Tag: Antique boat

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Adding a Fresh Water Cooling System

Canadian Runabout
A 1957 Greavette, a Canadian built runabout.

Boat motors use the water they’re floating in to cool them.  Some, like most outboards, have what’s called a “raw water” system.  The water the boat is floating in circulates through the engine block, then exits with the exhaust.  Most modern inboards have a “fresh water” or “indirect” cooling system.  In this system, coolant like that in your automobile is pumped through a heat exchanger.  The coolant is circulated through the engine block rather than the raw water itself. Continue reading “Adding a Fresh Water Cooling System”

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Flipping the HiLiner

Boat flipping rig
This is my boat flipping rig. The boat always rotates easily to this sideways position. Getting it to finish turning over takes a little more pulling.

Having re-established the shape of the hull for the 1958 HiLiner, it’s time to flip the boat over so I can get to the outside of the bottom and remove the rotten spots and fix the leaks.   When I was in boat school, we assembled all the students in the school and manhandled the 22 ft. boat we were building to turn it over.  I think we had about 50 people to turn that boat over.  This contraption I have now allowed two men to flip this boat. Continue reading “Flipping the HiLiner”

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1958 HiLiner – Reshaping the bottom

1958 HiLiner
The HiLiner was built in Massachusetts. It’s a light, fast boat that’s a lot of fun.
1958 HiLiner is a fast, light boat.
This boat is so light, it’s very easy to wheel around the shop. It’s a molded plywood boat–lightweight ant beautiful.

We recently got a new project in the boat shop.  A 1958 HiLiner came in with the complaint that it leaks badly.  I took a look and found the bottom had lost its original shape over the years.  The keel had compressed up into the boat, and some of the frames had separated.  It’s not unusual for this kind of thing to happen to these classic boats over the years.  After all, this boat is 63 years old.  That’s older than I am (not by much, but still). Continue reading “1958 HiLiner – Reshaping the bottom”

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Laminating the Sheer Clamp

Sheer clamp of Palm Beach 22
The laminated sheer clamp in place. Notice the packing tape in the frame notch so the piece can be separated from the frames and faired before permanent installation.

First, what is the sheer clamp?  It’s the longitudinal piece to which the deck and topsides are clamped to make the hull-deck joint.  As you might imagine, it’s position is at the sheer line of the boat.  The finished dimension called for in the plan is 5/8 x 2-1/2 inches.  Continue reading “Laminating the Sheer Clamp”

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Making the Transom Bows

Shaving to the line
Shaving the upper transom bow to the line of the deck camber.

The transom bows are the curved top and bottom pieces that give you the shape of that beautiful transom you see on classic runabouts.  Nelson Zimmer’s plan calls for a 5 foot radius curve.  He also calls for a deck crown or “camber” of 2-1/2 inches at the transom.

So we’ve got two pieces to make, bent to a 5 foot radius.  And the top one has to have a curve cut on top of it to support the crown of the deck as well. Continue reading “Making the Transom Bows”

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Framing the Transom of the Palm Beach 22

Transom framing for Palm Beach 22
Transom framing view from the front. The red arrow points to the transom “cheek” we’re going to build.

We’ve got all the frames built and set up.  But we’ve still got to frame the transom of the Palm Beach 22.  We’ll build the framework and add it to our setup so we can begin planking.  The picture above is a rendering of what our framework should look like.  Note that I’ve pointed out a particular piece I call the transom “cheek”.  You can see the transom curves inward at the top (called “Tumblehome”).  This is part of the signature look of a mahogany runabout. Continue reading “Framing the Transom of the Palm Beach 22”

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Setting up the Palm Beach 22

Laying a batten across the frames shows high and low spots

Once you have the frames made, you have to set them up in the right position.  Oddly enough, this process is called “Setting up”.  (See, there are actually some terms in boatbuilding that are self-explanatory!)  The primary thing is to get the frames secured exactly the correct distance from each other and at the proper level.  You do this by using guidelines that you’ve transferred from your patterns and lofting to the frames themselves.  For instance, you draw the center line on each frame, and align it under a string line on your strongback.  Also, you can attach a cross spall to each frame at, say, the +24″ waterline.  Then line these up as you erect the frames. Continue reading “Setting up the Palm Beach 22”

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Solution to a Vexing Problem

Lining up the frames for the Palm Beach 22

As you can see in the above picture, we’re starting to compile a nice set of frames for the Palm Beach 22.  If you’ve forgotten what this boat is supposed to look like, you can check out the plans here.  At any rate, you can see the frames have notches in them for battens that run the length of the hull.  And as luck would have it, one of these notches is over the top of the 1-1/8″ wide x 6-1/2″ deep stringer.  The frames are to be held fast to the stringers with 1/4″ carriage bolts.  That means drilling and counter boring holes through the frames and the stringers.  That presents us with two problems.  The first is how to drill that long hole through both the frame and stringer.  That’s a tough one to just eye-ball without accidentally coming out the side of the stringer.  How would you do it? Continue reading “Solution to a Vexing Problem”

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Patterns for the Frames

CNC cut patterns for the Palm Beach 22 designed by Nelson Zimmer

I was able to get full size plans for the frames of this design from a fellow in New Zealand.  Using his CAD files, I was able to use a CNC (computer numerical control) router to cut out patterns for me to use in cutting out the frames.  Sounds like a nifty process, doesn’t it?  Well nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Continue reading “Patterns for the Frames”

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Wood Moves!–How to Cope

Cutting a board sometimes releases stress that makes it warp.

One of the problems any woodworker faces is the fact that wood can move on you.  In the photo above, you can see how a “practice stringer” I cut curved like the dickens!  I suspected it might do this, which is why I cut out the practice piece.  You see, cutting a board will often release tension in the wood.  That’s why a board can close up and pinch your saw sometimes causing it to buck. Continue reading “Wood Moves!–How to Cope”