
- Deadeyes at chainplates
- 3-Strand polyester running rigging
- Ash blocks by Colin Frake

SAILS
- Traditionally hand-made In Clipper Canvas
- By Steve Hall, North Sea Sails, Tollesbury
- Mainsail
- Working topsail
- Large topsail
- Staysail
- Large jib
- No.1 jib
- Large flying jib
- Flying jib
- Trysail
- Storm jib

CANVASWORK
- Mainsail boom cover
- Staysail cover
- Hatch covers

MECHANICAL
- John Deere 125 hp diesel
- Hydraulic drive
- Fixed 4-blade propeller offset to port

MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL
- Northern Lights M844LW3 16 kW Generator for 240 V system

ELECTRICAL
- Installed by Mylor Yacht Services
- 240 V DC system
- 24 V AC System
- 8 x 6 V Rolls batteries
- Victron inverter

TANKAGE
- All tanks stainless steel
Diesel
- 1000 L / 220 Gals in 3 x tanks
- 100 L / 22 Gal Daytank
Water
- 2000 L / 440 Gals in 4 x tanks
Black water
- 600 L / 132 Gals in 2 x tanks

OTHER
- Webasto Pro 90 diesel heater feeding radiators throughout boat

NAVIGATION
- Raymarine chart plotter at steering position
- Raymarine chart plotter at chart table
- Raymarine Radar
- AIS
- GPS

COMMUNICATIONS
- 2 x Raymarine VHF Radios

- Currently Coded to MCA Cat. 1 for 15 persons
- 3 x Horseshoe life buoys with lights
- 1 x Horseshoe life buoy with light and danbuoy
- Foghorn
- Searchlight
- Sea Safe E100 Cat 1 GPS EPIRB
- Flare pack: 4 x parachute; 6 x red handheld; 2 x smoke signals
- 18 x Kru lifejackets
- 16 x Thermal protective aids
- Fire pump
- 3 x Fire extinguishers
- Fire blanket
- Fire/ smoke detectors
- 2 x 8-person Ocean Safety liferafts with SOLAS B packs
- 2 x Manual bilge pumps on deck
- 4 x Rule 4000 auto electric bilge pumps
- Bilge level alarm
- Roaming 24 V anchor light
- 10 sets of Guy Cotten Marine Dremtech waterproofs
- Category C first aid supplies
- Day shapes
- Radar reflector
- General vessel alarm
- Training manual as required by MCA

- Excel Volante 360 inflatable tender
- Suzuki 15 hp outboard motor
- Oak boarding ladder
- Fenders
- Mooring warps
- Much spare cordage and blocks