motor yacht lady lilian

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Lady Lilian

Motor Yacht

Lady Lilian is a semi-custom motor yacht launched in 2017 by Benetti, in Italy.

Over one century of history, more than 350 boats built including three giga yachts of 100mt and longer, over 300,000 sq m (3.229.173 sq.ft) of production facilities. These facts and figures unambiguously demonstrate the momentum of Benetti’s growth and Clients’ unrestrained confidence in the brand.

Lady Lilian measures 36.90 metres in length, with a max draft of 2.26 feet and a beam of 8.18 feet.

Her interior design is by Francois Zuretti.

Lady Lilian also features naval architecture by Benetti.

Lady Lilian is a semi-custom Classic 121' model.

Performance and Capabilities

Lady Lilian has a top speed of 15.00 knots. She is powered by diesel engines.

Lady Lilian has a fuel capacity of 42,500 litres, and a water capacity of 7,700 litres.

She also has a range of 3,400 nautical miles.

Accommodation

Lady Lilian accommodates up to 10 guests in 5 cabins. She also houses room for up to 7 crew members.

Other Specifications

Lady Lilian has a hull NB of 32.

Lady Lilian is a C HULL · MACH Y class yacht.

• Yacht Builder Benetti View profile
• Naval Architect Benetti View profile
• Exterior Designer Stefano Righini Design No profile available
• Interior Designer Francois Zuretti No profile available

Yacht Specs

Other benetti yachts, related news.

By SuperyachtNews 26 Jul 2017

A few words on Benetti's 'Lady Lilian'

Another paradoxical 'modern-classic' from the successful yard….

How is a superyacht builder deemed successful?

By exceeding the client’s expectation? Leading the industry’s design and manufacture paradigm? Or is it just based on the number of deliveries?

Realistically it’s a combination of the aforementioned factors, but based on deliveries, SuperyachtIntelligence.com would label Benetti an unequivocal success. Let us review the evidence.

Most superyachts delivered this decade? Benetti. Most superyachts delivered (so far) this millennium? Yep, you guessed it, Benetti.

And its most recent delivery, hull #32 of its Classic 121’ range Lady Lilian , only affirms Benetti’s delivery success.

A smidge shorter than June’s deliveries Skyler and Constance Joy , Lady Lilian is a 37m fiberglass superyacht penciled by Stefano Righini, a veteran designer with a portfolio of successful designs for Azimut-Benetti as long as my arm.

The Classic 121’ has undeniable charm and elegance and in many respects, is a visual timeline of nautical history; small portholes on the lower deck crew quarters, a nod to classic styling, while the architectural lines of the superstructure are reminiscent of cruisers of the eighties and nineties.

But for me, there is something about this yacht that isn’t working, and I think it’s the guard rails and framework. From stern to bow, it’s everywhere, and it detracts from the charm of the classic lines, while cluttering the exterior.

Take the forward sun deck - it looks like the framework for a caravan awning. I get it, and I understand the implications, but I can’t be the only one to think it looks like an afterthought.

Nevertheless, the exterior marries classic elements to a modern architectural profile that's integrated well.

Styled by François Zuretti, the contemporary sophistication of interior spaces is devoted to elegant entertainment, be it a large party on the informal sun deck, featuring hydro massage tub and bar, or an intimate dinner with unobstructed views on the more formal aft upper deck.

Descend to the main deck and a full beam owner’s suite fills the forward area. The lower deck finds four VIP en-suite cabins mid-ship between a forward crew quarters for six, and engine room astern. Housing twin MTU M72 engines alongside a garage for single tender and twin jet-skis, Lady Lilian is able to cruise at 11 knots for 3,400 nautical miles.

Not out of place overlooking sunsets in Portofino or basking in the Balearic ambience of Café del Mar on the shores of Ibiza, Lady Lilian is a paradoxical ‘modern-classic’.

