1965 26' Owens Flagship restoration underway.

[Sea18Horse]

Cool photo! Thanks Micky! Yep, that's a 65 Flagship alright. where'd you come across that photo? Havn't seen that one. I'm definitely going to do the blue stripe below the rub rail when I paint the topsides. Most all of the period photos show that stripe. I'd wondered whether the stripe covered the lower rub rail or stopped just above it. This solves that mystery so thanks again.

Cheers...……………...Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Went down to check on the boat last night and found the boathouse 6 feet from the dock! The chain had worn clear through the dog that was pounded into the log underneath. It was just hanging there by the electrical wires and resting up against the sailboat below me. Lucky I picked that day to check on it. Going down again tonight to see how they fixed it.

Cheers...……………...Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

Well, I'm way overdue for an update.Thread probably slipped to the 20th page or more this time.:embarassed:
Haven't done a whole lot with the boat through the winter.Too dang cold! They got the boat house chained back up and moved it tighter against the dock on the left looking out. Now just recently they moved it over to the right so that it's more centered in the fairway so backing out should be easier. Unfortunately they had to unhook the electricity. They're working on restoring it

I pulled out most of the trim panels inside the cabin to remove the grey carpeting in order to return them to the original white and sea foam green vinyl. As near as I can tell, they used regular hardware store staples to attach the carpet. Most of them had rusted away. But the presumably monel staples used to attach the original vinyl in 1965 were still fine. I thought the Sea Foam green vinyl went well with my Sonic blue Jazzmaster. Surf colors! The Sea Foam green goes below the dinette in the cabin and in the head.

Last weekend I replaced the water pump impellers. That turned into a bit of a chore but it all worked out in the end. The outer impeller would not come out even though I'd bought a puller for the job. So I took the whole pump off and took it in to the shop to work on it. I wound up having to cut 90% of the way through the impeller hub and crack it to get it off. It turns out they had boogered up the end of the shaft and just drove it in with the splines mis-aligned. Fortunately the inner one wasn't messed up. In fact I don't think it was changed at the same time. Either they didn't know there was a second one in there or they just said F-it! It took a whole lot of filing on the end of the shaft to get it off and a whole lot more filing to get the new one in but it's done. Not a moment too soon either I think. This one was living on borrowed time!

I have an appointment with the local boat yard next month to get it hauled out, pressure washed and bottom painted. It should be interesting! Then I'll know approximately what it weighs and can shop for a trailer in earnest. Plus I'll be able to take some serious measurements and take a look at the underpinnings. I don't want to gas it hard until I know they're not going to fall off.

Cheers.........................Todd

 

[Ned L]

Glad to see you are still making progress ion her! The pic of the engine & bilge really looks good.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Thanks Ned! It's still pretty dirty in there. I did buy a jug of bilge soap...... Last year. But haven't cracked it open yet . Now with the weather warming once they get my power restored I'll get to it.

Cheers........................Todd

 

[Sea18Horse]

I don't remember if I've mentioned it before in this thread but I've had varmints in the boat house pooping all over the place from time to time. Fortunately they haven't set foot inside the boat that I'm aware of. Lately they've become fascinated with crapping on any kind of rope they find. I thought maybe it was the coils of rope that they liked so instead of coiling my dock lines I tried laying them out straight. Nope they just pooped in a line. So after the entire winter I've finally caught the perp in the act.

I've always suspected it was river otters because it almost always consisted of crayfish pieces and not much else. I've found out that the places where otters poop is called -fittingly enough- a "latrine" And individual otter scat are called "spraints". It turns out that a "latrine" is the www of the otter world. Lucky me!

Sorry, I have to know all this so now you have to know it too .

Now I just need to find a way to discourage them from hanging out in there. Maybe a hundred or so mouse traps scattered around the dock would be fun! Once the boat is out of there next week I'll get a chance to scrub it all down w/ bleach and other things.

Cheers...………………...Todd

 

[sphelps]

ound:

 

[Sea18Horse]

They got power to the boat house restored. Nice! It's dark as the hubs of hell in there in the mornings.



For our otter problem I suppose I could try leaving the lights on in the boat house all night. I know we haven't had a raccoon in our basement since I started leaving the lights on down there at night. The problem is, in the boat house lights on at night attracts mass numbers of bugs. Which in turn attracts mass numbers of spiders. I prefer otters thank you very much.

