Thread: 1963 Heron Sailboat repair and restoration

Hear, Hear

MIK

par and boatkmik... thank you for some straight-down-the-line advice!
(Damn that snake oil is tempting to try though... it sounds so easy!!)

And I have few carpentry skills. Really.

You really can't blame them for trying (snake oil). It's sort of like the latest diet, it doesn't really have to work to make money at it.

I can't tell you how many transoms I've opened up for a core replacement, just to see a pool of cured goo at the bottom of the boat, where the "get rot" or other latest magic had been poured into the cracks at the top of the transom and just ran right through, because gravity always pulls in the same direction. I usually have to knock the lump out with a power chisel.

Originally Posted by CraigCanberra

And I have few carpentry skills. Really.

By the time you've cut out & replaced the rotten bits, you will have more.

he he. Oh yay! Um, am I better off doing this, or replacing the ply sheet? I've heard no where in Canberra stocks ply. What's the bigger job, given I have to take the keel tape off anyway, because of the seperation from the keel.

Howdy,

Have a look at the boat repair section here
http://www.storerboatplans.com/Faq/faqindex.html

Replacing a piece or a sheet really depends on the location and amount of the damage.

Sometimes you can just cut out a little bit (see the above link) and sometimes it just is easier to replace a whole sheet.

Use the search function on this forum (advanced search) to look for POSTS that discuss
plywood canberra

MIK

Thread necromancy time. Having moved out on my own, got divorced and settled down again.. It's time to keep playing the the Heron!

It's been so long that I had to read over my old posts. On Sunday, a mate and I took the varnish off the deck because it had cracks all through it, and I think a nice deck really shows off a timber boat and I wanted it to look good. Now I only have to rip at the keel, and I'll be in a position to fully evaluate the boat and start putting things back together. It's only been two years. What?

Gidday, just reading you post - I'm in the same process with my Heron, hope it doesn't take 2 years though! I've almost finished the top half and are about to tackle the underside. Check my blog for some pics:
Heron Dinghy Restoration

cheers

Right. So. Because of where some of the rot is, I'm soaking Everdure into it. I know, this isn't the preferred approach, but I'm simply not going to take the entire hull apart and replace two ribs at each buoyancy tank. Not happening! What will happen is removal of all the rot, soaking in epoxy and then sheath the underside of the hull.

All the glass tape is off - man, that did not give up easy. It was pretty cool to see the rows of brass screws under it. Rot dug away. Epoxy in (it's cool in Canberra at the moment, so I'm allowing an entire week to cure). Then it will be time to bog and patch the missing areas of the hull and cover it in fine glass cloth.

Any stupid mistakes in all of that?

glrose, I've heard of Syd's Tub. Whereabouts are you?

Yours looks like it was fortunately better maintained than mine - and the story is a sentimental read too.

I'm in Yarraville now (VIC), but the boat used to be in Noble Park and was sailed around Carrum in Port Phillip Bay years ago. I was lucky that it was kept undercover for all of it's life! Plan is to have it in the water this summer - what about yours??

Same plan. And teach my other half to sail in it.