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• Lady Lilian

Lady Lilian Yacht

Motor Yacht Lady Lilian

Lady lilian is a 36.90m motor yacht built in 2017 by benetti. the yacht's interior has been designed by francois zuretti and has exterior styling by stefano righini design., performance + capabilities.

Lady Lilian is capable of 15.00 knots flat out with a range of 3400.00 nm. from her 42,500.00l. fuel tanks.

Lady Lilian Accommodation

Lady Lilian offers accommodation for up to 10 guests in 5 suites . She is also capable of carrying up to 7 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Model Classic 121'

Other yachts based on this Classic 121' semi-custom model include Lady Lilian , Edesia .

Lady Lilian is currently not available for Charter on Superyachts.com. Click here to view similar Yachts Available for Charter.

• More Details:
• Specifications

Builder: Benetti

Exterior Designer: Stefano Righini Design

Naval Architect: Benetti

Interior Designer: Francois Zuretti

M/Y Lady Lilian

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Benetti Classic 121 yacht Lady Lilian delivered

The Benetti Classic 121 yacht series has welcomed its 32nd member after the Italian yard successfully delivered the 36.9 metre Lady Lilian  earlier this month, with the owner setting off on her debut voyage on July 18.

Built from a fibreglass hull and superstructure, this displacement yacht features exterior design by long-time collaborator Stefano Righini , while Francois Zuretti developed the contemporary interior décor, which makes good use of loose furniture structural elements lined in leather.

Accommodation is for ten guests split across five cabins including a full-beam main deck owner’s cabin , two doubles and two twins, while the crew quarters allows for a staff of up to seven people. Her vital statistics include a maximum draught of 2.26 metres and a beam of 8.18 metres.

On-deck relaxation was a key priority for Lady Lilian ’s owner and this can be seen on the upper deck, where there is al fresco dining space as well as a more informal lounging area. However, the real star of the show is the superyacht sundeck , which features a barbecue area, another dining area, cocktail bar and a hydromassage spa pool.

Power comes from a pair of 1,450hp MTU 2000M72 diesel engines for a top speed of 15 knots and comfortable cruising at 13 knots. When trimmed back to 11 knots, Lady Lilian boasts a maximum range of 3,400 nautical miles, drawing on a total fuel capacity of 42,500 litres.

Other superyacht projects currently under development at the Italian yard include the 38.1 metre Lejos 3 , which is due for delivery before the end of the year.

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Benetti delivers the 37m M/Y Lady Lillian

She is part of the Classic 121 line

Benetti Classic 121’ Lady Lilian, the 37-meter superyacht with fibreglass hull and superstructure, has been successfully delivered.

Lady Lilian is the 32nd unit of Benetti ’s Classic 121’ Range to be sold since the line has been launched, another proof of the success that this line had and still has among yachts’ owners.

The new yacht features exterior design by long-time collaborator Stefano Righini, while the interior decor is styled by Francois Zuretti.

She can accommodate ten guests in five double cabins including the main deck owner's suite. Crew quarters allows for a staff of seven people.

M/Y Lady Lillian is fitted with 2xMTU 2000 M72 of 1,460 hp each, the yacht can reach a top speed of 15 knots and has a cruising speed of 13 knots. The yacht’s range is 3,400 nautical miles at a speed of 11 knots.

Benetti motor yacht Lady Lillian delivered to owner

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Written by Rachael Steele

Benetti has announced the delivery of the 32nd unit in the Classic 121′ range, luxury yacht LADY LILLIAN . Made with a fibreglass hull and superstructure, she was delivered to her owner as scheduled on the 12th of July.

Benetti Classic 121′ Lady Lillian delivered to owner mid-July

Renowned designers Stefano Righini and Francois Zuretti have work on numerous projects for Benetti in the past, and for luxury yacht LADY LILLIAN the former designed the concept and the exteriors while the latter completed the modern interiors. The owner made a large contribution to the detailing throughout the rooms, choosing headboard layouts, bathroom accessories, structural leathers, furnishings from prestigious brands and fixtures and fittings.

