Talking to Captain John Whitehouse

I only came into it as it were, when it was laid up. The story from my end starts with young Mr Worlledge. He had seen a programme called Shoestring with Trevor Eve. He'd tried to buy a lightship but he couldn't get one, so he somehow got in touch with Compton Castle.

He wanted to bring it round from Looe so I said I'd better go and take a look at this thing.

I went with my forman, and Mr Worlledge and had a look at her. We went over this Compton Castle and what I saw didn't impress me very much. I didn't do a proper survey but it seemed to me the plating was pretty awful. It was a real wreck. I thought if it comes to Truro and gets to its particular place that is where it will remain for ever. It will not be seaworthy enough to take away again. And of course they were going to build up the superstructure again which they'd have to dismantle if ever it needed to be got out.

I remember some of the frames and the double bottom were thin plate and I said if ever this is going to float you're going to need some cement boxes in certain places.
Cement boxes are a cheap way of making a craft seaworthy for a short time. You build a frame and box it in around the weak area and then fill it with concrete. Say you damage an under plate coming away from the quay or you've sprung some rivets, pump her dry, get a carpenter to build a cement box, fill it, and that gets you to a port where you can have it repaired properly. It's a short-term patch up.

I never thought to be honest it would ever leave that Creek in Looe.

My foreman said, 'say what you like captain but this thing will never float again.'

I seem to remember saying to Mr Worlledge, ' who are you going to get to tow it?'

I think he got one of the fishermen down in Falmouth to do it, but that's only a vague recollection. He asked if we'd do it. I laughed and said I wanted nothing to do with that part; in fact I didn't want anything to do with any part of it at all. But he was determined to bring it round to Truro. So I had to put it to my committee. I asked them not to approve it. I thought that once it got to Truro that's where it would remain. It was in a pretty awful condition. Anyway, I was overruled on that and in due course young Worlledge had the boat towed round to the river Fal, into Falmouth harbour and then they brought it up to Truro. There it lay for while. The craft had to get under the bridge to go to it's laying up ground where it was going to stay. So we had to choose a date. I remember getting up early. It was just opposite the harbour office and immediately it started to float we then pulled it. We got it underneath the bridge and parked it in its resting place. And that's where it stayed.

I thought the idea was good but not the boat. While he was looking at the Compton there was this Lightship in Bristol which featured on that TV show and I believe it was quite a success as a bar. This was a time when Trinity House were disposing of their lightships which were very prominent in my day when I was at sea. Light buoys and unmanned lightships were taking over. There were supposedly lots up for sale but he couldn't find one so I guess he said I'll have a paddle-steamer instead, it's the next best thing.