25 May 2012 Last updated at 01:03 ET

Doncaster crew set sail for Diamond Jubilee Pageant

Broad Ambition at Wroxham, docked and ready for launch

A four-man boat crew from Doncaster are embarking on a voyage to the River Thames for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

Brothers Charlie and Howard Griffin spent five-and-a-half years restoring motor cruiser Broad Ambition.

Charlie said he was "proud and delighted" that the boat had a place in the 1,000-craft flotilla on 3 June.

The boat is docked in the Norfolk Broads and the 124 mile journey to the Thames will be her first sea voyage.

"At first we thought we could restore it in 18 months with £10k," said Charlie.

"But five-and-a-half years and £69k later, we finished restoring the boat with the help of around 20 volunteers."

Navy experience

From the boat's home in the Broads, the crew will sail to Lowestoft and wait for good weather before sailing down the east coast to the Thames.

Charlie, from Auckley, and, Howard, from Finningley, were both in the Royal Navy for 24 years.

Fellow crew member David Dalton, from Beverley, in East Yorkshire was also in the Navy.

The fourth shipmate is Derek Wilkinson, from Bentley, near Doncaster.

The brothers' father also helped with the restoration but died before the boat was completed.

The original vessel, Star Supreme 1, was built in 1966 by Jack Powles, of Wroxham for the hire fleet.

"She is the first in class, of all wood construction, teak hull on teak frames with teak caulking," said Charlie.

The boat, by then known as Ivy Lady, was bought in 2002 for £2,000.

Broad Ambition was bought in 2002 for £2,000, as Ivy Lady

"She was in a very sorry state," he said.

"She was moved by road up to Doncaster into a dilapidated railway shed."

Charlie said the crew had a 16-hour weather window in which to set sail from Lowestoft to West India Docks, where the pageant starts.

"Broad Ambition is not a bona fide sea-going craft so it is going to be an interesting time to say the least," he added.