First steps with a Yachting World Dayboat

[Peacock$]

Hi,

As a first step into wooden boat ownership I picked up what I believe to be a Yachting World Dayboat on eBay. It came with a set of Patsey & Lapthorn sails dated 1953 which, if purchased new for the original boat, would put it as one of the first private builds.

It is a project which was abandoned some years ago and dry stored ever since. The hull appears to have had some attention and is well painted on the outside with several coats of Toplac which I am inclined to leave at this point. I am currently stripping the inside which is a mix of bare wood, varnish and very old peeling paint.

The question that I am currently considering is when and how to get it wet. Should I complete all the interior stripping and varnishing and then launch it - presumably at that point the planks will take up water and everything will move - or should I launch it now, or leave it outside a bit - so that the hull can take up some moisture - and then varnish it while touch dry.

I have been using Epifanes clear gloss on the floorboards which seems to go on nicely.

I would welcome any comments from those more experienced than I - i.e. everyone.

Many thanks

Graham
Suffolk

 

[jamie N]

Welcome to 'our world'! For myself, I'd finish her 1st to the best standard that you can achieve, and then launch her. Thinking logically, the boat's as dry as she's ever been after so many years under cover, I'd guess as dry as when she was built, and she would've been fully painted and varnished before launching then.
I'm not sure that photo's are needed, but they're always nice to see! Good luck with her, and keep 'us' updated. I'm guessing that you're not planning on launching before the spring, which gives you ages of time.

 

[wombat88]

Agree with the above. Also, join the CVRDA forum where you will find that many of us have leaky clinker boats...on the assumption that it is clinker. http://www.cvrda.org/

She will leak when you launch her after all these years and there is a reasonable chance that your floorboards might start floating but this is par for the course when it comes to a very dry clinker boat that probably needs re-fastening...but without knowing more...

Of course she may be glued clinker whereupon much of the above doesn't apply.

Also, don't go mad making high gloss floorboards, they'll look lovely but will most likely be very slippery when wet.

 

[Tranona]

Smart move buying a Dayboat. Suggest you join www.ydb.co.uk very active and the source for information on the boats. Brings back memories of my early boat. Like many members of Poole Yacht Club i owned it for a period in my earlier days. There are over 60 in the club and actively raced and cruised. Good also for youngsters moving up from class dinghies as a step to cruising.

 

[Keith 66]

If she is dry & sound paint or varnish it now. If the seams between the planks are at all open it is worth carefully cleaning them out & putting some soft non setting oil based mastic in. The one i use is Evomastic, cheap & good stuff. At all costs do not put stuff in that goes hard like epoxy or use silicone sealant as paint will never ever stick to it.
I just rebuilt a DB no 324 Dixie built in 63, photos are on the ywdb facebook page.

 

[Peacock$]

Fantastic - thanks so much for the comments;

I don't think she is glued - I'll try and upload some photos - however the boards are very clean on the inside and beautifully fastened with copper rivets. I'll definitely look into using Evomastic as this would insert very neatly in joins - although it would be difficult to get a continuous run under the frames.

Wombat88 - you make a good and practical point about not over doing it on the floorboards. Shame as I had been using them as a way to perfect my prepping and varnishing skills. Maybe I'll just have to make up a second pair for sailing and keep the originals for shaving in the morning!

Keith66 - sadly I don't have Facebook but might ask for close ups once I get into more detailed territory.

Thanks again for your help - some photos in the next post - I hope!

 

[Peacock$]

Here is a photo of the boat as collected and cleaned. The hull has a new transom and several coats of Toplac



Here is the interior - prior to any preparation



The mast and boom



And the stamp on the sails

 

[jamie N]

Ignore anybody telling you that the priority should be to have floorboards with grip; nonsense, it's about the shine!! That's why we have wooden boats, it's nothing to do with anything remotely close to 'practicality' or 'logic'! It's all about having the wood looking perfect!
I agree with wombat in truth, but on my 'shiny boarded cockpit', I've found that I get enough(ish) foot grip with a decent pair of Docksiders'.
Also, are the sails cotton, being from 1952? That may add an element of labour and concern possibly?

 

[Keith 66]

If she was built in 53 she is a real oldie, Her number should be carved into the centre of the middle thwart, there is a register of boats & their numbers on the class association website.

 

[Peacock$]

Keith,

Thanks - this is very interesting - the previous owner had restored the middle thwart and I guessed he sanded it down however scraping off the varnish you could convince yourself there is a number.





