Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Rogue "Repair"
Hello Wood Boat Community,
As some of you know, I hit a wall down on the Rogue this Fall and the wall hit back. It left me with a little "rip" in the front quarter panel of my bow and I've been working on it for several weeks. I'll post the pics and show you how I approached the project - I'm sure there are a number of ways to go about it... I did the best I could with the tools I had. Here you go...
"Ouch" The split relieved a lot of pressure from the bend of the bow and one side slid under the other. My biggest challenge initially, was figuring out a way to sync up the sides and make them "flush" again. Here's the view from the inside...
I tried a number of things that didn't work until I came up with this... a cargo bar that I used to push from the inside out.
Keeping the pressure from the "inside", I took some small pieces of oak and used bolts and nuts to "true up" the sides of the split. I left it like this for a couple of weeks. When I carefully removed them - the sides were pretty close together.
For the inside, I was afraid a small "patch" of plywood would be too rigid and not take the "bend" in the bow, so I got a new piece of mahogany big enough for the front panel.
I used a lot of epoxy for the inside panel and bolted it with brass screws and wing nuts using the same holes I used for the oak pieces. The panel took the bend in the bow beautifully.
As soon as the epoxy dried, I remove the wing nuts and cut the brass screws so they were "flush" with the sides. Then I applied several coats of epoxy, sanding after each application...
After multiple coats and lots of sanding, I had a very smooth side again. I used a little oil paint to match the color of the wood and painted over the brass "stitches" and the scar.
After two coats of finishing epoxy... here's the finished product.... you will always be able to see the "scar" - but from 15 feet away, you have to look pretty hard.
That's it... ready for another wooden boat adventure. I love this boat.
GH
Views: 209
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Greg Hatten on
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Thanks Mitchell.
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Permalink Reply by David Jensen on
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You are a genius with wood! But quit hitting the rocks down there. The Rogue is a Wild and Scenic protected river, and leaving all that varnish on the wall of Sim Picken's is probably an offense which could give you a citation. Great work; your boat remains the best.
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Thanks David... I know - I deserve a citation for that... guilty as charged. Ha ha!!
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Permalink Reply by justin nicola on
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very cool photo documentation. my favorite part of custom wood working is there are so many ways to acheive the finished product, all of them right. ingenius using the cargo bar, cutting screws flush, i could go on and on.
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Thanks Justin - I only took pictures of the stuff I did that "worked"... there would have been a big file of "out-takes" if I would've taken pictures of the whole process, Ha.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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As always your work shines! Your out takes are others' successes! Good job on the video too! Your patience in doing the repair paid off. A good lesson for me and probably others too! Good work on catching the spam bots too!
Rick Newman
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Thank you brother... you are too kind, as usual !! Hope you're coming down to the Festival this April - got a few new gadgets for you to check out.
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Wild horses couldn't keep me away! What would happen if we made it a two day event with some workshops like; boat repair, wood working techniques, rowing clients, and choosing a drift boat? Or perhaps how to utilize your wife's luggage to make boat accessories.
I am serious about a second day or an afternoon series of presentations.
Your brother in saw dust and waves;
Rick Newman
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I like your workshop idea. Who did you have in mind for the session about utilizing the wife's luggage to make boat accessories???? Ha
GH
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We could have a contest with a trophy made from boat scraps for the best boating accessory that was made not purchased.
I have attended quite a few spey claves where the workshops were a valuable part of the event. They don't have to involve money being spent either. You could do another trip down the Rogue and show us some patching techniques. Perhaps AJ, Kevin and Dutch and company could do something on restoration of old boats. This might be a good way to get some additional people started and moved further down the road.
A presentation on what to look for when buying an older drift boat could be handy. I'm sure that someone could bring a recently purchased boat and it could be examined.
An evening dinner event where people cook a river dinner item, Dutch ovens, Pyromid stove, campfire, BBQ, etc.
A river reading workshop from a variety of viewpoints along the river.
A program on assembling a "kit" driftboat. At least discussing the major assemblies.
An overview of fiberglassing and epoxy use.
I will volunteer right now to help coordinate the parts that can be done from a distance in advance of the event.
Your brother in wood, waves and fun;
Rick Newman
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Permalink Reply by Roger Fletcher on
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Very nice job, Greg. Rather than a scar, consider it a beauty mark that enhances the character of the boat, or a notch in the handle that represents a momentous event, or perhaps a subtle wink to its aluminum cousins as you pass by that says something like, Look like a worried beer can if you wish, but I’ve got class! If she's got it, let her flaunt it.
And I think Rick's idea has some merit. For starters, it might be useful to test the idea with two or three well selected demos that might be integrated into the show itself, at least to test the interest. I think I have Grant McOme (Grant's Get Aways) lined up to attend this year's event and he could do much to expand knowledge of the McKenzie show with the Portland media market. If he had some demos to inclcude in his program it could strengthen his interest in being there. Hopefully, Randy is in on discussions such as these, at least privately. He's the keystone to the event. If some kind of informal planning group evolves out of this idea, I'd sure be pleased to help.
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