Ermex Details
My name is Sharyn Davies
my home number 01784 45 34 33
my mobile is 079 679 8 1066 (tends to be in handbag not glued to ear)
For sale
Ermex
Historic River Class vessel,
built in 1945 by the British
Powerboat Company of
Hythe.
Ermex is currently on the
National Register of Historic
Vessels
The vessel owner is now unable to continue maintaining her and is very keen to see her go
to an individual or organisation that would be willing to restore her. She still has her original
Perkins SM6 twin diesel engines and the owners also have two spare engines (although
condition of these is unknown) and a full set of plans.
The wheelhouse has been sympathetically
enlarged and one side has been
fabricated. The other side needs to be
matched and a new roof for the
wheelhouse and rear cabin is needed.
The owners are so keen to see her
restored that they don’t really want any
money for the vessel, although perhaps a
refundable deposit of £2,500 which would
be returned when the boat is fully or
partially restored- Still thinking about that
idea.
Ermex sadly sank at height of Thames
flooding in Feb 2013 and was refloated
but no hull damage was ever found so this
was a complete mystery.
Free mooring for a few months is also available.
The owner is currently putting up more photos and getting her service history from Terry
Holtham please see this link
http://john.andrewdavies.net/Ermex/Ermex%20Details.docx
If you are interested in taking Ermex on as a restoration project, ring the owner (Sharyn
Davies) on 01784 453433 or mobile 07967 981066 or email sharyn_davies@ymail.comSource:
Current owner,
2015
We have owned Ermex since 1982 and I am looking for some details of her service history
that Maybe Terry Holtham included in his book2 of British Powerboats Rivers Class vessels.
He said in past that Ermex was lifted and transported to Aldershot for the big army show for a
few years I thought that might be of interest to a new owner.
I cannot remember any more of her army service but I suspect Terry might have said she
served overseas at some time before being disposed of as surplus to army requirements.
Potted history of Ermex
She was called Erme when in RASC and they added an X to indicate that she was an item for
disposal. She became known as Ermex.
From 197? - 1981 she was owned by a hydraulic engineer and his wife (they lived in Milton
Keynes is all I know) and they kept at Strand-on-Green near Chiswick & Kew on mid river
moorings just in front of our British powerboat craft Target previous named Parab.
Going off subject of Ermex and on to Target our other British powerboat built at Hythe.
We thought Target was a sea plane tender and 37' 6" knowing she was shorter than the 41'
6" but later discovered she was only 35' and built much earlier around 1935 judging by
numbers etched in floorboards , I think it was Phillip Simmonds from the maritme museum at
Southampton told us that she was one of 5 vessels of that length built he was waiting for
some records from Scott Paine's estate to be returned to England before he could confirm
anything.
Phillip Clabburn was heard to say - while she was at husbands yard - that she was off Arc
Royal but not sure what facts that was based on. All I know about her that she was not burnt
as we were first told but put on low loader and taken to boatyard in Devon. If any of your
colleagues know about her whereabouts we would love to know where she is now to check
up on her progress and pass on our history to the new owners. She should be put up on
Historic ships register.
back to Ermex
She was painted a mid blue with blue cabin sides and was pretty much original condition.
1980-1981 a fire took place on vessel moored next to Ermex and Ermex was damaged on
starboard side along wooden railings,cabin sides and the hull was blistered.
1982 He was going abroad to teach in the far east somewhere like Singapore or Hong Kong.
A person off another boat wanted to break her up and sell the bits. I was aghast at this
suggestion and promptly put in a silly offer which owner happily agreed to so now she is
always referred to as Sharyn's boat.
From 1982- April 1985 we kept her at Stand-on-the -Green moorings. We stripped back cabin
sides on starboard side,varnished cabin and painted hull white.
In 1983 and 1984 we took her on sea trips with odd sides. Somewhere I have old photos that
show this phenomenon in Ramsgate harbour.
Apr 1985 we moved to Temple gardens near the hook at Penton Hook, Staines where she sat
on our garden moorings. We attached iron poles to her lifting lugs and fastened the other end
in our garden and had a gangplank to board her. Years later we built a pontoon and she sat
alongside that.
In May 1985 we had her lifted out at Penton Hook Marina and did some work on her hull.
There was a picture of her on hard standing in MDL magazine publicising their marinas
around UK. She looked rather good in those days.
