Week One 14 - 21 April 2013
Well week one went alright, cleaned the bilges out of debris and water and opened her up to dry out, the over powering smell of wet and dry rot is somewhat starting to fade, well until I find another area that has been hidden and is riddled, all in all not too bad , the main issue seems to be the transom which is just riddled with wet rot, so I decided to do the job properly and pull the ply off the whole transom which I'm glad I did, I found some rot on the ply side of the side supports of the transom, beats me how it got there as its very localized to around the size of a 50 cent coin and smack in the middle of the wood, both edges of the wood and the other side are sound, would of never picked it up if I had left the sheet on and just replaced the bottom frame as I had planned.
The real bonus was buying an oscillating tool, which was a real time saver, managed to cut through the nails and screws holding the frames in with minor problems, meaning I could use the bits removed as patterns to make new parts as It seems that making things to the patterns on the plans wasn't a priority to whomever built the boat in the first place, so that was $80 well spent
I have decided to use Tasmainian oak for the frames as other boat building woods are in very short supply according to the 4 or 5 lumber yards I have spoken with (read we are going to charge you the earth because your working on a boat so you must be rich LoL).
At this point one feels that they are getting nowhere, just trying to stablize the existing damage and stopping it spreading before it can be neutralized almost seems like a losing battle as one is always finding new bits that need fixing, however Im sure Im going to win this battle
The real bonus was buying an oscillating tool, which was a real time saver, managed to cut through the nails and screws holding the frames in with minor problems, meaning I could use the bits removed as patterns to make new parts as It seems that making things to the patterns on the plans wasn't a priority to whomever built the boat in the first place, so that was $80 well spent
I have decided to use Tasmainian oak for the frames as other boat building woods are in very short supply according to the 4 or 5 lumber yards I have spoken with (read we are going to charge you the earth because your working on a boat so you must be rich LoL).
At this point one feels that they are getting nowhere, just trying to stablize the existing damage and stopping it spreading before it can be neutralized almost seems like a losing battle as one is always finding new bits that need fixing, however Im sure Im going to win this battle
The Transom
The start of the cutting out of the transom lower frame, just keep following the rot until one hits good wood. Problem being good wood was never found
I used the orbital tool to do most of the, what would of taken several hours I did in a few minutes, I highly recommend if your going to take on a project like this buy yourself one.
Its much harder to restore a boat than build one I have found, as when your building you are the master, you cut the wood, you fit the wood, here Im having to make the frames and supports fit as they were not built to the plan, well the copy I have anyway, so i have to try and remove the part i want to rebuild in reasonable condition so I can use it for a pattern to make a replacement
I used the orbital tool to do most of the, what would of taken several hours I did in a few minutes, I highly recommend if your going to take on a project like this buy yourself one.
Its much harder to restore a boat than build one I have found, as when your building you are the master, you cut the wood, you fit the wood, here Im having to make the frames and supports fit as they were not built to the plan, well the copy I have anyway, so i have to try and remove the part i want to rebuild in reasonable condition so I can use it for a pattern to make a replacement
Transom frame cut out and new transom frame made using Tasmainian Oak.
It has been a bit of a nitemare making the new frame to fit the existing stringers and cockpit support frames etc.
Frame has been glued in with botecote epoxy and high strength fillers as well as using mechanical fixings (screws), now need to finish rebuilding the outboard well and then put the ply on, whoo hoo getting there.
I find things move slowly then come together with a rush, It took me best part of 3 weeks, working a couple of hours a day to make and fit the frames to a standard I was happy with, then bingo bango it all slides together in a huge rush, or maybe I'm just getting better at this
It has been a bit of a nitemare making the new frame to fit the existing stringers and cockpit support frames etc.
Frame has been glued in with botecote epoxy and high strength fillers as well as using mechanical fixings (screws), now need to finish rebuilding the outboard well and then put the ply on, whoo hoo getting there.
I find things move slowly then come together with a rush, It took me best part of 3 weeks, working a couple of hours a day to make and fit the frames to a standard I was happy with, then bingo bango it all slides together in a huge rush, or maybe I'm just getting better at this