I have found that the No. 153 boat was possibly either a Brooke, of which one is for sale or a Maynard of Chiswick. I reckon the second as they made a 27 foot one which I reckon this is, interpolating the mens' height to the length of the boat.
I will press on at that assumption and make a simple round bilge hull, as light as possible to use a small motor. The real one would have been a 75 HP ish engine, mounted just inside the raised foredeck.
I'm sure there must be plans for the BPBCo. 37'- 6" Mk1 fire float somewhere.

Cheers,
Martin

On the colour of paint, my Granddad was a house painter, grainer and marbler and made his own paint for which he gave a 10 year guarantee if he applied it! He explained that until the mid 60s it was not possible to get a pure white, because the carrier oils were all of an amber appearance, so all whites were a bit....off! Good enough for me, but were the cabin sides and decks still grey? Some pics make the cabin sides look mahogany!

Martin

Found this on the RAF fire fighting museum site. Very useful. it shows that the CC F.F. type pump was similar to the road towed version, but simply mounted and encased and it also shows the Meadows petrol engine. Clearly a 6 cylinder with twin carbs. Probably similar to those used in the invicta car. One each side. That takes care of most of the open cockpit and the Cove. Climax pump mainly fills the "cabin" which is open backed. interesting.

Martin

Boats serving in the med and north Africa were nearly always white. But the actual shades varied as it was acquired from different sources. My dad told me that when he served in the med paint colours varied from boat to boat some even looked pink if painted on windy day as the sand dust in the air was pink. So don't worry about shades. Best wishes Colin.

Thanks, Colin. I figured if it was a folding mast, why does the picture of one in the up position show it in front of the wheelhouse? When the thing that's laying down would only erect on top of the wheelhouse.

Would that light colour be a typical off white of the period?

Martin

Hi Martin,
Yes it is a folding mast, quite a few of these type of boats had folding masts. Will have a look at my archives to see if I have any suitable details, it may take about a week as my computer is in the attic, and I'm in the middle of getting ready for the Sunday display at WMBC. At Cob House country park.
Cheers Colin.