First steps with a Yachting World Dayboat

Wansworth

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Hi, Is that not Ratsey and Lapthorn?

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
 

Kukri

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That does indeed look like Ratseys’ old stamp; a little later on they went to the red semicircle patch.

Those old cotton sails are irreplaceable now. Alas they cannot be relied on in a breeze and may disintegrate when you don’t want them to - don’t ask me how I know this! ?I’d keep them safe and get new sails made.

Are you planning to keep her afloat, or to keep her ashore and launch her each time you sail? Both are possible with these boats. This affects how you treat the bottom.

If she is to be kept afloat, then four coats of primer, two coats of underwater primer and two coats of the anti fouling of your choice.

Don’t put her on a mooring right away - she will sink! Put her near the top of the hard for a couple of tides and gradually move her down the hard. After a week she should be fine.

If she is going to be dry sailed treat the bottom as the topsides and bring a good bailer.

Toplac isn’t the ideal paint for clinker topsides; if you are feeling keen I would suggest replacing it with Epifanes enamel paint.
 

Peacock$

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Hi Kukri,
Thanks for the helpful reply. Yes, I have the original sails stamped Ratsey and Lapthorn Ltd, Sail Makers, Cowes, 1953. No. 12110. I phoned them when trying to date the boat but although they were helpful they couldn't find the original invoice. I also have some more modern sails although I imagine these will be of equal historical value by the time the project is finished.
I have been toying with the choice between storing dry and launching just for sailing and essentially keeping her wet all year round. I really like the idea of keep her wet and using only traditional paints and varnishes however at a practical level I suspect she will look so nice when I have finished her that I won't want to let her out of my sight. More importantly I cannot actually sail so a trip to the local lake is likely to be the most extensive contact with water that we'll have in the early years.
If we do down the dry route then I am guessing I am aiming to varnish the hull to the point where it is as water proof as possible and accept that she'll move around and leak like the proverbial sieve on first launch - not actually ideal for the novice mariner.
I guess the question is then whether I try to enamel across the plank gaps and accept this enamel will certainly crack on first movement or try to enamel each plank individually and use Evomastic to keep the water out.
I am moving towards oiling the interior somehow rather than varnishing for the same reason and in the hope that oil might feed the incredibly dry timbers and enable easy reapplication of oil each season. I guess it might make sense to to this before enamelling the hull in order to provoke any movement before trying to seal the hull.
In conclusion the current plan is to
Strip off all the Toplac, take the hull down to bare boards and some remnants of a silver primer.​
Oil extensively the interior - any product recommendations gratefully received.​
Clean and mastic the joints on the exterior and then repaint with Epifanes Yacht Enamel and associated primers​
Keep her dry.​
Any alternative suggestions welcome.
Thanks again for your help.
Graham
 

srm

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This is just an idea.
If the structure is really dry at the moment would it be practical/sensible to completely strip it back to bare wood, then coat with epoxy and use epoxy putty to seal the lands. I am thinking of the technique used for epoxy / ply clinker construction. This would give a waterproof hull even when dry stored, without the problems of the planks taking up.
The epoxy would then need a varnish/paint finish for UV protection and cosmetic appearance.
 

Kukri

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I don’t think I can call this a recommendation, as I am experimenting myself, but I am at a somewhat similar stage with an elderly 14ft dinghy.

Mine is an Uffa Fox built International 14, so the construction is different - she is double skin carvel, with a layer of cloth soaked in white lead between the skins.

I stripped and varnished the outside and I have been stripping the inside, which as you already know is about the most tiresome job in the whole of messing about in boats.

I decided to try to get some oil and some preservative into the wood and the cloth, and after much canvassing of opinion I have gone for 1/3 raw linseed oil, 1/3 genuine turpentine and 1/3 clear Cuprinol. I intend to varnish over this once the oil has dried enough, in about a year’s time.


There are at least three disadvantages to this; one is that the wood gets quite a bit darker with the oil , the gloop picks up any stray dirt, brush hairs, etc, going, as may be seen, and the third is the cost and the time.


I am luckier than you as I don’t have to worry about getting inside under the decks.

I am only trying to “saturate” the 3/16” x 5/32” Canadian Rock Elm ribs, the inner skin of 1/16” Honduras mahogany and the white lead paint soaked cotton calico between the skins. The outer planking of 3/16” Honduras mahogany can take care of itself!

I must emphasise that I am not writing from experience- I don’t know if this will work!

C6766734-8E5E-4EA1-91A0-FC6D93BFFB52.jpegD9C55363-43EF-4578-AD5F-DF187A59CDBC.jpeg
 
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Kukri

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This is just an idea.
If the structure is really dry at the moment would it be practical/sensible to completely strip it back to bare wood, then coat with epoxy and use epoxy putty to seal the lands. I am thinking of the technique used for epoxy / ply clinker construction. This would give a waterproof hull even when dry stored, without the problems of the planks taking up.
The epoxy would then need a varnish/paint finish for UV protection and cosmetic appearance.

