New to the wood boat world

Sorry for posting, I know there are plenty of posts on us newbies. I'm a long time river guide in Idaho on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, I've run wooden boats in the past ( Not on the MF) and finally decided to start my own project just the other day. I went with a restore project as I don't have a ton of experience with woodwork. Just mainly looking for a craft that's in good shape in structure and sound. 

I think I found it, it's an old Don Hill Pram, 10' built by Don. Just found out she'll be turning 30 in July. I picked it up for $300 so I felt that was a fair price. I've attached pictures of the boat and what I've got it down to now. I just took out the floors and seats as I'd like to put in 2 benches and a railing on the sides for fishing gear, similar to what Dave Z's Pram benches look like. I also HAD to remove that seat in front on the metal post, that was driving me nuts.

I have some questions. I've removed the floors and seats, I'd like to know if I can even make 2 benches fit in this little guy, I'd think the front bench should have hinges on it so you can set it up and have extra space to stand and fish. What's your thoughts? Where would I anchor the benches? I would think to frame the whole thing and anchor it as a unit. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First thing I need help with is the glass on the bottom. It's in rough shape and needs to be replaced. What is the best way to do that? I've heard a heat gun works? Would love some thought on that. It looks like it was a quick job when it was done last. They just went over the chine, a little sloppy. (which is where it's separating) I have seen your plans for that Randy, and I like the idea of going under the chine. How far up the sides should I go? There is one place I can see that was repaired from it hit of some sort, seems sound to me, should I glass over that to make it more sound?

Also the front of the boat, the wood there is very thin to me, I can make it flex by pushing on it. No rot or anything like that. Should I cut another piece just like it and epoxy it to the orginal and glass them both? Or should I just glass it as is and see it that makes it stronger?

I don't want to get in over my head, please let me know what I should avoid. I'm thinking I'm going to sell this one to be able to afford a McKenzie 14-16' so I can take it on the whitewater. I'd like keep it looking with a nice wood finish, I know I don't need to tell you guys how great a wood boat looks in a nice finish. 

Thanks for any and all advise, I really appreciate it.  

 

Collin

I've also attached a picture of the pealing of the glass on the side.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on May 1, 2012 at 8:48am

Collin:   Good to see you are reviving a 30 year old boat.  I agree- that "tractor seat" looks like hell.  The seats could be attached to stringers  running between the frames. My little skif is about 11 'x 48" and has a bench at the transom and one at the rowing position..  Before you permanently attach the seats take it out  and see how it trims with 1 or 2 people.

The FG/epoxy can be removed with a heat gun and a dull putty knife.  Do it in a well ventilated place.  I have removed epoxied planks from a boat.  New biaial/triaxil FG could go up past the chines 2-3 inches and then attach new chines over the FG.

When you say the "front" of the boat- is that the "wide" end?  I would put a section of 1x6 along the top of the transom to stiffen it up.  Adding more FG might not be much of an improvement.

Good luck- keep us posted

Permalink Reply by Sam Snyder on May 1, 2012 at 1:49pm

looks like a great project. Also looks like you and I are in the same boat (no pun intended) as newbies with restoration projects.

sam

Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on May 1, 2012 at 6:53pm
Hey the beauty of that boat is you can do whatever u want to do to it! About 100 hours of elbow grease and she will b beautiful and on the river!
Permalink Reply by Collin Ponzo on May 3, 2012 at 8:04am

So I've removed the glass on the bottom and found some rot. I need to replace the bottom. What's the best way to measure? I was thinking measure the length, then the width every 3 inches or so to get the curve. What's the best way?  Thanks for the help.

Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on May 3, 2012 at 8:11am

Collin, What you do is cut it oversized and sand it to fit. 

Turn the boat upside down, remove the old bottom. Then place an oversized piece of plywood down on the bottom and trace the outline of the boat onto the plywood.  Cut about 1/4 in outside the trace, attach the bottom, then sand the excess to fit. 

Permalink Reply by Collin Ponzo on May 5, 2012 at 3:17pm

Thanks Randy,

After digging out all 88 screws and pulling them out with vise grips I got the bottom off. Now my next question is what type of plywood should I use? The old floor is Fir. Do I need to use Marine Plywood? Is there another plywood I can use?  Thanks for the help- here's the progress.

These are the pictures of the rot. Below is a picture of the bottom off.

Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on May 5, 2012 at 4:10pm
What ever u decide to go with go over it with 20 oz glass and epoxy mixed with grafite and you won't mess with it for another 15 to 20 years..... Fir good.....marine grade good.....your choice......all the guys here will have different choices and opinions....all good! Looks like fun
Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on May 6, 2012 at 9:14am

I was surprised to not see any limber holes in your frames. I wonder how water moved from  section to section?

Rick Newman

Permalink Reply by Collin Ponzo on May 14, 2012 at 8:28am

Not sure Rick, It's just a Pram so I guess you'd just flip it over to drain, being it should only be used on flat water. But who knows, I do have the original Don Hill plate I'm going to polish and put back on. I'm just restoring this one to sell so I can afford a 14-16ft boat for some white water trips. 

Permalink Reply by Collin Ponzo on May 14, 2012 at 8:33am

So I've got the bottom off, and I've got the wood, 1/2 marine plywood. I'm going to use stainless steel screws. I have some questions about epoxy: What epoxy should I use? I've have no experiences with it. Should I paint the epoxy on it before I attach it? Also Terry mentioned using graphite mixed in, how do I do this? Also I know the floor before had the 3M 5200 Marine adhesive on it, do I need to do that again? If so what's the best way to apply it? Think that's about it for now! Thanks all for the help this has been a blast to work on. Currently I'm still sanding sanding sanding, getting all of the stain that was on the inside off. Also the heat gun was a God-send, helped remove all of the old varnish before I sanded. 

Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on May 14, 2012 at 8:05pm
So you glue and screw the bottom on,use the 5200, flip the boat over,measure and cut 20 oz fiber cloth to fit the bottom,mix up the West epoxy and pour it over the top of the 20 oz glass, using a trowel smooth it all out until it becomes clear, try to get it completely clear and smooth, let dry until it is still a bit green, mix some more West and pour in the grafite mix until combined and put it on the bottom again covering all of the surface until it is smooth. It will be black and slick and very hard once dry. when it comes to the inside, you can soak it with Danish oil, or epoxy and varnish, or paint it. Have fun!
Permalink Reply by Kurt Selisch on May 14, 2012 at 9:15pm

Hi Colin, I am no expert but did just finish doing what Terry suggests to my boat and it works great. It was my first time glassing. I followed his and a couple other members advice and it does give your boat a rock hard and slick bottom. So thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I researched past blogs on this website and found some other helpful info. I cut the fabric so it was oversized by and inch or so. After the epoxy hardens, it is easy to trim the excess off with a standard utility knife. 20 oz fabric takes awhile to soak up the epoxy, it is pretty thick stuff, so do smallish batches and work one area at a time. This also kept me from being frantic about completeing the whole bottom at once and hoping the epoxy did not start setting up before being done.  I did not have a trowel but found that a squeegy works well, a 6 inch piece of flat stiff plastic . I bought one through system three when I ordered my epoxy, it was pretty inexpensive.  After the epoxy soaks in, there may be some places where the fabric bubbles up, just squeegy (or trowel) excess epoxy off of that area, I think the bubbles are created by too much epoxy in that spot. RAKA is a good source for 20 oz fabric. I also bought a gallon of their spar varnish called last-n-last. It is great stuff and half the price of other high end varnishes. Hope this helps...enjoy

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