Able to accommodate up to 10 guests, the layout features an owner’s suite on the main deck, plus 4 VIP staterooms on the lower deck. Among the exterior spaces is a formal upper deck and a more informal sundeck fitted with a hydro-massage tub, barbeque and bar.

Superyacht LADY LILLIAN is capable of a top speed of 15 knots and a cruising speed of 11 knots using 2xMTU2000M72 engines of 1080 Kw each. At a speed of 11 knots she can reach a range of 3,400 nautical miles.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "Benetti motor yacht Lady Lillian delivered to owner".

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The Delivery of Lady Lilian

• By Grace Howard
• Updated: July 28, 2017

Benetti has launched and delivered a brand-new Classic 121′. Her name is Lady Lilian .

Her exterior design is by Stefano Righini with an interior design from François Zuretti, both of whom have longstanding relationships with the Italian yacht builder.

There is a main-deck, full-beam master stateroom. With a max beam of 26 feet 8 inches, that equates to significant space for the owner. There’s also alfresco dining located on two of the three decks: aft and forward on the upper deck and on the flybridge.

Accommodations: Lady Lilian accommodates 10 guests in four staterooms, plus the master stateroom.

Power: The Classic 121′ is powered by twin 1,448 mhp MTU 2000 M72 diesels. She can reportedly hit a 15-knot top-end and has a 13-knot cruise speed. At 11 knots, the yacht is said to have a 3,400-nautical-mile range.

Amenities: Lady Lilian includes a Jacuzzi tub on the flybridge and has a tender garage that accommodates a RIB and two Jet Skis.

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Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian Yacht Hull number BC134

Benetti classic 121 lady lilian price and sales info, benetti classic 121 lady lilian overview, benetti classic 121 lady lilian specifications.

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian Description

Accommodation.

The Raised pilot house yacht Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian luxury interior sleeps up to 10 guests in 5 staterooms. She is also capable of carrying up to 7 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience. Timeless styling, beautiful furnishings and sumptuous seating feature throughout to create an elegant and comfortable atmosphere.

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian impressive leisure and entertainment facilities make her the ideal yacht for socialising and entertaining with family and friends.

Construction & dimensions

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian features a Displacement GRP hull and GRP superstructure. She was built to RINA, Rules for Classification of pleasure yachts C ✠ hUll • MAch Y. classification society rules.

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian is equipped with a Navigation Stab and Zero Speed at anchor Naiad Marine stabilisation system which reduces roll motion effect and results in a smoother more enjoyable cruising experience underway.

Performance

Powered by 2 x MTU12V2000M72 2 x 1,080 kW engines and driven by Shaft drive Raised pilot house yacht Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian is capable of a top speed of 15.1 knots, and comfortably cruises at 14.1 knots. With her 42500 litres fuel tanks she has a maximum range of 3400 nautical miles economic cruising speed. Her water tanks carry 7700 litres of fresh water.

Purchase Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian is currently not available for sale, to find out more about this superyacht please contact your personal Benetti yacht specialist.

Charter Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian is currently not available for charter, to find out more about this superyacht please contact your personal Benetti charter broker.

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian Exterior Gallery

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian Interior Gallery

Benetti Classic 121 Lady Lilian General arrangement

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NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

SIMILAR YACHTS FOR CHARTER

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RUSALKA yacht NOT for charter*

36m  /  118'1 | christensen | 1994 / 2013.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Impressive 3,600nm range
• ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) classification
• Sleeps 8 overnight

The 36m/118'1" motor yacht 'Rusalka' (ex. Lady Lilian W) was built by Christensen in the United States at their Vancouver, WA shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house Glade Johnson Design and she was completed in 1994. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Christensen and she was last refitted in 2013.

