Mr Fradgley’s Question Time #4

In last weeks newsletter Mr Fradgley set a question from a King’s Scholarship (Eton) Paper II. There were only two correct answers this week from Madeleine Stamvik and Will Campbell-Barnard. Please find the question and answer below:

A ship is twice as old as its boiler was when the ship was the age the boiler is now. The present combined age of the ship and the boiler is 49 years. How old is the ship now?

Answer (courtesy of Mr Fradgley)