Hi Barry, good to hear from you. It would have
certainly been an interesting experience bumping in to 'Mick
the brick'......he probably rates among the worlds top bull-shit
artists. I have known him for about 25 years (his first wife
was the daughter of an old friend of mine). I think he has been
married at least twice since then, all of them dumping him for
similar reasons. Real name Michael Wilkins he got his nick name
having originally traded as a bricklayer, finally loosing all
his contacts and contracts because of numerous unfinished jobs
around Essex. He used to brag about all the great building work
he had done, yet no one knew of a job he had actually completed.
I am afraid he has been the same with ferroboats. He has never
actually built one himself although he gives the impression he
is an expert when talking/bragging.
He began the first one back in the 70's when married
to my friends daughter (a double-ender called 'Skua'). My friend
and his daughter put up the money and other friends did the bulk
of the work. After 'Skua' was completed he bragged as to how
he built her, but the truth came out of course when his wife
separated and her father took the boat away from him.
Next he married a Chinese girl and started a ferroboat
building business under the name of 'Skua Marine', near Paglesham
using money put up by her family. He began building on spec a
replica Essex smack in ferrocement using the wooden hull lines
from a book by J.March and which he further contracted me to
design and draw the rig up for him. His first order came from
a German couple Wolfgang and Anna. And was for a Robert Tucker
Junk rigged design, and the second a John Aitken double ender
design for Bryan and Jenny Fryatt. As the weeks went by the sham
slowly unfolded. He disappeared for days on end with little progress
on the construction of the two customers boats until when finally
confronted by them admitted that he had spent the money paid
in advance to him as well as his wife's money. Threats of physical
violence were made against him and he went into hiding. The replica
smack hull was still in armature format and was so badly built
that the decision was made to break it up and sell the steel
as scrap.The Robert Tucker junk rigged design was still only
at the half finished armature stage and couldn't be moved. However
Wolfgang and Anna negotiated an agreement with the family to
allow them to undertake the work themselves up to the plastered
stage so that they could then move the hull to a boatyard for
completion.
Unfortunately Bryan and Jenny Fryatt were not so fortunate
as they had already handed over all their total savings to Wilkins
in advance for a completed boat. They had hoped to move aboard
the boat in a few months as the holiday cabin they were using
for temporary accommodation was only available during the winter.
Their problems didn't end there either. Although the boat was
only a bare hull that had just been plastered with no deck, what
had been done had been done badly and even worse...the inexperienced
Wilkins had made no provision for installing an engine or the
attachment of the deck. Both of which provision must be made
before the hull is plastered. The Fryatt's made several visits
to my yard and office (Hartley & Brookes Associates), where
we discussed and agreed on a plan of action on how we could get
them out of their predicament. We transported the hull to Maldon
and spent some considerable time trying to make good the work
already done before being able to advance further towards her
completion. The armature had not been properly and securely set
up before plastering and had distorted in shape and sagged in
other places. Both the stem and stern were badly out of line
as well as the port and starboard sheer being at different levels,
all of which had to be broken back to the steel armature corrected
and re-plastered before making any attempt at fitting a deck.
The Fryatt's settled on the original name for the boat that they
had decided at the begining of the project of 'Gjoa', and after completion
we launched the boat by crane at the Fullbridge Wharf, Maldon.
(See update on this story and pictures at Forum
75).
Some time later Wilkins surfaced again in the West
country where he started another business under the name of 'Skua
Marine' and with another woman, but similarly disappeared again
after a short time owing sums of advance payment money and three
new owners of incomplete projects. I later learned that at least
two if not all three were eventually completed by other people.
Next he turned up in Tollesbury around 1985 with yet
another woman and using her name took a lease on a small factory
unit there. He only lasted a short time before vanishing again
owing many local people and customers money.
Several years later whilst I was surveying over in
Ireland I came across his name again with a local stigma attached
to it. He had been contracted to build a ferroboat. And again
was being sought for yet another unfinished boat.
He was unheard of until turning up again in Tollesbury
around 1994. He was now just a penniless bearded tramp living
in a small shed in the boatyard next to Woodrolfe's, doing odd
jobs. He soon talked his way into taking over the job of ferro-sheathing
an old wooden boat called 'Ripple', by claiming he was an expert
but was inevitably sacked after only a few weeks. He than began
construction of an unusual little craft which he claimed he had
designed. Several people helped him with various parts of the
project, and near disaster struck when he attempted to plaster
the hull with the help of a few acquaintances from the local
pub.
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The Mick 'the brick'
Wilkins hull at Tollesbury...his inexperience and poor workmanship
are clearly portrayed. |
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I would say that 'Mick the brick', is an interesting experience...
to say the least....
PS. I will give you the plastering team's contact addresses when
you are underway.
Colin Brookes....... |
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