The major restoration of Chance (Token) James Silver Western Isles Motor sailer

[AntarcticPilot]

After what appears to be an age I hopefully from Wednesday this coming week I will have a van again although it is not mine it is still a Transit van, so I can get back on the road and get back to Woodplumpton and get on with finishing off the stripping out of the interior of Chance and get last of the furniture out of the main cabin and the aft heads and the wheelhouse roof off the cockpit and get ready to lift the engines out and remove the tanks for inspection and if possible be able to reuse the tanks if they are still in a condition to be used. If they are not then look about for replacement tanks for the boat.
While I have not been able to get to Chance because of my recovery for a emergency operation which meant I had to not work for 6 weeks and that put a hold on doing any work of any kind for that period. So I have now started to strip down the cabin and locker doors and stripped the old varnish off the doors and started to sand down the doors back to their natural colour. It has been a very difficult job as the old varnish was hard to get off at first however, with a bit of elbow grease and a hot air gun and course sandpaper they are starting to look more like they did when Chance was first build.
So I have not been able to do any major work on the boat itself, I have been busy with some of the smaller items which were already back at my boatyard.
Other bits that I have back at the boatyard are some of the old original fittings such as her original Navigation lights that have still been on the boat after all these years. many of the door furniture are original as well. They appear to be still in god condition apart from needing re-chroming at sometime during the restoration when I have a large enough number to make it not a expensive job.
As you can see their a few items that have survive the years, these will all have a fair amount of TLC and will be going back on the boat later on in the restoration.

Love the navigation lamps! But are they in original condition? Surely they'd originally have been oil lamps, and the electric lamps a later modification?

 

[jstarmarine]

Love the navigation lamps! But are they in original condition? Surely they'd originally have been oil lamps, and the electric lamps a later modification?

Hi Antarctic Pilot,

The navigation lights are likely to be original although they may have been changed to electric from oil as the part of the change of lighting from oil to electric lighting throughout the boat. the wiring in the boat which was very old and much of thing was old wiring from the 1950's and has not been changed in the time since the boat was built.

Regards

Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi Forum members,

At last I have a transit van to get my work underway again on Chance and get other jobs done around my yard and in the workshop. Not having a transit van with a towbar fitted as been a great royal pain as much of my work needs a transit size van with a towbar on a must if I am to do my work. Especially when I have to move boats and trailers around the yard and up and down the country. This is true of the bits and pieces I have in storage at the yard where Chance is presently stored. The sooner I can get them down at my yard the better so I can work on them.
The next big job on Chance is going to be removing the engines and tankage out of the engine bay and getting them back down to my yard to get them sold along with the diesel cooker and any of other items which are in good condition and can be sold on to fund this project.

Once the engines and tankage is out the inspection of this area of the boat can be done to see how much work is going to be needed to sort out and take measurements for new engines to go in place of the original engines which are beyond cost effective condition to sort out.

So it is now time to make plans to go up country to Chance and get on with the jobs that need to be done before the winter takes hold.

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi fellow forum members,
At last I am back up at Woodplumpton to get on with working on Chance once more. Hopefully with help from my brother John, we hope to get the engines out of the boat and into the trailer to take them back to my yard in Essex. To at first see if there is any chance of getting them up and running again or if not disposing of them. either way they will be out of the boat and we will be able to remove the fuel and water tanks from the engine bay at the same time and expose the hull to make an inspection of the inside of the hull in this area of the boat. However, before this can be done the small task of getting the wheelhouse removed to gain access to the engines to remove them from the engine bay once all the engine controls and other connections are removed whichever way they come apart.

So tomorrow morning the fun starts with uncovering the wheelhouse roof and getting to grips with the plywood and T&G which make up the roof and removing the outer edges to expose the ends of the wheelhouse roof beams to see if they can be released and the roof removed in one piece. Updates tomorrow evening on how we got on with this task.

 

[burgundyben]

What engines are they?