Guest Accommodation

Rusalka has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 8 guests in 4 suites. She is also capable of carrying up to 5 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Built with a GRP hull and GRP superstructure, with teak decks, she benefits from a semi-displacement hull to provide exceptional seakeeping and impressive speeds. Powered by twin diesel Deutz (TBD16V234B) 1,224hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 15 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 18 knots with a range of up to 3,600 nautical miles from her 31,794 litre fuel tanks at 12 knots. Her water tanks store around 5,299 Litres of fresh water. She was built to ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) classification society rules.

*Charter Rusalka Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Rusalka is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Rusalka Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Rusalka Photos

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Rusalka

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• Azimut | Benetti Group

Benetti delivers M/Y LADY LILIAN, the 32nd of benetti’s successful classic 121’ range

Benetti Classic 121’ Lady Lilian , the 37-meter superyacht with fibreglass hull and superstructure, has been successfully delivered on Wednesday 12 July 2017, as planned by Benetti, and left the shipyard with her owner on board only six days after. This efficiency has been made possible by the incredible team work of the project and the delivery teams of Benetti’s shipyard and by the extraordinary collaboration of the crew on tests and inspections.

Lady Lilian is  the  32 nd  unit of Benetti’s Classic 121’ Range  to be sold since the line has been launched, another proof of the remarkable success that this line had and still has among yachts’ owners.

The concept and exteriors of the Classic 121’ are by  Stefano Righini , who has worked with Benetti on many occasions through the years, while the designer  François Zuretti , who has also contributed successfully to various projects by the shipyard, designed the interiors, giving the boat a modern and contemporary style. The owner contributed largely to the choice of some of the décor elements – such as details, bathroom’s accessories, structural leathers, decorative lights and the layout of the headboards – and of the loose furniture, selected among the most prestigious brands on the market.

The layout features four VIP cabins on the Lower Deck plus the owner’s suite, accommodating up to 10 guests.

The owner’s full beam suite is in the bow on the Main Deck, while the exteriors are designed to offer guests the ultimate in relaxation, with comfortable seating in addition to a more formal outdoor dining area on the Upper Deck and a more informal one on the Sun Deck, which also features a hydromassage tub, a barbecue area and a bar.

BC134 CLASSIC 121’ LADY LILIAN  – fitted with 2xMTU2000M72 of 1080 Kw each, the yacht can reach a top speed of 15 knots and has a cruising speed of 13 knots. The yacht’s range is 3,400 nautical miles at a speed of 11 knots.

Remember Me

yachtliliancom

Lilian’s centenary.

This is the post excerpt.

After a hundred years, Lilian is still afloat and active. This site is partly to record the history and restoration as far as we can, and also to act as a log of what we’re up to and where we’re going.

Gentleman’s yacht to scrap and back

Royal Institute of Naval Architects meeting, London December 2016

The gentleman’s motor yacht Lilian celebrated its centenary in 2016. Built in Sweden for a Danish banker, Lilian was the largest vessel designed by the Swedish architect C G Pettersson. It was conceived as an ultra-modern vessel and designed around a handed pair of lightweight Polar Z-type diesel engines. We review the design features of this pioneering steel diesel-powered yacht with reference to surviving Pettersson detailed drawings, and cover the challenges of maintenance and the choices between originality and operational reality.

Introduction

The Danes have a trendy but rather untranslateable concept called ‘hygge’ – apparently the feeling of comfortableness with life, the universe and everything. Lilian was built for a Dane, possibly with that in mind, and on a calm warm evening at sea, with a polished mahogany saloon table set for eight and a candle or two, one can imagine it having been congenial enough. So how does one get there?

When we first came across Lilian, she had just hit Richmond Bridge on her way from Windsor ‘to the South of France to be chartered’ (after fifty years on the Thames). She was tied up on Corporation Island like a great beached white whale, and the owner hailed us to come aboard and see how the engines worked, in case we wanted to buy her. Never reluctant for a challenge, we watched him go through a complex ritual involving diving bottles and flexible hoses off building sites and finally bursting the two ancient engines into life.

