Drift Boat Project #3

Here we go again. Taking a little road trip to Oregon this weekend to pick up a genuine piece of driftboat history – a 1960’s era Keith Steele McKenzie boat.

This will be my third driftboat project and I am super excited to have one that was built and used in Oregon by a legendary builder.

My first boat was an early 1990s Tatman kit that I built while living in TN and sold a few years after building it. My second one was all fiberglass of my own design and build. That one was stolen a few years back.

Now I’m living out west and it just won’t do to not have a drift boat. I have spent several months deliberating on whether to build a super nice wooden one, pick up a cheap used glass one, or look for a Woody Hindman or Keith Steele. As luck would have it, this Steele boat showed up on Craigslist and a friend, knowing I really wanted one snagged it before someone else could. An older guy in Oregon had the boat built for him by Keith Steele sometime in the 1960s after Steele gained notoriety for building the first Grand Canyon dories. He had a stroke a few years ago and realized it was time to let the old girl go.

The boat looks all original and complete and the owner says it is solid and perfectly usable as-is but my friend and I are going to go through and restore her. But maybe we’ll do a float or two in her first.

So what do y’all think… should I finish the whole boat with a bright finish or paint the outside? If paint, what color? My first one was hunter green with a tan rub strip and bright inside. I liked that look. Also thinking of maybe a turquoise color. It currently looks to be painted white.

I'd also really like to go by Steve Steele's shop while I am nearby. Anybody know how to contact him?

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Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 16, 2015 at 9:00am

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen.

I don't think I am asking my questions clearly. Let me try again.

When attaching the sealed and slicked-up shoe to the sealed boat do you also apply some sort of sealant around the perimeter of the shoe (along the front and the back of the shoe and along the chine area of the shoe) to keep the water from getting between the shoe and the bottom? Maybe caulking or rubber as a gasket or a putty? If you do not apply a sealant around the edge, has it been your experience that water between the shoe and bottom causes premature rot because it doesn't dry out and seeps into the bottom via the fasteners?

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on October 16, 2015 at 10:31am

No, do not seal the parimeter.  The water will find a way to end up between the bottom and the shoe. Water will find a way.  It is my opinion that you should not try to seal the perimeter because that is more likely to trap water between the shoe and the bottom.  Leave the perimeter unsealed so the water between the shoe and the bottom can escape or evaporate. 

If you want to seal a wooden shoe then you should epoxy the entire shoe to the bottom.  That would require you to remove it with a router when you wanted to change it. 

Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 16, 2015 at 10:56am

True. Except for the dozens of screws or nails penetrating the shoe and bottom.

Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 16, 2015 at 10:57am

Got it. Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on October 16, 2015 at 2:20pm

Isnt that where bedding compound (comes in caulk tubes) would come into play? So it can be sealed but still removed some day if needed? I`m gonna use the bedding compound for my chine caps, and maybe the rub strips if I do put them on just for looks

Oh ya, and those holes?, maybe ventilation?  I`m thinking seeing light through the sides of the boat can not be a good thing ;/   (just a thought)

Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 16, 2015 at 4:03pm

Yeah, bedding compound. Something like that is what I was wondering about.

I don't know about the ventilation theory though. I was thinking they might be for water to get out when the boat gets swamped. The way I row I'll need something.

Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 16, 2015 at 7:48pm

Old skid shoe removal begins...


Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 17, 2015 at 9:38pm

Oh man, today was a good day to be alive! I've been nervous about the bottom of this boat for a while now and today my anxiety was finally relieved. I'm NOT going to need to replace it or any part of it.

There are a couple little damaged spots where a nail crushed the edge of the chine and a couple pushed in dents where it apparently whacked on rocks, but nothing that a little thickened epoxy won't take care of. No rot. 

The skid shoe came off pretty easily with the persuasive ability of nail pullers and pry bars.

Here are a few nails just begging to come out now:



Aside from being really, really dry and brittle, the skid shoe was mostly good. A little bashed on the edges, but I bet I could have cleaned it up, puttied it with some epoxy, and reused it if I wanted to. I didn't.



I should name this boat Lady Tetanus



Think there were enough nails in it?



So what we have here is a look at all the stuff that was coating the bottom of this boat. On the far left is a buildup of about 1/4 inch of Bondo and polyester resin that made a ramp up to the skid shoe. Yes - BONDO. And not EPOXY resin but POLYESTER resin: two materials that, within the context of modern times are generally regarded as no-no's in wooden boat building. But apparently somebody thought it was a good idea. And the stuff was actually adhering surprisingly well. It took considerable effort from a 3x21 36 grit sanding belt to convince it to surrender.
Next you'll see this silver stuff that turns grey when sanded. Don't know what this stuff is.
It was hard as a rock and was all the way around the perimeter of the shoe to a width of about 2". Some sort of putty type stuff that was maybe used as a bedding compound I guess. Next is the stuff that covered the entire bottom. Polyester resin. No glass matt or cloth or anything like that. Just a fairly thick layer of resin. It seemed to work but it's definitely not the recommended way of sealing a boat. I have a feeling that maybe this boat wasn't used much after its refinishing in who-knows-when.



Here's another look at the putty stuff after it has been sanded.



The shoe all the way off and broken in two.It eventually got broken into 6 pieces and is headed to the dump. No time lost on sentimentality.



Up next... MORE SANDING!! Oh joy!!

Permalink Reply by CWarmouth on October 17, 2015 at 9:39pm
First thing you should see here is this little guy. He's my buddy. For the past two or three weeks, just about every time I work on this boat, he comes out from some cranny to check on what I'm doing. No kidding! He's like my dog. Here I had just shut off the sander and here he came. There have been so many times that I could have fried him with the heat gun, or smushed him with a hammer but he's just too cool. Here he is checking out the sanding dunes.



More sanding dunes.



I am so stoked about the condition of this wood!





I should be saving this for thickening epoxy. But I'm not. I'm too lazy.





Feels like real progress today.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on October 18, 2015 at 7:52am

You are a lucky guy! And your boat is lucky to have you to bring it back to life!

Rick N

Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on October 18, 2015 at 5:25pm

I agree with Rick, got lucky. You did get alot done.That boat is looking nice all cleaned up and its a beauty. I was just looking at the transom trim. Bottom pc side to side with side pc`s on top. I`m cutting my transom trim tonight and was wondering how others cut it. Thats kinda nice like that cause then the chine cap will cover the end grain of the bottom pc and really look clean.

Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on October 19, 2015 at 10:11am

Mike, here is a picture of my transom, hope this helps.

Rick N

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