Tag: Antique boat

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The Strongback–A Platform to Build on

A good strongback that can be rolled around the shop is a great foundation for your boat project.

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”

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Lumber for the Palm Beach 22

Many different kinds of lumber will be used in building the Palm Beach 22.

Of course, once you decide to build a boat, you’ve got to have materials.  In our case, the main material is wood–all different kinds.  We’re using Sipo, a kind of African Mahogany for the frames, planking, and cockpit woodwork.  Fir will be used for longitudinal members like the.  We’ll also use fir to laminate the curved pieces like the stem, keel, and chines.  Deck framing will be of Sitka Spruce.  And Alaskan Yellow Cedar will be used to build the cold-molded hull. Continue reading “Lumber for the Palm Beach 22”

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Repairing the Yoke

The ends of the yoke are rotted, but the main part is still perfectly serviceable.
The ends of the yoke are rotted, but the main part is still perfectly serviceable.

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”

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Breasthooks Part 1–Fabrication

New breasthook pieces glued up and rough cut, ready for fine fitting.
New breasthook pieces glued up and rough cut, ready for fine fitting.

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”

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New Gunwales

The graceful sweeping curves of the new inwales clearly show the need for steam to bend them into place.
The graceful sweeping curves of the new inwales clearly show the need for steam to bend them into place.

Gunwale is an old nautical term.  A wale is a plank on the side of a ship or boat.  The top wale on a sailing warship was called the gun wale and was reinforced to carry the stresses imposed by heavy cannon.  Typical of nautical terms, it is not pronounced like it is spelled.  “Gunnel” is the correct pronunciation.  In canoes, it has come to mean the reinforcing strips along the top edge of the boat.  Specifically, there are usually two strips, an inwale and an outwale. Continue reading “New Gunwales”

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Restoring a Strip Planked Canoe

An old strip planked canoe is a good restoration project
An old strip planked canoe is a good restoration project

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”

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Building a Half Hull Model

Finished half hull model of the Palm Beach 22
Finished half hull model of the Palm Beach 22

In days of old boatbuilders would carve out a half hull model and show it to the client.  Once everyone agreed on the shape, the builder would take the lines off the model, loft it (see discussion of lofting here), and build the boat.  The half hull model was the starting point.  Nowadays, we have the lines already on paper, and we can use that to build a half hull model to represent the design of the boat in 3D.  Actually, we can model it in 3D on computers now, but sometimes one wants to do things the old-fashioned way. Continue reading “Building a Half Hull Model”

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Building a Nelson Zimmer Palm Beach 22

Profile view of the Palm Beach 22 by Nelson Zimmer.
Profile view of the Palm Beach 22 by Nelson Zimmer.

Nelson Zimmer was a prominent naval architect, born in 1922.  He passed away in February 2007.  Mr. Zimmer sold his first design in 1931, and over the years worked in a variety of places, including Chris Craft.  I don’t know when he designed the Palm Beach 22.  If you know, or know how I can find out, please let me know.

But I’m very excited that the Palm Beach 22 is the next project here at Ashley River Boatworks.  We’ve got the plans in hand and have researched lumber requirements and suppliers.  Lofting will begin soon.

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1949 Chris Craft 17 ft. Deluxe Runabout Going to Auction

1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout with custom trailer
The new custom tandem axle trailer goes too.

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”

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Sea trials of the 1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout

1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout floats level and true
Dereck helped with driving the boat. He was the fastest, reaching 31 mph.

Finally! Sea trials are here!

Click here to see a short video of the sea trial.

Eventually, a boat ends up in the water.  There are lots of things to check when that happens.  Does it float?  Does it float level?  Does it float anywhere near the design waterline?  Does the engine run?  Does it steer properly? etc. etc. Continue reading “Sea trials of the 1949 Chris Craft Deluxe Runabout”