Cheers................................Todd

 

[Ned L]

It's always something. Lol

 

[Sea18Horse]

Update time again. Well it's finally "on the hard"! The boat yard got it hauled up and blocked this morning. I had to sign a "wooden boat waver" of course. The project manager Joe Wright took some pictures and emailed them to me this morning since I wasn't able to be there. Above and beyond! I got to go have a look and take a few measurements this afternoon. Strain gauges say it weighs around 5,800lbs give or take. They used four slings. Nice! Plus they cribbed above and below the lower rub rails. The straps could have easily ripped those right off. The boat yard guys are saying it looks to be in great shape. I rapped around on it with my knuckles and my tape measure. Had a nice ring everywhere. No dull thuds anywhere. Prop shaft and strut looks good. Rudder looks good. So far so good.


I mentioned back on page three that the screw holding the forward bilge pump switch seemed overly long. Yesterday I was able to confirm it. I pulled it out and water started coming in. Yep someone drove a screw right through the bottom of the boat. I wanted to make sure. I didn't want a long screw damaging their straps. I marked the hole with a sharpy this afternoon. They're going to fill it with 5200 for me.

There's a big through hull transducer I think on the port side about amidships right next to the keel. It's nasty looking. I'm checking to see how much it would cost to have them remove it.It's a couple inches wide and hangs down about three inches. It looks like it could make loading the boat on a trailer troublesome.

Cheers.............................Todd

 

[sphelps]

Good deal ! Looks like the marina guys took good care of it !

 

[Tassie 1]

That was a good read and gave me a bit of motivation to " maybe " be a bit more positive when looking at a timber displacement diesel boat locally on the weekend,
as they say, needs work

not our first boat but the first timber displacement boat,

 

[Sea18Horse]

Thanks Tassie1
If you're looking for inspiration and motivation regarding wooden boats you should read Ned Ls thread on his boats restoration if you haven't already.
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...51-big-wooden-boat-project-splashed-sept-2017
Inspiring, humbling and frightening all at the same time.

Cheers.............................Todd

 

[Tassie 1]

Thanks for the link mate,
read the first 4 pages and thought " we must be nuts just thinking about doing it "
and then had a stiff refreshing beverage...

but my sons are keen AND there are still a couple of retired boat builders helping out down at the mens boat shed down the street,

( beaut boat there at the moment )

we shall see...
cheers

 

[Tassie 1]

We now own a 28 ish ft timber displacement putt putt launch,
cabin cruiser, 2.4 lt hilux diesel, v berth, more of a day boat though
needs at least one roof beam and some exterior ply replaced,

l'm sure we'll find more issues but that's all part of the fun....l think
but at the same time can't help thinking

WOT HAVE we DONE??
lol

anywho...at $500 au can't whinge too much

 

[Sea18Horse]

How exiting is that?! Can't wait to see your thread and restoration and not to mention, pics!
2.4L Toyota Hilux diesel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk
That's quite a legacy to live up to.
And to have a couple of old hands at (presumably) wooden boat building and repair near by is a huge plus. Around here wooden boats are like the plague. Marinas are even reluctant to let you moor your boat at the transient dock for fear of you abandoning it there,

Cheers..................Todd

 

[Tassie 1]

Thanks, it is something to look forward to...so much so that l was up at 5.30am thinking of stuff...and l'm retired!

Yes, it is a marinised Toyota Hilux diesel, not the " proper form of propulsion" for a boat but it is what it is,
there are still plenty of them around this neck of the woods, popular with the young blokes for hunting, camping, 4wding etc etc
so plenty of potential spare parts

we live in a small fishing/farming town that used to have a number of boat building yards and slips,

no-one does it commercially here anymore, like a lot of places but there is still around 10 or so timber commercial fishing boats in the marina....just down from the millionaires floating gin palaces that hardly ever leave the dock...

if you google Tasmanian timber cray boats you'll get an idea of the type, many of them have been converted into cruising boats after being sold on,

this boat isn't one though.

but l digress...

yeh, need to get some pics and start a thread with the good, bad and fugly bits...
cheers

ps
there IS a former pro boat that has sunk at the marina...there is a battle looming with that one...owner has walked away from it

 

[Sea18Horse]

I looked up Tasmanian timber cray boats. Nice lines on those.

Which of course led me to the Giant Tasmanian freshwater crayfish. Holy crap! I won't be wading around any northern Tasmanian creeks in flip flops any time soon!
https://imgur.com/gallery/UUdFR

Cheers.........…...….....Todd

 

[sphelps]

Thats one heck of a mud bug ! :fear:

 

[Sea18Horse]

Update time again,
Got the boat back from the boat yard. Bottom paint looks great. They used Pettit Trinidad Pro. Seems like a good choice.

Lousy pictures but you get the idea.

They wanted $350.00 to $450 to remove the transducer. I would have loved to have had them do it and be done with it but the chief financial officer put the Kibosh on it. I plan on having them haul it out and fit it on the trailer anyway when the time comes and I don't think it will interfere with that too much.

Cheers.....................Todd