I have not figured out how to post pics here yet.  For now, I will reference you to my Picasa web album(s) with about 20 pics of this project as it's progressed 'till now.

  I was commissioned to bring this boat back to life late last fall.  It was soaking wet, full of ice and leaves, a forlorn sight as the client pulled up to my shop with it.  He's a recreational floater, wanted the boat saved, if possible, so he could float it this summer.   He seems to be OK with spending a little $ to have a nice older wooden river boat put back into serviceable condition.

I gave him the usual rap:  "If you keep up with a little maintenance and take decent care of it, a wooden boat will give you much pleasure" "If you want 'float and forget' dory, get a 'Port-O-Potty' chopper gun glass boat or an  Industrial-strength but 'cold and loud' aluminum one"  He said he prefers wood...a rare fellow..a rare customer..

 After a quick  inspection, I put the boat inside, turned it over and let it dry out over the winter while we were away.  Unheated shop.  About two weeks ago I began the project.  I was happy to report back to the customer after digging into the boat that there were no surprises and the restoration should progress as discussed.

  Sometime during it's life a previous owner must have attempted to install (or repair Don Hill's original install) a UHMW bottom and chine guards, but he/she did a 'hack-job'.  Luckily it was not too far gone, we caught it in time.  I removed all the 'air-ball' screws and the plain steel ones with rusted away threads.  I pulled some out with my fingers after I got the very brittle 'shoe' and chine guards off.

  I took a broken taper bit (Fuller bit) in #10, with  a counter sink and a stop collar to all the 'punky, rusty rotted holes in the bottom.  I reamed all the holes, to a 3/8" depth,  where I'd removed screws, let it all dry again for a week, this time with plenty of heat in the shop.  Straight West epoxy was dabbed into each dry hole to saturate the grain and to prevent resin starvation.  I went back  with fillet blend/coloidial silica mix and filled each hole carefully..I found a few 'stalactites' of my epoxy mix on the shop floor the next day...many of the secondary screws, installed in the UHMW skid shoe had missed the frames slightly.  I surmise this may be why the boat was put into mothballs....leaking like a sieve with all those holes?

After removing the rot and filling the holes, I gave the bottom two coats of West Epoxy

Here's my 'Dock Box'   I made this years ago to carry tools down the dock to boats in repair, at a yard where I worked as a shipwright/boatbuilder for about 4 years.  The bevel board against the box is used to 'take-off' bevels for cuts at various tools.                                                                                                                           

Wetzler Clamps...my favorite  Here I have added some blocks to the ...I sistered-up one broken floor timber. It was split athwart ship.

  I found fairly inexpensive SS wood screws at Fastenal...a franchise.  Google.  I bed the rub shoe with Boat Life Caulc across each frame and with RTV silicone around the chine.  I'll use 5200 on the chine rub cap, with will go on with #8 SS screws.

  Always wear safety footwear around tools.  Standing on my work bench.  I have my routers set up to simply drop into fitted holes.  Pull them up to change bits..use the tracks for various jigs.

  This has been a good project so far.  Too bad all the sanding is next...but that's why I call it "Work" and take pay for doing it...sanding can not be called fun after you've done it  a few times.

 Below is a link my Picassa Web albums.  The whole story in the captions if you click them up. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/dhanson928/DonHillRefurbishProject?aut...

Another link to a blog on a trip last summer though the mountains of Oregon.  Couple of fishing pics.  I see lots of boats floating the Williamson River near Klamath Falls.  The water very much reminds me of the Henry's Fork...or Odel Creek in Montana.

More later, Don Hanson