New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

OK, I will get this thread going. My son and I have been working on our new/old boat for a few weeks now but have not posted anything yet, so here we go! We are the proud new owners of a 1956 Bell Boy 18 foot express cruiser named “Can Do”. Some of you may have seen this boat posted on the site by the previous owner. Check this out if you don’t remember or saw it. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=278714 I think that this thread will be interesting for those who know that this is one of the first production boats ever made using fiberglass. About 5000 were made! Some of the techniques posted here on iboats were not even “invented” when this boat was made. And at the same time, many of the techniques used in making this boat are the same as those used in boat-building today. I will mostly be posting pics, and the inevitable questions that will arise. I am new to boat restoration, but grew up in the Seattle area, immersed in boating culture. I want to pass on to my son, some of the mechanical and woodworking skills both of my grandfathers taught me. Safety is important to me, so my son will be watching the glass work from a distance. The wood work will be “hands on” We will both be learning and having a great time doing it. This boat is a gem that deserves a new lease on life. The day I first saw this boat, I knew that under its rough exterior, it is in amazing shape. NO ROT. Even on the un-glassed wood under the sole. This boat has seen about as much water as a 5 year old boat, maybe less. I expect this to take at least a year, maybe 18 months. We have set aside Sundays to work on the “Can Do” I am sure our progress will seem slow to many, but it is the journey we are after, not the destination. But at the same time, we are itching to get on the water! Stay tuned. More cool pix to come.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

HAy Artpop and son !! welcome !! your in the right spot !! we all will help all we can !! cant wait to see how she turns out !! keep them pics comming !! John

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

artpop.....welcome to i boats.

glad to see a true classic being done in a family way.

any questions.....the guys here are really good and can walk you right thru it.

even tho it is an older boat .....glass boat design has not changed very much in its 50 some odd years.....i would suggest to read some of the compleated project forum.....try skanky beast by jason j.

im looking foward to seeing this one.

cheers
oops

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

This community is great. It’s a virtual dry-dock without the seagulls.
Here are some pics of the piddle stuff we did the first couple of days. Things that were easy, and made it seem like we were doing something, while I read a million pages on the iboats forum. I’m sure you all have seen the corrosion loving snaps intended to hold the bimini onto the boat. Well we had a cool system to remove them. The steel screws were too rusted to unscrew w/ a screw driver or screw gun. So we removed them with vice grips. About half of them broke off inside the glass. I have never had good luck removing a corroded screw using the set and drill method, so we used a countersink bit with the inside bit removed to drill “around” the broken off screw. This also removed the corrosion imbedded in the gel.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

gel...? I don't think they were using gel coats until much later on.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

hey......... if that is paint on it, might want to concern yourself if its lead based. I think they banned lead based paint in 1978. 22 years before your boat was built.

Esp with your son around it too. We don't want another Goi?nia accident on our hands.

Even if I am entirely wrong and that is a gel-coat on that boat, you might still want to consider the possibility of lead-based paints through the cabin.


If you get bored, read that link, it shows how dangerous old stuff really is.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

Ahh yes. I guess the outer layer of color-impregnated polyester resin wasn't called gel back then.

Safety is very important to us. I will be testing the cabin paint for lead. I doubt if it contains caesium chloride... although I am not sure how to test for that. Maybe if it glows blue at night?

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

Artpop said:

Ahh yes. I guess the outer layer of color-impregnated polyester resin wasn't called gel back then.

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heh heh heh........as far as the glowing lead.........just wear the correct anti radiation tyvec suit with a proper resporator and eye protection and you'll live to glow another day

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

how old is your son, we have several 14 and above members that are doing their own restorations, and doing excellant jobs.

if the boat had been of the east coast. you would have had to beat me to it.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

tashasdaddy said:

how old is your son, we have several 14 and above members that are doing their own restorations, and doing excellant jobs.

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He is 9 going on 16 if you know what I mean. Very clever lad.

oops! said:

heh heh heh........as far as the glowing lead.........just wear the correct anti radiation tyvec suit with a proper resporator and eye protection and you'll live to glow another day

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Doh! I know, we need to look like Homer Simpson... minus the donut.

I thought you all would like to see the transom damage. Probably the biggest challenge of the project. Pic 1 shows the stern with the motor and electrical junk stripped off. Pic 2 shows the crack in transom plywood (red arrows) and the old plywood patch. (green arrows). Note there is no glass on the inside of the transom nor bulkhead. Perhaps it was treated with something... but not glassed in. Amazing there is no rot anywhere. Original or patch. Also see how the patch goes about 12 inches below the cap. Also... out of the picture, the patch only goes to the bottom of the splash well. I also found delam in the bottom middle of the outer transom glass. We are in the process of removing all of the wood in the splash well and transom areas, and then see how bad the delam is. Very unique plywood used in the construction by the way. It is 1/2 fir with some sort of masonite like skin. Seems kind of waxy, which is why the aftermarket paint did not stick real well to it.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

that was a very common material back then, don't remember the name though.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

the cap hull joint looks like a flange joint......a real PITA to seperate.....withour seperation.....transom replacement is difficult and removal is long and not fun...... in fact that clever 9 year old might learn a few sailors words

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

oops! said:

in fact that clever 9 year old might learn a few sailors words

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hahahahahhahhahahahhahah!

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

oops! said:

the cap hull joint looks like a flange joint......a real PITA to seperate.....withour seperation.....transom replacement is difficult and removal is long and not fun...... in fact that clever 9 year old might learn a few sailors words

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Yes it is a flange. Sounds like we will have the chance to practice some of those sailors' words he has already picked up.

Lead test complete. I used the sandpaper technique to get to all the layers. Results are: Positive lead in paint only on the helm and cabin door. Plus a tiny bit around the sink. We plan on replacing the helm and cabin door with teak anyway, so no prob there. All the other paint is clean. Sole, bulkheads, cabin, gunwales etc. I also tested the colored poly just for fun. No lead. I am actually quite pleasantly surprised. Especially on the sole (2 heavy layers).

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

uh oh, there's a huge problem with the helm nobody has commented on...it's on the wrong side of the boat. that can't be good.

that's a cool looking project...half restoration, half boating history lesson

love the seat base for the capn's chair

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

Wow, looks to be in great shape for 50 years.

(check out the life vest, now isn't that a blast from the past)

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

Artpop said:

Positive lead in paint only on the helm and cabin door.

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Well, at least Im good for something.

...or would you have tested it anyway?

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

That's one kewl boat.

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

salty87 said:

uh oh, there's a huge problem with the helm nobody has commented on...it's on the wrong side of the boat. that can't be good.

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i saw that......i loved it.........the problem can be averted by adding weight to the other side........the reason the mfg'r didnt is because it was easyer to change the cockpit after the mold was older than to keep adding weight.

that just goes to show you that even in the beginning they were still learning about how the systems worked. and just about anything would work as long as the hull didnt have leaks

Re: New life for 56 Bell Boy cruiser

Here's a pic I found of the Bell Boy prodution line in 1957. Note the 16 footer with the helm on the starboard side. I read they switched the 18 footer that year as well.