Restoration project

M

Mollyhawks

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9 Oct 2007
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Norfolk, UK
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I have just joined the ranks of the marginaly insane, I have bought an old wooden boat.If that isn't sufficient evidence to qualify for membership, how about buying it unseen on e-bay, that has to get it .
She's a 34ft " Auxilary cruiser" built by Brooke Marine of Lowestoft in 1937. With the help of Peter Hainford ( archivist for the above) who has supplied me with a copy of the original " Bill of sale " & the written specification,I now know that she was designed by Wilton W Downing of Strood, Rochester, for a surgeon by the name of Hamish Nicol ( who appears to have been an eminent " pox doctor " ) She is oak & American elm framed, planked with pitch pine & decked with teak, the cockpit & saloon are a combination of teak & mahogany. The Bermuda rig is on a 45ft ally mast , not original ( which may or may not stay, time & money dependent ) engine has seized ( not original ). I'll post some foto's shortly which will show the really beautiful lines of the long keel. I have to replace four or five planks to the port side, all above the water line, ( hunting some Pitch Pine or may use Larch ). A previous caring owner has covered the teak fore deck in marine ply, presumably to stop it leaking, so the job this week is to strip that & hope that the original decking is not beyond hope. I'll update regularly & it would be good to hear from you .
 
Yeah Gods and little fishes! Welcome to the ranks. It sounds as though you have one hell of a project there. If you haven't already, I suggest you join the wooden boat forum as well. Lots of useful advice on there too.
 
Welcome aboard Mollyhawks.
Quote:- We have been sailing, largely crewing tallships for the past four years and dreamed of owning a classic wooden sailing boat. We eventually found one we could afford - on ebay, brought it home from Southampton and are now working furiously in the hope of having it in the water early next year. My wife and I sing maritime songs using the name Mollyhawks.

Yes join the happy band of nutters restoring old wooden Boats. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
If you have her back in the water by next spring you will be one of the first to achieve that gaol. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Been at my 1908 gaffer for longer than I care to remember. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Good luck and lets have some pics. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
two pieces of advice which I found invaluable - 1. never own 2 boats (made that mistake) and 2. buy a classic in the best possible condition you can afford (over to you!).
 
The first step to recovery is recognise your illness, so congratulations. The second step is getting treatment. That either means getting rid of the boat, which none of us here are inclined to do, or to start buying surgical instruments (saws, power tools, mallet and chisels), medicine (paints, glue, stikaflex), and spares (more timber that you ever thought you would need, and health insurance (unavailable for an existing condition). /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Otherwise lots of therapy (alcohol), physio (labour) and cold hard cash.

I too am eternally optomistic and hope to have mine back in the water for early summer. (Note: optomistic - early summer, deluded - early spring, realistic..... no I can't conceive of that)

Good luck!
 
Congratulations, the more there are of us the more, we feel inclusive, and that is the first step to a "Support Network".

I am not sure what to suggest because restoring a classic boat is ofcourse a most illogical decision. But here are my tips anyway:

Realistically plan a weekend's work and finish it. Dont go off-track or work piece-meal - you will get depressed!

Don't fuss on the interior and get the structural stuff done and her floating first - The interior bogged me down for years and got me down. You can use the thing even though she is a shell inside (and it is valuable using her to see how things will work for you when afloat - I am changing stuff around all the time now)

Enrolling friends for a "paid-in-beer" working party is a false economy. Some know-all will mess something up that will take a further weekend of work to sort out!
 
Which early summer was that? Thought I would do my deck over a winter - yes a winter, a spring, a summer, an autumn, a winter, a spring and a summer! But it was all worth doing - not financially of course!
 
Now we are into the serous bit.
My 2p.
Measure Once ,Twice, Thrice. Then check you have it right......... Cut Once.
If you have to do it all over again don't throw the bit away in anger for sure as anything it will come in for something else, even if it's for a bit of temporary packing or drilling out for screw hole plugs.
 
Welcome to the nut house!

Having restored everything from cars to boats and never "not" finished one, the best advice I can give is

Always have a small project that you can finish, (no matter how small) this will give you some comfort when you seem to be hitting walls! It may only be I cleaned that fitting, but at least it's done.