 

[jstarmarine]

The

What engines are they?
[/QUOTE
Hi Ben ,
Chance has a pair of Dorman 4 cylinder 1948 built diesels which have not run for over 25 years and I can not get any spare parts for. So I am looking into a pair of hybrid diesels to put in their place which are more environmentally friendly.
Regards
Simon

 

[tillergirl]

I admit I like the idea of a pair of hybrids but I suspect that will need more space, will have more weight and cost. I still miss the 'silence' under sail and I do miss old fashioned 'slow' diesels. I will be very interested to follow your progress on that.

 

[jstarmarine]

I admit I like the idea of a pair of hybrids but I suspect that will need more space, will have more weight and cost. I still miss the 'silence' under sail and I do miss old fashioned 'slow' diesels. I will be very interested to follow your progress on that.

Hi Ben,
The diesels that are in the boat now are now large as they are 3litre engines and the engines I hope to put in are a lot smaller and will produce as much not more horsepower. The original motors were only 20hp and a modern engine that produces that horsepower in a lot smaller. We first have to get the old engines out and then make a decision on the size and model then.
Regards
Simon

 

[tillergirl]

On reflection about weight, I remember when I changed engines on TG, I fitted a Volvo 2030 in lieu of a BMC 1.5 with a reduction box. I recall the gearbox was a 'monster'. It actually had a MkI clutch with a sprocket and change gear change. And the reduction box was 'mighty'. I think the gearbox, clutch and reduction box was heavier than the total weight of the 2030 let alone the actual BMC 1.5. So it may be that you would have a lot of leeway as regards weight with a modern hybrid. Extra batteries though I suppose. Max'ing solar panel would help as well but might spoil the traditional appearance of a Silver.

 

[jstarmarine]

On reflection about weight, I remember when I changed engines on TG, I fitted a Volvo 2030 in lieu of a BMC 1.5 with a reduction box. I recall the gearbox was a 'monster'. It actually had a MkI clutch with a sprocket and change gear change. And the reduction box was 'mighty'. I think the gearbox, clutch and reduction box was heavier than the total weight of the 2030 let alone the actual BMC 1.5. So it may be that you would have a lot of leeway as regards weight with a modern hybrid. Extra batteries though I suppose. Max'ing solar panel would help as well but might spoil the traditional appearance of a Silver.

Hi Tillergirl,
I will put solar panels on the deck only when they are needed. Will look at other options along the way.
Regards
Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi Tillergirl,
I will put solar panels on the deck only when they are needed. Will look at other options along the way.
Regards
Simon

There is room for extra battery banks in the boat with a bit of moving things around that was wasted space before.

 

[jstarmarine]

My first job of the day, removing the chain locker bulkhead

The chain locker bulkhead in position before it is removed to expose the frames which it was nailed to with galvanized wire nails.



The yellowed patches are rotten wood which is the reason for removing the bulkhead in the first place



The patches of rot are all over the place on this bulkhead, the most likely reason for the rot is a lack of ventilation in this part of the boat and ths s going to be changed when this part of the boat is restored.





The bottom of where the chain locker base was originally sited

 

[jstarmarine]

Now the chain locker bulkhead is removed, time to inspect the damage the rotten wood as done to the surrounding area

In the upper bow area it appears that it is only flaking paint and the condition of the hull is in reasonable and will just need to have the paint heat gunned off and be repainted once the air as got to the wood and given it a chance to dry out.



The rotten wood has been removed from the frames and it appears that the oak frames are just wet and they are not soft in any way so it is just a matter of letting the wood dry off naturally and when it is dry once more sealing the wood and repaint the whole area.



The same can not be said for the deck beam end which is rotten where the rotten bulkhead along with a leaking deck as caused the deck beam to go rotten. A job for when the deck gets removed and the ends of the beams can be exposed.




The lower part of the frames where the rotten chain locker bulkhead was nailed to the frames as appeared not to have affected the frames apart from making them damp, however the frames are in good order









The other rotten deck beam end caused by a leaking deck and lack of ventilation in the fore cabin

 

[jstarmarine]

My Brother John's job for the day, removing all the bits of equipment fitted to the engine to stop them from coming out of the boat


When my brother John saw the engine, he said to me let me at it I am going to enjoy doing this.