In spite of the evidence of massive neglect, the mess, the mustiness and the rickety decks, there was a nice old lady underneath – obviously needing some cosmetic work and a face-lift but the elegant bone structure was still apparent. The dimensions were almost exactly those of our riverside mooring at 30metres long and draught under two metres, and we were actually looking for such a boat. But we shook our heads and made our excuses and left.

A year later, she was still sitting on a mooring just down-river, propped up against some concrete pilings at the Gasworks wharf in Brentford and quite regularly filling with water when the tide was up. There was a hole in the side you could walk through, covered with some thin ply awaiting a plate for welding. She was a wreck, and locals joked that the scrap value of the portholes (21 each side) would be worth more than the boat. So we found a friendly surveyor and bought her, for one pound plus other considerations and towed her up to our mooring in Twickenham.

The sea cadets who had used her as a training ship at Windsor had left their mark. The varnished mahogany superstructure had been painted white,

and much of the accessible lead ballast, the telephones, the binnacle and even sections of the copper central heating pipes had gone. Where they needed to hang ropes, six-inch nails had been hammered into the panelling, and initials and worse had been scratched liberally throughout, with one sealed bulkhead crudely cut open as a serving hatch. Every porthole glass had been smashed. The dynamo and generator engine had been immersed too often to work reliably, and the 110volt set of NiCad batteries had vanished. So we lived for a while with a festoon of building site light bulbs, a garden hose for water and sleeping quarters in the few bunks that were not under drips from the leaking decks.

The forecastle was the worst. The teak planks were laid on steel beams so corroded that not one spanned the deck intact. The interior had mostly been gutted, and what was left was rotten timber of poor quality knocked together originally for the crew’s quarters. So we had little compunction in removing what was left, lifting the teak planking (carefully numbered for re-use) and laying a steel deck which extended around the wheelhouse and down both side-decks, including a new bridge and steel wheelhouse base. At a stroke, we were both strengthened and watertight from above, and once the saloon roof had been stripped of several layers of rotting canvas, even that section became dry. We were fortunate to have a friend who was a certified ship’s welder visiting from Australia, who took on the task of replacing the deck and top strake of the sides.

The mahogany gunwhale capping, which had been bolted down with inserts for each stanchion, was almost all replaced, using Brazilian mahogany, including some large curved sections at bow and stern that were prodigal with timber, and some that took weeks to steam and cramp into place. To avoid potential water damage from surface plugs in bolt holes, we opted to use galvanised coach screws from below, which has proved robust enough in practice.

The inch thick teak decking had been laid directly onto the steel beams, fastened by steel screws from below, with no visible caulking seam but a groove in the sides of each plank (below the surface) that had a string of caulking cotton. We opted to restore almost the same visual effect by laying marine ply onto the steel deck using levelling Sikaflex mastic, and glueing the teak strips with a small number of plugs. While the convention for motor boats is to lay parallel straight deck planks, Lilian had the much more complex swept teak planking, tapered at bow and stern, characteristic of sailing yachts. We also replaced the large slabs of timber under the winches at bow and stern.

This was the second decision point. It might have been possible just to lay concrete inside up to the waterline and sit on our mooring for many years, having refurbished the accommodation which was still mostly intact. But we had just resuscitated Sabrina, a century-old steam boat which had been a houseboat on the canals for fifty years, and preferred a boat that moved. We knew almost nothing about the history of Lilian, apart from various myths about being a royal yacht (for which there was, and is, no evidence), but she looked as though she could go to sea. Our surveyor, Frank Bandey, who had condemned her as unseaworthy twenty years before, said that with a new bottom he could see her fit for the Channel, even the North Sea. So with perhaps unwarranted optimism we consigned her to a local boatyard slipway (Strong Marine on Eel Pie Island, Twickenham) to have a new bottom.

They started with a solid bar keel, then shaped plates from there to the waterline, welding through to the old frames where they could. She had started with riveted steel plates, probably only 5mm or less (much less by the time we over-plated) on rather light frames.

