Big wooden boat project [Splashed Sept 2017]

[Ned L]

Haha lol nah,... That ones cute.

 

[nurseman]

Perhaps you are referring to a polecat?

 

[Ned L]

Nope, not a polecat. Along those lines of an old slang term though for a skunk though.
..... There is also a small one design sailboat class of the same name.

 

[bajaunderground]

Civet Cat?

 

[Guest]

O.K. Capt Ned, I've been following this project your talent as a shipwright is unquestioned. I grew up on boats like this, and will never forget the degree of work involved. It was always a real treat to get excited about boats like these when they were all tricked out looking their best. That being said, the only name you really should consider is.............MORNING WOOD.

 

[Ned L]

OK, ........ so here is what her name used to be, ......... yea, ....need to change it. lol

 

[kcassells]

LOL... might want to keep it.

 

[Ned L]

I got the transom pretty well under control over the weekend. I was lucky that when the boatyard painted out the transom about 5 years ago they didn't strip the varnish, they just painted over it. There were some areas where the varnish had peeled and lifted, so in those areas the paint got into the grain of the wood, otherwise it went pretty easily.

Black paint pretty well gone here, with her old name and port of call showing through.

and starting the sanding.

Unfortunately, over the years some of the seams started to open up, and the 'cure' was to fill with epoxy filler. All that did was to act as a wedge when the planks expanded, so the seam just opened up more the next winter, and more epoxy was used in the spring, which when the planks swelled up in the water, and dried out again the next winter. Year after year of this and this is what I am left with after carefully removing all that epoxy filler.

I have a 'treatment' in mind that won't look perfect, but will keep it from getting worse over time. I will wait until after 2 - 3 coats of varnish to take care of this.

Looking pretty good. it is normal for old names to shadow through for a year or so. The U.V. rays from the sun tend to bleach out the wood everywhere except for where the name is.

And some filler stain.

And after two coats of varnish.

Sorry the pic isn't better. I'll get a better one sometime. ------ Not perfect, but I'm happy, and besides she is a 59 year old boat.

 

[gm280]

WOW, you do great work. Look amazing... :thumb: :thumb:

 

[mickyryan]

that looks nice as hell !

 

[Guest]

Yeah, I kinda thought the name I picked was a little for tactful than the name you found on the transom......Yeesh! I'd be afraid to be seen on that boat with a name like that! I mean, what would that say about you even if you were a guest aboard?

As one varnishing fool to another......Nice work Capt. Ned!

 

[mickyryan]

Not perfect, but I'm happy, and besides she is a 59 year old boat.

see Ned you got me in trouble, I said damn I wish women held up like that! the missus was reading over my shoulder I got smacked then as if I wasn't in deep enough I said no amount of sanding will ever straiten out those curves.... I told her it was a compliment however as I sit here contemplating what I will make for dinner for myself I realize how it could have been taken out of context

 

[kcassells]

I smell little angled wood wedges getting fixed in those gaps. Don't know how but you seem to make the impossible possible. Oh and easy looking. How long have you been renovating this boat Ned?

 

[kcassells]

see Ned you got me in trouble, I said damn I wish women held up like that! the missus was reading over my shoulder I got smacked then as if I wasn't in deep enough I said no amount of sanding will ever straiten out those curves.... I told her it was a compliment however as I sit here contemplating what I will make for dinner for myself I realize how it could have been taken out of context

LOL Mick....crack me up.

 

[ricohman]

This is my favorite thread on the entire internet.
I know nothing about wood boats and this is fascinating to me.
And the pics, story, and history are great.
I need to ask how much boats like this cost to restore? If someone was to buy an old wooden cruiser I am thinking that 100K could disappear pretty quick if you didn't work on it yourself.
As a mechanic, I can also see that projects like this could be abandoned in the boat yard when the cost gets too high.

 

[Patfromny]

Not a good picture? I can tell your shirt is tucked in from the reflection. Man is that an insane nice job. I can almost tell you what type of phone your using to take the pic.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Oh my goodness, that name!!! Lol. Hopefully the varnish will keep the sun at bay enough to not expose that name. Very nice work as usual on this restoration. Very nice.

 

[Stovebolter46]

Anything new?

 

[Ned L]

Well,...... I was expecting some news last week. I did some quick scrambling, got the bilge pumps back in (had to replace one of the Rule pumps that was dated 1972 as it was seized), changed the lube oil and filters (first time in 15 years), finished putting most of the wiring back together, painted the boot top and a bunch of other things.
I made arrangements with both the boat mover and the boat yard to toss her in the water Thursday morning. Some things aren't completely finished and wrapped up, but I figured it was either now or never for this year (it's getting so late I the season). This would give me almost two months to enjoy her on the water and figure out what bugs I have to address for next summer.
The last thing to do was to follow up on the insurance. I went and updated the quote I had gotten two years ago, and,....... Oh crap,.... now they want a survey before issuing a policy. Well,.... Considering that would take a week or so to get lined up, then another week or so for the report, and then the time for the insurance company to think about it and issue the policy. I had to look at reality and make the decision to make the phone calls to pull the plug and cancel everything for this year.

So that's what has been going on. Sorry there will be no pictures of her on the water this season. Stay tuned for early next May!!!!

There are still a good number of little loose ends to tie up, but not much is particularly picture worthy, so I don't know how regular the updates will be.

I do have one big project that I had planned for a year or so from now, but with this change will be moving up to this fall-winter. The framing for the cockpit sole (laid teak) has some issues so I will be carefully pulling up the teak ( probably removing and testing the Monel gas tanks), making some repairs (probably some sister ribs), reinstalling the tanks and rebuilding the sole. This teak has not been sanded over the years so I will be rebuilding it as original (laid teak, cotton caulked seams, then TDS seam compound). I do plan on posting this project. Stay tuned

So that's where things stand now for better or worse. I will post some current pictures of what she looks like all back together.
Thanks for your continued interest in this boat, I do enjoy the questions and comments and sharing how boats used to be built.

 

[mickyryan]

ned are you insuring it for a value or just getting liability insurance?