Carvel refit.

[samfreeland]

Ahoy there I am attempting to refit a carvel yacht. The boat was built in 1964. I will post pictures of some of the problems I'm trying to get advice on.
The bolts holding these fittings on are toast so I am going to replace them. Where the rudder comes through three of the four bolts have snapped off in the timber so I'm having to lift the box to get to the stubs and try a big pair of vice grips if that fails I will try easy out I may get one of those angle chucks for the drill there's not much room problem is its all siezed up and I'm not really shore of the configuration of it and I don't want to start hitting anything to hard. The other problem is where the prop shaft comes through I need to get it off. One of the screws has broke off and I need to treat the timber behind it and get the screw stub out. I guess it must be threaded to the shaft but I can't get it to turn I suppose it's a right handed thread. I f you have dealt with this problem let me know at the moment I'm soaking it all in crc. When in trouble or in doubt go below and think things out. :-)

[samfreeland]

One down. Soaked in plenty of crc for a few days and a heat gun not a left hand thread . Know if only the rudder shaft box would be as obliging.

[samfreeland]

After four hours of the heat gun crc and whacking wooden wedges in between the sleeve and box it finally let go. But the sleeve is still frozen to the shaft and the box won't lift. I guess it hasn't come apart in fifty odd years and it's not giving up easily. Lol

[samfreeland]

The rudder shaft box finally lifted . It was really stubborn I hate to take it off and it probably could of carried on life as it was I hope I can get the broken off stubs out.

[Hesti]

All the very best with your project! Wooden boat ownership is a lifestyle ...

[samfreeland]

Thanks for your reply appreciated. It is certainly becoming a lifestyle unfortunately I am learning at the boats expense. But she is very forgiving and we'll constructed. Here are some more pics for the wooden boat enthusiasts. Just so you can see the depth of trouble I'm in. :-) or should I say fun I'm having. On picture five you can sea the rust running down the sides. All the galvanized screws down the edge of the deck in to the top plank are well past their use buy date so the ply on the decks coming off and nice new ply and stainless screws to go on. Before I retire hopefully.

[Hesti]

The build does look substantial. Is it a known designer / builder?

If you can get your hand on them, try to get Silicon Bronze fasteners instead of stainless. Stainless can be trouble if the wood is wet. It may take a bit of asking, but I guess they are still made.

Are you north half of the earth? If you are north half - try to have the boat floating (ready or not) by say mid of April. Alternatively, you may have to start wetting the floor under the boat.

Once the boat really starts to dry out, you can have a lot of additional shrinkage cracks and problems, bending copper rivets, ... . So - you may want to focus on all work first that is needed to get the boat in the water and floating and you can do all other work (interior fitting) with the boat in the water. At the moment, the boat still looks reasonably well swollen up, but that will change fast as spring comes up and the work just multiplies if you have to seal all seams, deal with new cracks etc etc.

When we had a woodie, we found the book "Boat Repair Manual" by George Buchanan very usefull.

In case the seams just open up a tiny bit from drying, you can smear https://www.davisinstruments.com/product/slick-seam/ into them which will keep the water out until the wood has swollen up again. This stuff is then pressed out of the seams by the wood (non hardening). But the important thing is to have the boat in the water when it gets warm and dry.

All the best! And yes, it is a lifestyle ...

[samfreeland]

The builder and designer where we'll known in NZ the builder passed away recently after doing forty plus boats Lionel jeffcoat well worth a Google to sea some of his work. And the designer was Eric cox I'm not sure how many boats he designed but a reputable man of his day.
Yes I'm getting a bit of plank shrinkage at the moment and good advice to get back in the water. She is made of quarter sawn medium kauri hard to find but I may have enough to do some duchmen and graving pieces.

[samfreeland]

In fact all that was good advice.

[WanderingStar39]

Very cool. I have always had wooden boats, and done some repairs and rebuilding. Good luck with her and keep us posted.

[samfreeland]

I certainly will keep you posted. I agree wooden boats are cool.

[samfreeland]

Here's what has been propelling her along for fifty odd years. It is a 1955 nine hp Stuart Turner with a hand crank on the front and original hand book Still running and starting fine.
Although it pays to hold you chin out the way when using the crank handle. :-)
I've decided at forty feet I'm not that good a sailor and I'm upgrading to forty hp.

[Hesti]

Back in the days when we had our wooden boat, we found it worked for us to do one or two major projects each winter beside some smal stuff, then do an exterior coat of paint and then sail in summer. Over the 4 years we had the boat, we made good progress on bringing it up and did some nice sailing every summer. You are a bit beyond the one or two big projects - re-engine, redeck, interior gutted, cockpit gutted, a plank repair job and the exterior paint completely stripped. I hope you have some support, it is quite a bit of work you have started there.

[samfreeland]

Yes both the bulk heads and most of the coaching has rotted out fresh water. when the top of both bulk heads where nailed to the beam originaly maybe two nails in each bulkhead missed the beam or just caught it going in between the bulk head and the beam. So the writing was on the wall from the beginning. It had been pooed up that many times it was different colored bog on top of each other car bog west systems you name it it was there bits cut out and glued in fresh water running down the insides where the ply along the edge of the deck has rotted not to mention the mighty Toledo worm in the odd plank and on and on it went. On the bright side there are no broken ribs or stringers and apart from some planking remarkably the hull has survived well. I really wish I could of fixed it in the water and maybe if I new what I do now I would of played my cards differently and tried to. But I'm where I am now and have to make the best of it. No help the wife decided I was mad long ago and moved on. Plus a compressed siatic nerve that's why I'm up at four am replying to you instead of sleeping pain and cramp. Lol. But the show must go on. I will post some more pics when it gets light so you can sea what a can of worms I have opened.

[samfreeland]

Looking in the deepest darkest depths of the bilge I have been reasonably happy only three rib ends have a bit of dry rot other wise OK. I haven't dug right down under where the engine was but I'm hoping the oil and diesel over the years has densified the timbers.
On some of the pictures of the out side you can sea black coming through the timber I'm not sure what's going on there but suspiciously they are around a lot of the butt blocks maybe the ends of the galvanised screw holding them on have pickled. Or do they put tallow under them that's run through I'm not sure about that. Only one corner post out of twelve survived. Most of the mahogany coaching rotted out and IL be lucky to salvage the pieces amidships. Shall I carry on.