If it were 67 then that would place her as Judy, built in 1952 by Scotthorn*

Maybe a long shot and apologies to the owners of Judy if this assumption is incorrect.

I'll let others be the judge.

Graham

 

[Keith 66]

Could be. There were several amateur built ones around that time, my late Dad built one & i remember him saying he ran out of planking timber so she was one plank lower than her sisters! He had worked at Jack holts yard at Putney.

 

[wombat88]

Shiny floor boards...mix sugar with a coat of varnish, let the varnish dry and wash the sugar away...there are lots of other ways of making it non slip.

Mastic (spawn of the devil) not the inside, only on the outsides, a thin bead along the lands that are below waterline.

More importantly...

1) Broken or cracked ribs. One or two OK but any more and the boat will work and consequently leak. Have a look for them and see what can be done.

2) Fastenings. Are they tight? Have they gone a funny colour and nasty? Amazing how much water can find its way into a boat through loose fastenings.

There are probably 100 ways to approach your project and lots of different opinions.

Decide what your priorities are first, ie go sailing soon / do the job OK / restore it to its former glory in truly traditional form etc etc

Having decided what you want to do then the appropriate techniques (and effective and time honoured botches) will present themselves

 

[scottie]

When we had an old 1880ish wooden boat I remember my father telling the next owner to spray the hull for the 24 hours before launching so this may help
The new owners were not amused when their pride and joy gradually filled as she went down the slipway

 

[wombat88]

At the risk of being sensible I'd suggest that the OP gets in touch with someone locally who is familiar with clinker boats and work out an appropriate plan of attack. I'd enjoy doing this but am fortunately too far away...

 

[jamie N]

I'd enjoy doing this but am fortunately too far away...

Wombat and I are as one on this!!

 

[Peacock$]

Great - thanks everyone for your comments which are really appreciated.

To answer the original question I will clean and varnish the interior of the hull dry and then put her in the water. This will hopefully give me some idea of what level of leakage I am dealing with - if any! - and make it easier to decide how best to proceed.

I will report back on progress - probably sometime next year.

 

[daveyw]

Me and my dad about 1967 sailing, drifting around the harbour wall in Minehead

 

[Peacock$]

So, 18 months on, I have finally finished stripping the interior to the point where I am happy with it. I have not yet applied any varnish but have filled any small cracks and splits in the planks with epoxy. My aim was to try to restore/maintain the integrity of each plank (as I don't have the skills to replace them) but to leave the gaps between the planks completely free of epoxy or glue.

I have now turned her on her side and am taking a look at the hull. Roughly above the water line this has multiple coats of shiny white Toplac however there are now cracks between most of the planks as the Toplac has no give in it. Roughly below the waterline there are a couple of thin coats of primer. From my exploration inside I think there is a very dry linseed filler between the planks which drops out in fine dry slices once in a while.

I have read all the forums on how best to prep the hull and will go with a traditional approach of hoping everything swells up to make her water tight when she is in the water - the fixings and frames seem in fairly good condition and the epoxy repaired planks look fairly solid.

A couple of questions;

- I was think to clean around the joints between the planks from the outside and apply Evomastic if required - would that make sense or should I actively try to rake out any old linseed filler between the planks.

- Would it be sensible to strip the entire hull, including all the Toplac, and treat it as one or could I simply rely on the fact the the hull should stay upright in the near term and so fill gaps between the upper planks with Sikaflex or something similar just to keep splashes out.

- Finally - the big question that I cannot see on any forums. When I repaint the hull below the water line, what product - ideally name and number - should I use for primer and top coat. Many of the images that I can see on the web have a hull in a single colour which I like so I am looking for something that could - ideally - be applied over the Toplac.

Any thoughts welcome.

 

[srm]

Can not answer your latest questions but a comment about small clinker hulls taking up.
When I was in Shetland, in the 70's and 80's in the spring we would occasionally see 'Shetland Models' (double ended clinker built open boats) on their moorings with just the stem and stern posts above the water. They had been ashore over the winter, painted in the spring, then launched and left on their moorings for a couple of weeks while the planks 'take up'. After being beached and bailed out they would then be ready for the summer.

 

[Wansworth]

Can not answer your latest questions but a comment about small clinker hulls taking up.
When I was in Shetland, in the 70's and 80's in the spring we would occasionally see 'Shetland Models' (double ended clinker built open boats) on their moorings with just the stem and stern posts above the water. They had been ashore over the winter, painted in the spring, then launched and left on their moorings for a couple of weeks while the planks 'take up'. After being beached and bailed out they would then be ready for the summer.

That’s what Galician fisherman do with their small wooden boats