A photo from the original builder’s yard (Sodra Varvet in Stockholm) shows an elegant structure with rolled plates being bolted, then riveted in place. As a gentleman’s yacht, she was presumably built for speed rather than heavy duty, although the engine mounts and the engine room itself were built like a great cathedral to dimensions more familiar in steam yachts.

Knowing that condensation and insulation was likely to be a future issue, we elected to shot-blast and prime all exposed steel work down to the water-line and sprayed with polyurethane foam, then hid it behind the old wooden panelling. As part of the dismantling, we regretfully replaced the mass of wiring that supplied lights, bells and telephones – most of this was thin tinned copper wrapped in fabric inside lead sheaths, and as we thought 110v DC systems were going to be too hard to replace, we changed to 24v throughout (apart from the engine room motors, which we had to change to 240v AC). The fine electrical charging board, mounted on two slabs of marble, was removed and consigned to store (photo),

and the old dynamo (110v 4.5kVA), was considered beyond repair. Even an old Garrard 78rpm electric gramophone fitted in the saloon had to go.

We tried to keep as many of the items we removed as possible – for instance, many bronze skin fittings, the galvanised scuttle ventilators, the cast-iron radiators and even the ancient compressed air bottles (rated at 1000psi for the original blast injection system). Almost everything we’ve scrapped we’ve since regretted losing.

When we started on the broken port-hole glasses, we discovered that all the (42) pairs had die-stamped identifiers – and many were in the wrong places. When matched up, they fitted more snugly, and most became watertight. The bronze frames were riveted into the steel hull-sides with countersunk steel rivets (which we managed to source in Birmingham), the seals were rubber (which we sourced from an ancient stock at Norris of Isleworth) and the wooden surrounds were replaced with exact fibreglass replicas since we found all the old wooden ones were rotting. A puzzling set of a dozen galvanised steel objects turned out to be scuttle ventilators – designed to be inserted into port-hole apertures to increase air-flow through the accommodation in hot weather.

There had been central heating from new, and we have since found the piping diagrams, complete with evidence that they used the same pipes to circulate hot water to the taps. Unfortunately, what remained of the heavy-duty Imperial-sized copper pipes and fittings were impossible to mate to modern metric systems, so we started again and re-piped the lot. The sea cadets had dumped the boiler overboard as a mud-weight, so we found a second-hand replacement that came with a tank full of 200 gallons of fuel oil (everyone was changing to gas at the time). We assumed the saloon would be unuseable in the winter, with all those windows, and oversized all the radiators down below to make it habitable. But it’s been surprisingly warm, even in the depths of winter.

There were three sea lavatories on board, and because our mooring has pollution regulations (and we swim in the river), we arranged plumbing such that effluent could be switched to the original ballast tanks, and for these to be pumped out intermittently to the mains sewer on land. The tanks were first cleaned out (via the large bolted manhole covers) and internally sprayed with a rubberised coating. The sea connections had been sealed by the new hull plating, and were not re-used. As the tanks had a considerable capacity, it made sense to drain all grey water (baths, showers, washing machine, dishwasher, basins) into these as well, which had the advantage of using gravity drainage. Initially, we thought macerator pumps would be necessary, but now use a single large impeller pump which empties both tanks in twenty minutes once a fortnight (timed at high tide, so that pump-out head is minimised). Using sewage treatment additives designed for septic tanks (and avoiding toxic cleaning chemicals), the effluent is quite inoffensive.

Once the services were in (heating, lighting, plumbing), we contemplated the restoration of the interior. The mahogany panelling used almost all the same moulding pattern throughout, and this was fitted precisely and pressed in, rather than pinned. Although this seemed unnecessarily elaborate (particularly as there were almost no square or right-angled corners), it had the advantage that when the superstructure moved it was flexible enough to avoid cracking or breaking the many fitted mirrors. Much had been painted, but once the paint was stripped, the French polishing beneath could be revived and restored. We were lucky enough to have a friend who was a French polisher and so opted to use this finish throughout rather than varnishing, as it seems to survive and revive better for interior woodwork.

