Peter Weightman
Peter belongs to: The Coble and Keelboat Society
Peter was brought up in Newcastle. His mother came from Seahouses and the family would holiday there. Peter's father made him a rowing boat when he was 11 and he spent his time in the harbour with his friends.
Peter was interviewed by Carl Greenwood on 16 February 2006. The interview took place at Ouseburn Heritage Centre and lasted 14 minutes and 58 seconds.
Restoring the Royal Diadem Two
"Having had that for a couple of years, a friend of mine had another old boat, about the same era"
Having had that for a couple of years, a friend of mine had another old boat, about the same era, he had it at South Shields and wanted rid of it because he, I think it wasn’t in brilliant condition and he wanted a boat more practical for his fishing. And he let me have his old boat, and I was quite interested because it was, well, it wasn’t built at Seahouses, it was built at Amble, but it had been the last old wooden coble to work out of Newton-by-the-Sea- it’s a beautiful place and I had it in my mind what this boat must have looked like back in the forties on the beach at Newton, so I was getting struck so I thought, “oh, I’ll have a go.”
So I brought it to Ouseburn and I then had to learn how to repair a wooden boat. Some planks had to be changed and frames, and gunnels and lots of things, the bottom of the boat was rotted through, so with a couple of friends we spent about, about four months repairing it and learnt the techniques, with a little bit of help and we were pleased to get that boat finished and that boat’s the Royal Diadem II, which is now kept at the Ouseburn. Actually, I must say it could do with a repaint now. Three or four years ago it was finished but that’s one of the things about wooden boats, you never finish maintaining them.
Peter has 10 memories in the memorynet:
Peter's memories with a Traditions theme:
Interest in cobles- Learning traditional skills
- Restoring the Royal Diadem Two
- Keeping the history alive
- The Coble and Keelboat Society
Peter's coble the Royal Diadem II- The Royal Diadem II under sail
Peter's other memories:
This memory has these themes:
Leisure | Skills | The North East | Traditions
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