Set acheivable time scales

Be focused on the job in hand, it's so easy to say "it's cold, wet, too hot, I need to....ect.

Last advice............ Enjoy the challenge"

It took me 3 years working almost every weekend and some nights to complete my last challenge. She isnt what most would call a classic but she is wood and has been worth ever splinter, bruise and ahemm! broken finger!

Good luck

Tom
 
[ QUOTE ]
Snap. I brought the boat out in December for a winter deck job and got it back in, in May 18 months later....

[/ QUOTE ]

Dont say that!!
I'm doing the decks on mine at the moment and i hoping to go sailing next year! mind you it's only pluging and painting with coelan (sp)
It rains more inside than out!
Rob
 
When I started my restoration project 4 years ago I thought it would only take me a year or so to get things right. However some advice given to in the early stages is beginning to ring very true -
"Expect the work to take 4 times longer than you thought, and to be twice as expensive"

To a certain extent I was fortunate that Corio Vertue is a sailing restoration so that I can still get pleaseure from sailing her while I'm resoring her. Even so be wary that you don't get too carried away with the restoration rather than getting the boat in the water and using her!

Good luck with your project, and enjoy the experience.
 
I agree with Roach. I kept leaving little projects I could finish easily but of course they began to dominate the job, and me!
What I did find out was keeping the boat neat and tidy is a major time saver. Also, a neat and clean interior, although not fitted out yet, is very important to me. I went a long time withour cleaning and repainting in light colours (white, cream, ivory etc.) and became depressed at the state of things.
Its a great feeling when that job comes together and the boat takes another real step forward.
I am afloat now for 7 months and ashore for 5. Although she is empty, apart from structural bulkheads, I can still enjoy thrashing up the Medway leaving the work for the next period ashore.
Good luck and stick with it.
 
I said I would post some photos, so here goes:
Pic 1: Our first sight of the boat moored on the Hamble

Pic 2: Bringing her home

Pic 3: Latest in garden ornaments

I'll post more to show my progress.
 
Pic 1: Polished prop.



Pic 2 : Stripped out cockpit


Pic 3: Removed ply covering to reveal teak deck



Other than the prop the whole thing looks far worse than when she arrived - is this right ?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Other than the prop the whole thing looks far worse than when she arrived - is this right ?

[/ QUOTE ]
Actually pretty normal I think!

By the way, your "stripped out cockpit" looks surprisingly clean and sound. I expected worse!
 
Other than the prop the whole thing looks far worse than when she arrived - is this right ?

Very normal. It was about 5 months into mine that I began t worry that is was only getting worse and never better. The stripping off stage is by far the worst. Once new bits start going in you feel there may be an end.
 
Somebody has already said this but it is worth reiterating as I always feel this is one of the main stumbbling blocks when people take on these jobs.

"Always keep the work area clean"

My last job before locking up, no matter how tied I am is to clean up, most times with a vacuum cleaner. Trust me it makes life much easier next time you go to the boat to work.

There will be a point that the "ratchet" turns, in other words you start putting things back on, but it is normally a long time coming.

Keep the photos coming and we will keep the praise going.

Good luck she will be a very pretty boat when completed.

Tom

PS those teak decks will look good once refurbished.
 
Some restorers like to completly finish the project before starting to use the boat, can I suggest you do the same as a friend of mine. He is restoring a 1920s Navy Pinnace and been at it for 12 years and of course a lot of that work is just yearly maintenance. As soon as the boat was floatable and he had engine power he started using her and started enjoying her. On several of his 'very basic bare boat' trips my boat served as his head and galley, but we had great fun. He never got to the point off feeling p)(ed of with the project and took great pleasure in showing association members what he had acheaved in the last year.

Boats are there to be enjoyed and yes it can feel great to have replaced a rotten plank or 2. but nothing comes near to actually sailing em!!!!
Gone are the days when I would spend a week preping and painting the top sides, now it's a quick rub down with an old bank statement and a quick lick of Duluxe. Then we're off.




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