The engines had moire filters than you could need, it had these twin filters on the forward engine bulkhead, two more in front of each engine and and another on each engine. The fuel filters even had their own drip trays for any spills and the trays even have their own drain tap to remove any fuel out of the trays




The gearbox end of the engines even have covers over the gearbox coupling to protect the coupling from anything falling down on them





The original water locks in the exhaust system





My Brother John hard at work in the engine bay removed parts off the port engine to get it ready tp be lifted out of the boat later in the week

 

[tillergirl]

The water lock has reminded me of the set up with TG's BMC. Very similar and again it was very weighty.

Good luck with bow. All the trouble is down to a leaky deck isn't it.

 

[jstarmarine]

The water lock has reminded me of the set up with TG's BMC. Very similar and again it was very weighty.

Good luck with bow. All the trouble is down to a leaky deck isn't it.

My brother John is enjoying himself doing the engine work and getting the area ready to lift the engines out later in the week. There is so much old engine equipment to remove, The fuel filters trays are going to get cleaned up and are going to be reused as they are much a good design and idea to keep any fuel from going in the bilge. The engines even have drip trays under them, which is a good idea and one I have used in the past on other old boats. Once we have the engines out we can get the fuel and water tanks out and see if them can be reused, it would be good if all them need is a good cleaning and repainting as they are a good size.

Regards

Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

The teak deck on Chance is not like other teak laid deck I have worked on before, Chance's deck is a single layer of 1" thick teak laid straight on to the deck beams without an underlaying deck to keep it sealed. I will put a inner and then lay the teak deck on to the sub deck that way sopping any future leaks happening again.

Regards

Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

After a good day on Tuesday, It is hoped that Wednesday the engine removal section of the job will continue has before.
John hard at work removing as much of the old bits ahead of the engine to let the engine come forward to come up out of the engine bay



The old twin fuel filters from the engine bay forward bulkhead



While my brother John is continuing to do the engine removal part of the restoration this time round, I am continuing to remove as much of the forward end of the boats woodwork to gain access to the hull for planking repairs



This a appears to be what remains of a holding bracket to keep the forward toilet in position in the fore cabin. I am still thinking whether or not to refit a forward heads in the boat given the limited space in this cabin in the first place. Time will tell if is going to be a good idea or not.




The forecabin porthole surround framework to which the side paneling was fixed too. I am not sure whether to put any paneling back in the forecabin as much of the rotten planking up forward on the boat is in areas behind the paneling, I will have to look at other James Silver's to see how they were done.





So today it is going to be much of the same. Removing more wood and get to grips with the dirt in the bilges and start to clean the bilge area up forward and move back to the engine bay.

 

[tillergirl]

You are giving me an attack of 'deja vue'! I am afraid I had to replace a section of the beam shelf on TG. I really feared for doing that but it turned out no as difficult as I thought. We have the covering plank and that was fitted onto a lorry chassis as a template. We clamped the new section of beam shelf to the shape of the covering plank and let it 'sweat' for quite a long time - a couple of months I recall as we had other things to do. Unclamped, the beam shelf went back dead straight - eek. But fitted into place it 'remembered' and a gentle push and it went clunck into place.

Going to be great when you have everything clear. When can you bring her 'home'?

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi

You are giving me an attack of 'deja vue'! I am afraid I had to replace a section of the beam shelf on TG. I really feared for doing that but it turned out no as difficult as I thought. We have the covering plank and that was fitted onto a lorry chassis as a template. We clamped the new section of beam shelf to the shape of the covering plank and let it 'sweat' for quite a long time - a couple of months I recall as we had other things to do. Unclamped, the beam shelf went back dead straight - eek. But fitted into place it 'remembered' and a gentle push and it went clunck into place.

Going to be great when you have everything clear. When can you bring her 'home'?
[/QUOTE
Hi Tillergirl
This morning got the forecabin area a bit clear and got the water and dirt out of the bilge, so I can at last see the keel and the Garford planks at last. They appear to be in good order. May be they have bee pickled from years of diesel and oil covering them. I hope to get her back to Walton on the Naze in April
Regards
Simon