From May 1985 - 2010 John did some
work on her cabin sides as we wanted
more room in the wheelhouse for marine
trips. The roof need replacing and was
quite rotten. She was covered up with a
sturdy round tent like frame and tarpaulins.
A new cabin side was fashioned quite
sympathetically with real mahogany planks
of wood and done with the wood in panels
in different directions that she had
originally but he never finished so only one
side was ever completed.
2010 John glued this cabin side together
2012 John and I painted the hull both
sides and she looked quite presentable.
13-Feb-2013 Ermex sank on Feb 13th I don't believe it was a Friday but it was the height of
the Thames flooding. We had around 10 feet more water than normal and the Thames had
breeched its banks up our road and it funnelled down through our garden to the lower
Thames level at our garden moorings and where Ermex was moored.
At 2am he saw her floating as he checked our waterlogged estate and by 7am she was down
on the bottom being supported between the pontoon and Lotus our american trawler yacht.
12-Mar-2013 We raised her once the water level had dropped past the portholes we could put
pumps inside. She floated up nicely but we could not find a reason for her sinking at all. Hull
seemed very sound and she took no water at all. A complete mystery, was it some sort of
syphonic action? John had pumped her that day she sank the front and mid cabins but she
hadn't taken hardly any water sadly he didn't get round to engine compartment as it was
getting dark so left it for next day but normally she didn't take much rainwater as she was
covered. This amount of rain did play havoc with her covers.
12 & 13-Mar-2013 we jet cleaned her
insides and the hull outside and she
looked good again.
Preparing the frame again for new tarpaulin
Well certainly needing a lot of restoration that's for sure. John at this moment in time had
been quite happy to cut her up with a chainsaw but I rushed in and put her on historic ships
register but the reality is he doesn't think he is up this sort of restoration project and she
needs some young blood to continue the work. If I look back we preserved her for 30 odd
years now she needs a new home.
Further History supplied by Terry Holtham
44.5ft River class Fast Launch RASCV ERME
The RASCV ERME was one of a number of 44.5ft Fast Launches of the “River” class built for
the Army by British Power Boat Co. Ltd at Hythe, near Southampton. The ERME is named
after the river of that name that flows on the south side of Dartmouth through Ivybridge,
Ermington and to sea at Erme Mouth (Between Mothecombe and Kingston) into the English
Channel.
The RASCV ERME was completed by BPB on the 20.11.45 and allocated signal code letters
GDFN as her visual callsign. After trials and acceptance she was allocated to the WT TRG Coy
(Water transport Training Company) based at Victoria Barracks near Yarmouth on the Isle of
Wight. She was based there with a number of her sister craft and spent most of her working
life working out of Yarmouth. The craft was transferred to 71 Coy RASC WT (71 company
Royal Army Service Corps Water Transport) based at Portsmouth from 11.6.56 and remained
there until transferred again approx January 1968 to Marchwood (near Southampton). It is
thought she was one of several either laid up or in reserve at Marchwood until they became
surplus to requirements.
The ERME was advertised for sale by competitive tender in the magazine Motor Boat &
Yachting on 12.12.72, as lying at Marchwood Military Port. She was then sold out of service
to H. Valman of 4 Spring Gardens, Woodford Green, Essex on 2.2.73. However the craft was
still listed as at Marchwood on 26.2.73 presumably awaiting new owner to move her. She
was sold with her engines and was then used by her new owner to cruise around the
Mediterranean for the next ten years. The craft was subsequently sold to Tony & Veronica
Swan of Milton Keynes and she was kept on mid river moorings at Strand-on-Green near
Chiswick and Kew. At sometime she was renamed as ERMEX.
In 1981 the ERMEX was next to a boat that caught fire and thus the craft was slightly
damaged – handrails and the side of the wheelhouse were affected.
In June 1982 the craft was sold on to Sharyn & John Davies of Newhouse, Temple Gardens,
Staines in Middlesex. The ERMEX was initially still kept at Strand-on-Green and was used by
the new owners on occasion for short sea trips including one to Ramsgate during 1983 and
1984. In May 1985 the ERMEX was lifted out at Penton Hook Marina and overhauled.
Afterwards in 1985 the ERMEX was kept at the owners garden moorings at Temple Gardens
near Penton Hook at Staines. The ERMEX has been in their ownership since to this present
day.