Thread: 1960's seacraft restoration

I've just posted some photos. The first few are my boat, "Ricochet". The final couple are a restored boat of the same model.

Chris

Looks like a good project. I wish you the best of luck with her ie, not finding anything horrid though I suspect she's none to complicated. Certainly a better looking boat than the plastic horrors that populate our waterways.

Richard

Thanks Richard =) Well now its time to start asking questions! The hull and transom are solid from the extrerior, but the hull has had water sitting internally for an unknown length of time. I have removed all the false floors and started stripping to let her dry out. The original sealer used inside the hull is intermittent at best. All the water has been drained out, and i have scraped all internal surfaces of the hull to remove dirt/gunk/loose paint and whatever else accumulated over the years. The ply is damp but not rotten. Am I able to remove the exterior paint and let the hull dry out over time and continue from there? I have been reading a lot of posts and thinking about what I would like to do with the hull. Providing the ply is ok, I was thinking about soaking as much epoxy into the ply externally as possible to impregnate and strengthen the ply. Maybe fibreglass below the waterline? Would like to varnish the hull above the waterline. I am aware that by epoxying both the inside and outside of the hull will trap whatever moisture is in the ply and would like to avoid this. I would like to fibreglass the inside of the engine compartment for strength and soundproofing, and perhaps epoxy the lower bilge area? Leave the hull raw internally above the bilge so that it can breathe? Any help/advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated. This boat is not a show winner, just wanting to return her to a reasonable state and hold onto for a while to come.

Thanks,

Chris

I'm not someone who knows much about restorations ... although some will argue that's what I'll be doing with Sixpence when I finally finish her

A few thoughts though:

You're right in letting her dry out. Do that properly before even thinking about anything else. It'll take months but a hot spell (in winter?) will do it for you.

Let her dry out properly, clean her out and scrape off all the paint, then make decisions because it's only then that you'll really know what's going on.

Epoxy will NOT soak in significantly and heavily thinned epoxies just create wormholes for water to seep into. Having said that, following the epoxy coating methods that Mik talks about will do the job for you. Read also his warnings about thinned epoxy (check out his website). Epoxy will not 'impregnate and strengthen' the ply but it will do a ripper job of protecting it - think of it as a super paint. Yes, I'm aware of the products that do claim to soak in and fix rot and I've read many an internet fight over the years about how effective they are/aren't.

I am aware that by epoxying both the inside and outside of the hull will trap whatever moisture is in the ply and would like to avoid this.

I used to think this too but apparently, if you dry the boat out properly, it's not an issue.

I've got a mate who's currently doing up an ancient, plywood, 14' sailing dinghy. After letting it dry and scraping off all the paint and varnish, the remaining timber seems to just need repainting.

Richard

Thanks Richard! appreciate you taking the time to write. I've just bought a decent wet and dry vac, so going to suck out all the crap i've scraped from inside the hull. I thought that once marine ply became wet, it was rubbish. This hull seems fine though.. I have no idea how the ply was treated when first built or whats been done to it over the years. I'll finish cleaning out the inside as best I can, remove the motor and then flip the hull so that I can take all the paint off the exterior and let her sit on blocks to dry out. In the meantime, I'll keep reading up on different techniques and surface finishes I can use. I definitely want to glass everything exterior below the waterline for strength and abrasion resistance, and inside engine compartment for strength, noise deadening and sealing. I will aim at getting her dry enough so that I can epoxy the remaining internal hull surfaces. Is there any point in trying to use something that will soak into the ply? I can't help but think that even though the hull looks and sounds solid, the moisture over the years may have weakened the ply. I will read up on all the different kinds of epoxies. Who is Mik and what is his website? I will read some more posts in search of him.

Thanks again!

Chris

Mik - Mik Storer, there's an entire forum dedicated to his designs under the Wooden Boat Forum

Marine ply - it can handle getting wet, that's why it's marine ply, not one of the building plys. It can rot and do nasty things like that but it's pretty durable and the glues are properly water proof. I suspect that if it feels sound, it probably is (help, we need an expert here).

The Classic Australian Wooden Power Boat Association are probably worth talking to as well, but please keep coming back and updating us.

Richard

Lots of boat building and restoration info here
http://www.storerboatplans.com/Faq/faqindex.html

Best wishes
MIK

Thanks Mik, I inadvertantly (spelling?) found your site the other day when googling plywood boats and have been reading about all the different methods of repair. What is your opinion on my hull? It has had water sitting in the bilge for who knows how long, and the sealer used is mostly non existent. I've drained all the water out, scraped all the gunk/paint from the bilge and vacuumed out all loose paint flakes and debris etc. I will scrape all the external paint off the hull and leave it sit to dry for as long as needed. The plywood is damp but not rotten, is this common? Is it possible that the ply will be fine after it has dried? I like the idea of using TPRDA with BoteCote epoxy to give the whole hull (external and internal) an initial soak. Then glass with epoxy resin externally below the waterline, glass in the engine compartment, epoxy the remaining internal hull surfaces and Varnish the hull above the waterline. I will take some more photos and post tomorrow of the condition of the hull so far. Does this sound like a good solution?

Thanks,

Chris

Also thanks for the link Richard, some lovely boats on that site and plenty of ideas =)

Chris

Well the inside of the hull is actually looking a lot better today. All the water has gone, although I do have a bit of oil residue sitting up forward of the motor. It doesn't seem to be seeping into or staining the timber keel though, just seems to be sitting there along the crevice where the hull meets the keel. I tried pushing my finger into the hull and its solid. I poked my finger nail quite hard and would barely be sinking into the timber/ply half a millimetre. Dragging my finger nail along the surface trying to scratch the timber/ply barely made a mark, and only left a small amount of surface scum under my nail. I'm starting to think the hull might need less work than I first imagined? I will post a link to some of the pictures i have just taken, showing the hull after i have removed the water and scraped all the rubbish out of the bottom. I've also just bought an engine stand and engine crane, so will be pulling the motor out next to clean underneath and take a better look at the hull. Once this is done, i'll be making some timber stands so that I can flip it on the trailer and start scraping the exterior of the hull. Anyone have an idea of what this kind of ply hull would weigh with everything stripped out? Possible to pick up and flip with 3 or 4 people?

Chris

looking forward from transom



prop shaft penetrating hull



transom



forward cockpit



I think the hull looks a little better in these photos than what it is, only slightly. You can see the different kinds of paint that have been thrown in the bilge over the years, unfortunately there were many places where the paint had been compromised. What is everyone's opinion of the hull condition from my previous statements and these photos?

Thanks,

Chris

I just came over to take a look at the boat. That is going to be a lot of work and I think that I might be understating it a little.

gidday, Ive seen worse timber than that come up ok.

my first boat was a shocker, took a lot of sanding and sealing but came up alright.

I was really careful after the resto to keep the boat covered and the interior clean and dry. No probs at all.

Being a bit of a Holden fanatic I noticed the unusual inlet manifold, I spose its a marinised one. If you chuck on a Holley 350 carby or even better a WW2 ( thats the part # ) carby off a 253 V8 youll get heaps more power without losing too much economy, especially if you put a set of extractors on as well.

Cheers, Billy