Heron Rebuild

[MikeyRoberts]

Hi All,

thought you might be interested to hear about the Heron dinghy I am restoring/rebuilding. I bought it for $100 out of the trading post - so you can imagine the condition it was in. All of the ply was badly delaminated so I have had to strip it back to the frames and replace the hull planking and the bouyancy chambers. There was a bit of rot in the outer keel, which I will replace with a nice new piece of timber.


So far most of the work has been scraping off the old paint and sanding stuff - but I am at the point where I am ready to paint the inside of the bouyancy tanks and start putting on the new hull panels.

I've attached some pics of the project so far.

Mike

[Ramps]

Mike
Good luck :2tsup:
I'll be watching with interest

[Wild Dingo]

:pir8: :wtg: :iagree: :thumbup:

[Wild Dingo]

I was so taken by that I forgot the words!!

Well done mate we vill be vatchin you! :2tsup:

[Daddles]

You're doing a dreadful job. Where are the glue runs? Where are the bits of timber jammed into the holes where you cut something too short? Where's the patch where you dropped the hammer through a panel?

Sheesh, how are we going to pick holes in your work if you don't leave any?

Richard:2tsup:

The Herons are a grand old craft. Have fun with her, and don't that planking look grand :2tsup:

[MikeyRoberts]

Thanks for your encouragement fellas - and don't worry Daddles, I'm making plenty of mistakes. I'm just a good enough photographer to be able to hide them.

Here are a few more pics of my progress. Now I've painted the inside of the bouyancy tanks and glued on the bottom panels and outer keel. The side panels have been cut and dry fitted. It's starting to look like a boat again.

[scumbag]

Nice job. I learnt to sail in a Heron. It was so leaky that the instructor was throwing a bailer full of water over the side every minute.
Whenever I or the other kid made a stuff up the water got thrown at us.:D

[MikeyRoberts]

Thanks for the tip Scumbag - I was planning to use the heron to teach my 5 year old daughter how to sail. The bailer trick will come in handy!

[MikeyRoberts]

Here are some more shots of the progress so far. I have finished the planking and started the process of filling and fairing. Its coming up OK, but I keep reminding myself that it only cost me $100, so its never going to be perfect.

One question for eveyone... I have been planning to put some glass tape along the outside of the chines, but now I'm not sure I really need to. I'm still going to coat the outside with 3 coats of epoxy - is the tape going to add anything?

[catbuilder]

Hi Mikey

I would put tapes on, to me its all part of a finished joint on a boat, especially on a outside chine, those areas seem to attract the most wear and tear. It would be a shame if the stresses on the joint opened it up and you have to do it afterwards anyway.

If you approach it the same way you look to have with the rest of the job, you should be able to hide them so you hardly notice them. (meaning you've done a great job btw)

Hopefully I've said the right thing.

Regards
Matt

[Boatmik]

Matt's right - there are advantages to glass taping (50mm wide glass). With Cat building the strength of a light heavily tortured hull depends on the glassing.

With a boat like the Heron there is enough internal structure for the ply to glue down to without any necessary external taping.

BUT - and it is a big but - glass tapes on chine boats make a lot of sense because when the boat sits on the beach it will lie over onto the chine. The glass tape can help prevent the chine from getting any serious abrasion through to the wood.

Have a look at my FAQ too for some pics etc of how to integrate the glassing with the coating to reduce the amount of labour substantially.
http://www.storerboatplans.com/Faq/faqindex.html

You may know this already!

Best wishes
Michael

[MikeyRoberts]

Hopefully I have glued the planks to the frames securely enough that the tape wouldn't have any structural function!

But if it is just there to protect the chines, wouldn't the 3-4 layers of epoxy and 5 coats of paint be sufficient? I figured the wood of the planks wouldn't get any wear until the paint and epoxy has worn through.

[Boatmik]

Fibreglass is highly abrasion resistant - much more than a thin layer of epoxy. It doesn't cost much but it does add more labour in terms of smoothing it down afterwards.

MIK

[MikeyRoberts]

Aah - and there in lies the rub (pun intended).

I was trying to avoid the labour because I am on a tight deadline and my girls (aged 2y, 5y6m and 35y10m) don't give me much time to work on the boat.

But I will bow to your wisdom Mik and put the tape on.

Thanks for your advice.

[Boatmik]

If you apply the tape the same time you coat the bottom theres no time loss there.

If you use a spokeshave CAREFULLY to remove the raised edges of the glass tape the day ater glassing you will save yourself about sixty percent of the sanding effort.

I often put masking tape around the spokshave to cover the blade then keep that masked area over the plywood. That way it doesn't catch and gouge the ply.

MIK

[Kerry Blue]

Thought you might like to see the Heron my father built using simple hand tools in the 1960s. The Standard Ten had to be out of the garage while the project was underway - replaced with a powder-blue Falcon stationwagon so the completed boat could be towed! Photos show launch day at Half Moon Bay (Cerberus in the background). The boat NEVER leaked and I've loved timber boats ever since. Your five year old will love every minute mucking around in boats!!!! Regards Kerry

[MikeyRoberts]

Thanks for the photos Kerry.

I hope my daughters will enjoy the boat as much as I am planning - because then they will want me to take them sailing evey weekend - and darn it I'll just have to go sailing with them.

At the moment though, they can't understand why I am spending so much time on the boat. My 5yo asked "Daddy, why do you like boats so much?" - with a knowing grin I replied - "You'll find out":U

Mike

[MikeyRoberts]

For fathers day I got some time to work on the boat.

So I was able to get three coats of epoxy wet on wet on to the outside of the hull, plus the glass tape that I had been apprehensive about.

Thanks for your encouragement Mick - the tape went on really easily. One change I made to your technique was to use a 1" chisel instead of a spokeshave to take off the lip on the edge of the tape after epoxying. I've never been good with a spokeshave and felt more comfortable with a chisel holding the blade near to the end and running my fingers along the hull to guide the blade. I had to be really careful not to gouge through to the wood.

I've attached a couple of photos of the hull and some closeups of the taping.

Mike

[MikeyRoberts]

Hi,

thought you might like to see some pics of the hull now that the outside has been painted and she has been flipped up the right way.

Its good to see the progress and know that the next time she'll be turned upside down will be when I take her sailing and capsize :U

Mike

[MikeyRoberts]

I spent Saturday finishing off the rigging and a heap of little jobs.

And then Sunday was launch day.

We launched at the south end of Matilda bay in Perth. Wind was 15 knots from the South West and a bit dodgy in close to the shore, but once out in the river away from the point Mia performed beuatifully. I'll need a bit more practice though.:B

I'm now looking forward to many happy days sailing...and a long list of improvements...


...and eventually the next build project :U


Thanks to all for your encouragement during the re-build

Mike
Heron #9768
Mia

[bitingmidge]

Fantastic job Mike!

Sometimes I think restoration would be fun, then I remember that I can't even finish the new projects so lie down till that passes!

Cheers,

P
:2tsup:

[jmk89]

Great job. She looks really t'rific:2tsup:

[Bleedin Thumb]

I've just enrolled my 7yr old son (and myself) into a sailing school in Herons and if he catches the bug I will be in the market for a boat.

Somehow though I don't think I have the skill, patience or time to do such a major rebuild as yours.
Fantastic result - you must be very proud of Mia.