I would hesitate to do this. It works brilliantly with plywood planking, and I have built a dinghy that way myself, but I notice that the experts on using epoxy for boat building and repairs do not recommend it.
 

Kukri

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Replying to Peacock$’s point about keeping her dry - it is possible to over think this. Plenty of clinker dinghies are kept ashore and launched only when sailed. The usual advice is to put nothing at all in the lands, as whatever you put there may go hard and make things worse. Just be sure to take a sponge and a bailer with you!

Some boats have a small removable section in the floorboards so you can dip the bailer into the lowest part of the hull.

I’m sure the owners’ association recommended above will be able to help.

I don’t think you need to worry at all about sailing her, they are nice gentle boats and you are doing everything right so you will do that right too.
 
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Peacock$

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That International 14 is lovely. I wondered about one of these as a first project but the construction seemed much less suitable for novice and taking her out would almost certainly have end in disaster. The materials, design and engineering from the period are amazing and a joy to behold.

OK - so nothing in the lands beyond some non-silicone, non-setting, mastic like Evomastic - that was my sense so nice to have it confirmed.
As to the other point about essentially preserving the dry boards in epoxy. I had considered this however it is a one way decision which I am reluctant to take. She's only a £500 impulse buy off Ebay but I still feel a sense of stewardship. Might change my mind when I am bailing out in the first reservoir.
The oil mix is interesting. I had heard linseed oil darkens the wood but it is a useful start. I had wondered about Danish oil which I used on other wood projects and which seems to have the right ingredients and buffs up to a shine rather than a stick.

Thanks again for sharing thoughts and experiences.
 

Kukri

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Mine was described to me by the son of her last active owner - himself a very eminent boat builder - as “will tip you in at the drop of a hat, and then take for ever to right and bail out!?

She is a “last project”; having sold out and bought a “frozen snot” (L.Francis Herreshoff’s words) boat late in my sailing career, I “rescued” her from the EISCA “fire sale” auction feeling the need to have something to varnish!

The choice of raw linseed oil and genuine turpentine was made because I didn’t want the “boat soup” to dry (in reality, to oxidise) until it had got to where I hope it will get to!
 
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[159032]

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I don’t think I can call this a recommendation, as I am experimenting myself, but I am at a somewhat similar stage with an elderly 14ft dinghy.

Mine is an Uffa Fox built International 14, so the construction is different - she is double skin carvel, with a layer of cloth soaked in white lead between the skins.

I stripped and varnished the outside and I have been stripping the inside, which as you already know is about the most tiresome job in the whole of messing about in boats.


View attachment 92437

Lovely finish on the hull. carvel is lovely in that respect.
I am surprised you have left the inside until last. I restored a few small wooden dinghies and always did the bashing and rough work first, ending with the exterior to avoid anything spoiling it.

I agree about darkening the wood. The last clinker I did turned out a bit dark. If I did another I would aim for a lighter, golden finish
 

Kukri

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I am surprised you have left the inside until last. I restored a few small wooden dinghies and always did the bashing and rough work first, ending with the exterior to avoid anything spoiling it.

I agree about darkening the wood. The last clinker I did turned out a bit dark. If I did another I would aim for a lighter, golden finish

Two reasons - given the length of time the project was going to take, I wanted to “see a result”, to keep myself motivated, and I wanted to be able to store her out of doors upside down under a tarp if the garage were needed for something else.
 

Dug1

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Replying to Peacock$’s point about keeping her dry - it is possible to over think this. Plenty of clinker dinghies are kept ashore and launched only when sailed. The usual advice is to put nothing at all in the lands, as whatever you put there may go hard and make things worse. Just be sure to take a sponge and a bailer with you!

Some boats have a small removable section in the floorboards so you can dip the bailer into the lowest part of the hull.

I’m sure the owners’ association recommended above will be able to help.

I don’t think you need to worry at all about sailing her, they are nice gentle boats and you are doing everything right so you will do that right too.
My first ever sailing dinghy was a Brightlingsea One Design clinker built 14 footer which had been stored in an onshore garage. Of course it leaked like a sieve on first putting it in the water. It did ultimately take up but never fully. The old Mersea sailor who took an interest in her reckoned she'd been grounding between tides on coarse sand whilst taking up which had got between the lands, he was probably right. I loved that old dinghy though. It met an unfortunate end coming into the beach at West Mersea when it was pooped over the stern by a 'rogue' wave which sprung the lower planks away from the keel with the weight of water internally.
She may have been as rotten as a pear but I loved her!
 
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