Good morning all,
I have been directed here by many people on Oregonfishingforum.com to pick your brains. I have been cruising the site for a few days in order to see which of my questions could be answered without posting myself. But, eventually I realized that in order for me to get specific answers to some of my questions, I would need to create my own thread. So….Here goes…..
I purchased this home built recently off of CL for a few hundred bucks. It came with trailer and Oars and I am excited to learn how to bring her back to life.
When I picked her up, she was wrapped in FG from about 10" up the sides down and around the bottom. The stem was wrapped and so was the transom. I removed the FG first and then began to sand the outside.
I found a large amount of rot in the transom, I will need to replace the stem and I am hoping that I will be able to salvage the sides and bottom but am open to replacing them if you (the experts) advise me to do so.
My goal is to take a boat that was almost dead and make her a beautiful, healthy fish slayer once again. I do not want to paint her again if I don't have to. The wood on the sides is still in great shape, with exception of the chine, Stem and transom connections. At first I was thinking that I could salvage the sides but I am beginning to have my doubts.
I will start small with my questions.
From my pictures, Do you think that I will be able to salvage the sides or the bottom?
I was thinking of repairing the sides with a stitch like someone did on a thread I saw on this site. The difference would be that I would need to rip the bottom 6" or so off of both my sides entire lengths. Thoughts on that idea?
Secondly, I will have to replace my stem and my transom. Any advice on that process?
Third, I will be replacing one or both of my inner chine boards as there is some rot along them. I do not think I can save them but will not be sure until I sand down the entire boat. (hopefully will be done soon)
You all know the common mistakes that occur during these restores and I do not. I am sponge for information and though I want to get her on the water, I am more concerned with getting her right first. I went with a wood boat because I am intrigued with their beauty. I look forward to the smooth and quiet rides with my wife chasing steel! And I want her to be pretty. She does not need to be perfect but, I want to be proud of how she turns out.
Any advice is helpful and I look forward to "meeting" you all online. Thanks for your time.
Tags:
Mr. Hanson,
Thank you for taking the time to help me out.
I hate to say it but, I have absolutely thought of scraping the boat. Especially since I removed the fly deck and exposed some of the inner chine and saw what awaited me.
However, I started this project and I will finish it. Even if it takes longer and is not as efficient as building a new boat. As I take it apart, I plan to trace templates of all the pieces. I will take the templates somewhere and have plastic molds made and Ill hand a few out to buddies and keep one set for myself. This way, we will all benefit from my purchase that turned out to be a lot more work than I bargained for.
I am at the point of deciding how to proceed. I think I am going to dive in. Obviously, this will take a lot longer than I had originally anticipated. But I am going to learn a ridiculous amount as well.
I really like the idea of sharpening the scraper. And I will utilize your advice on west systems when the time comes.
Your post was very informative and helpful. I really appreciate the time you took to pass along some knowledge. I'll take all that I can get from people who have done this before.
I'll attach more photos after I make some progress. As for now, Ive removed the fly deck and chipped off most of the epoxy from the inside. Some of the ribs will need to be replaced and I will have to repair or replace some of the chine.
Boat will be about 80% new when done I bet. Lots to learn, but lots of time to do it.
Restoring an old boat is an excellent way to learn boats, for sure. You will see, probably a lot more intimately than you like, the results of doing things wrong during the original build. You will also gain an appreciation of the importance of maintaining a wooden boat properly...
For some ideas of how you may tackle some of the easier parts of your project boat, gander at some pics I put up a while back in the link below. there are captions...
This particular boat project was pretty successful but if I'd charged a reasonable rate, the owner could have bought a brand new boat and trailer for the same money, easy...
https://plus.google.com/photos/112899774170781374478/albums/5601378...
Dos Labs,
You may want to consider purchasing an osculating saw. I am in the middle of restoring a 1915 kitchen that has put my boat project in a holding pattern. I purchased a Makita osculating saw for the kitchen restore and discovered all sorts of ways it could be used on boat restoration. At $150 bones it could be a very useful tool as you are removing the bottom, chines etc...
Hey Greg.
Thanks for the reply.
I have one already. A Makita also. I'll make sure to set it to osculate.
Ants,
I appreciate your advice. I am open to all suggestions, especially from people with decades of experience. I'd be a fool not to be open minded. I think that you make very good points and your suggestion to consider building or buying another is one that has crossed my mind. However, I really just want to restore the one I bought.
I do desperately want to have a nice, varnished boat but if this one isn't it, thats okay. I had to start somewhere and, for better or worse, this is my starting point. If I dive into the project and later concede, I'm okay with that too. It really is about the restore and the hobby.
And I'd be lying if I didn't say that a small, 5'5" lady wouldn't be a little miffed if i dumped this without trying ;)
The boat represents a challenge to me. One that I can work on casually. I do want to finish and drift but, I'm going to be patient and not rush.
All the advice from knowledgeable people such as yourself that I've received here has been very helpful. I haven't done much work lately but, I am learning. I figure that is the best way to go.
I think that she will end up being painted again but I'm still holding out hope.
Is it crazy that I talk to her about the fish well catch together when she's finished?
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