The furnishings were mostly long gone, but there was evidence of the screwed fittings for carpeting the accommodation throughout, with some old linoleum-like coverings in the galley; we found and restored the removable screws for the saloon table after the first time it fell over at sea. The dumb waiter from the galley to the saloon had lost its massive lead slab counterweight, but we found it in the bilges and re-attached it to slide in its close-fitting housing via the large pulley re-attached to the deck-head.

The engines meanwhile had become more familiar, and their eccentricities investigated. We had an engine manual from 1916 in Swedish and English, which explained some of the features. Both engines had been modified in 1940 to have air-starter motors and solid injection diesel pumps and injectors. Only the starboard engine had its original two-stage compressor cylinder, so this was always the first to be started; within a minute or two, the main air receiver had enough pressure to start the port engine. The gear boxes often started in gear and had to be rapidly adjusted to release the propeller shafts. The CAV-Bosch diesel injector pumps used the end of the timing layshaft to power them, and the governors could not be adjusted for really slow running. On starting, there was often a fusillade of explosions as the pressure relief valves on each cylinder disposed of any excess fuel.

The starter motors used a surprisingly large amount of compressed air, and as the cams and valves were still useable, we reinstated the original air-starting system using the front three cylinders to turn the engine over until the three other cylinders fired. This was a revelation, using much less air. Luckily we left the old starter motors in situ, as many years later after a no-2 piston broke up at sea, we could isolate/inactivate that cylinder but still start the engine.

The steering gear was a chain and cable system running through the accommodation (through several sealed bulkheads) from the bridge to a large quadrant under the stern deck. The shaft and gearing for the forward steering position in the wheelhouse had gone (as had the wheel). Although it was in good working order, we were advised that we should change to a Wagner hydraulic system, both to make the dual steering positions easier to re-fit, and to make auto-pilot connection feasible. The quadrant was changed for a ram (the mounting later strengthened considerably as the first solid-looking arrangement flexed alarmingly under stress). As the binnacle had gone, we invested in a Sperry gyrocompass (costing in those days as much as a small car) interfaced with the auto-pilot. Although we had a chart table large enough for full-size Admiralty charts, we opted for an early electronic charting system as well.

At this stage, we had largely used our imagination and what was still left to restore the structures. The sea cadets had done a plan drawing of the interior as they found it. However, while in Stockholm for a scientific conference, Hilary visited the maritime museum and enquired of a curator whether there were records of the boat. By chance, that curator was Asa Fritz-Crone, the wife of the maritime historian Gunnar Fritz-Crone, who was writing a book about CG Pettersson. The Sodra Varvet shipyard records were being recorded on microfiche and the originals, including blueprints of Lilian, were being disposed of and were available. So Hilary returned with over fifty original drawings (including Pettersson’s draft designs) and suddenly we had templates to use for research and restoration. Years later, we also found a cache of Pettersson drawings, rather surprisingly including wood panelling diagrams, in the records of the engine manufacturers (the Atlas engine branch was by then part of Wärtsilä), stored in archives at Trollhattan. The drawings included details of the two ship’s boats, the boarding ladder and even the elegant design for the transfer lever in the lavatory compartment that switched the flushing water inlet from the washbasin to the seacock inlet

We also realised that the two masts, based on a Pettersson drawing we had inherited, were incorrect – at launch there was a single mast behind the funnel. The multiple draft drawings we now had showed numerous mast and accommodation arrangements, presumably to be selected from by the owner. Dates on the drawings indicated the finalised versions as used by the boatyard. We had built, rigged and used the two masts successfully for some years, and they were a much more practical rig for our purposes, so we have kept them, in spite of some historical inaccuracy. We think the schooner rig also looks and feels better balanced.

