Boat Repair, Restoration, Building
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”
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”
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”
You need something to hold the frames in perfect alignment as you assemble the parts of your boat–something strong that will hold the shape you want over the period you’re building the boat. It has to be rigid and easy to attach pieces to. The answer is a Strongback. And I want to be able to move the boat around the shop if I need to as well. At some point, we’ll have to flip this hull over to work on the inside. It will be nice to be able roll the strongback around the shop to get the gantry cranes over the hull when that time comes. Continue reading “The Strongback–A Platform to Build on”
The yoke is a thwart (cross piece) at the balance point of the canoe that you can rest on your shoulders when you’re portaging (carrying) the canoe. This canoe’s yoke is made of Ash, a good hard, but rot-prone wood. Baseball bats are made of Ash too. At any rate, since the main part of this beautifully carved yoke is still perfectly serviceable, an easy fix is to scarf on new ends. Check out my previous article here more about scarf joints. Continue reading “Repairing the Yoke”
When we left off, we had fabricated new breasthook pieces, but they didn’t quite fit as well as I’d like. Check out the previous post if you’ve forgotten.
The trick is to chalk the inside edge of the inwales, fit the breasthook in place, and then see where the chalk transfers to the high spots on the breasthook.
Shave the high spots off with your favorite block plane, and repeat until you get a fit you’re happy with the fit.
You can really dial in a fine fit this way. Not too hard if you know the trick! The last step was to glue it in and coat it with special clear epoxy to seal against water. Then several coats of spar varnish will provide necessary UV protection.
A breasthook is a sturdy piece of wood that marries the sides of the boat together at the stem. It’s a structurally important piece, and can be tricky to fit. So I did what I usually do when I have a tricky piece to fit, I made a pattern. Continue reading “Breasthooks Part 1–Fabrication”
The first step in any restoration project is assessing and agreeing on the work to be done. In this case, we agreed that Ashley River Boatworks would perform repairs needed to the boat, but that re-finishing would be the owner’s responsibility. Often and owner has special talents and can save money by performing some of the work themselves. Continue reading “Restoring a Canoe–Step 1–Assess the Work”
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing about a recent project–restoring a strip planked canoe. These canoes are built by nailing thin wooden strips to a set of forms, and glueing the edges of the strips together. Once all the strips are in place, a layer of fiberglass is glued to the outside of the built up canoe. Then the forms are removed and fiberglass is glued to the inside of the boat. This creates a rigid, light structure that one person can easily carry by themselves. And they’re beautiful too! Continue reading “Restoring a Strip Planked Canoe”
Tomorrow I’ll depart my humble shop here in Ravenel, South Carolina to head for the Antique Boat Auction in Clayton, NY. I’m taking the 1949 Chris Craft 17 ft. Deluxe Runabout I’ve restored to the auction. It’s listing number 36957. Check it out here. Continue reading “1949 Chris Craft 17 ft. Deluxe Runabout Going to Auction”