We first ventured to sea in 1988, fifty years after the last sea voyage (for which we had the engineer’s logbook – mostly notable for complaints about the difficulty of starting and keeping the engines going). Fuel and lubricating oil supplies were a constant problem, as there were numerous oil leaks and incomplete combustion with a black exhaust plume that made us look like a steamer. Many attempts to improve fuel economy, including servicing and modifying injectors and pumps, were ineffectual, and we assume from old photographs that the blast injection originally fitted was more fuel-efficient. However, we were rarely in a hurry, and although hull speed was never more than seven knots, our sedate progress was enough for us. Most years since, we have been to sea. The most notable voyage was to Stockholm in 1995, via the Kiel canal to Copenhagen and Gothenburg and over the Gota canal to Stockholm(for a Motor Yacht Society gathering), returning via the Baltic  through Kiel again. Crossing the North Sea with the original engines revealed that they were very prone to overheating and salt precipitation in the direct seawater cooling system after continuous hard running for a day or two – they ran much cooler in fresh water or in the relatively brackish Baltic. Exhaust valves frequently stuck due to carbon accumulation, and we became adept at replacing them from a fresh collection standing by.

We were fortunate to have local engineering expertise at the Kew Bridge Engines Trust, a team keeping traditional beam engines and associated machines going with an extensive workshop. When we broke our first piston at sea, on a short, shake-down cruise a fortnight before attending a historic boats rally, the team made a pattern, cast a new piston, machined and re-installed it and sent us on our way running it in faultlessly down channel 500 miles to the rally at Brest. They also helped us rebuild both gearboxes, white-metal and scrape in big-ends and even draw up and commission a crankshaft when the port one broke on our way back from a journey to view the total solar eclipse mid-channel in 1999.

Breaking a crank-shaft could have spelt the end of the port engine, but fortunately minimal damage was done and over the past decade the engine has been gradually rebuilt and restored to working museum condition. For twelve years we ran with a modern port diesel engine, keeping the stern gear intact so the new gearbox had a 3:1 reduction to maintain 600 rpm at the propeller. Initially this was a Manta II 120hp 6cylinder marinised Ford, later changed to a JCB 4cylinder 85hp diesel to utilise hydraulics to run bow thruster and anchor winch. In 2011, we extricated the working starboard engine (first filming the intricacies of starting and running it), and replaced it with a second JCB and hydraulics. Both old engines with gearboxes are in storage in working condition ready to be re-installed. Meanwhile the pair of new engines, which are cleaner, more powerful and less prone to breakdown, allow us to keep the boat travelling, and we do not risk breaking the old engines by heavy useage. We know they are ready to work again, but we don’t want to be responsible for a catastrophic damage event during an over-ambitious cruising plan.

The two replica ship’s boats were built to the original drawings by Richmond Bridge Boathouses (Mark Edwards) in 2000. The carvel strip cedar hull construction was epoxy sheathed (and painted) to give strength and water-tightness, as these were swung from davits for use at sea. The Danish petrol engine was a relatively modern 12hp Vire, which could be removed and stored ashore in winter. The sailing rig was a small loose-footed lug, and there are three rowing positions (and a sculling notch in the stern) for flexibility. We have entered the Great River Race on the Thames as a ‘historic ship’s boat’, and have won our category twice. Both boats are quite comfortable and dry in a seaway, and are useful for running ashore or exploring when we anchor off while travelling.

In its hundredth year, the boat is in commission and goes to sea. We travelled to Brest and Douarnenez in 2016, and met grandchildren of the French owner who recognised the boat from family photograph albums from the 1920s, including a spell in the Mediterranean. The design (to ‘Freycinet’ dimensions) allowed for travel at the time through the main French canal system (but not the Canal du Midi) if mast, funnel, ventilators, davits and ships boats were demounted, but we have no records yet of how she actually got there. Our voyages and discoveries continue; Lilian is still successfully doing what she was built for.

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