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

[ianc1200]

Built by Hugh McClean & Sons Govan Glasgow 1935

MY SHUNA - Classic Boat Magazine

That's my tent you can see in the photo behind. My ARC Marine Ltd built, to the Everyman class, "Straight Across", is in for major surgery in it.

 

[jstarmarine]

Built by Hugh McClean & Sons Govan Glasgow 1935

MY SHUNA - Classic Boat Magazine

That's my tent you can see in the photo behind. My ARC Marine Ltd built, to the Everyman class, "Straight Across", is in for major surgery in it.

Sorry for the mistake. It looked a bit like a silver from the same time period. So you and I have a lot in common with major surgery on both our boats.
Regards
Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

Now Chance is home with us, It is time to sort out the bits in the boat, Get the boat covered over until I have the money to build a temporary shed over her. In the meantime I will get some heavy weight Tarpaulins to keep out the worse of the weather. However, I will be getting on with the repairs to the transom and the starboard side as we work our way round the hull back to the transom. Also at the same time work on repairs to the deck and superstructure along the way.

 

[jstarmarine]

Time now to start on trying Chance up so we can work on her.
It has been just over a week since Chance made her way down to Walton on the Naze and little in the way of work has been done on Chance. The weather has been against us with it raining most of the time since Chance arrived in Walton on the Naze. Hopefully now the forecast is for a few days of dry weather we should be able to get on to Chance and empty out the bits that came down from Woodplumpton on the boat.
The wood that was put in the aft cabin and the tools and tool boxes we had in Chance when she was in Woodplumpton which now have to come out the wood to go under the boat and the tools returned to my workshop so they can be used to continue the restoration of Chance.
So I will continue to sort out the transom framework and put the correct shape back into the starboard side and so it mirrors the port side which is still in its original shape and what the starboard side will be after the old framework on the starboard is removed and the Hull is aloud to move freely back into the original position.
The transom as it is at the moment

These parts have to be removed so that the whole part of the hull can move

All these pieces of wood will need to be replaced with new framework once it is back in the original position

Also we will be sorting out the aft cabin to fore cabin starboard beam shelf which needs removing and replacing with a piece of oak and also make up some new knees and deck beams along the starboard side deck then make up new ends for the large aft deck beams or if the deck beams are to far gone make new deck beams up.to the same pattern as before.Then we will relay the teak deck after the sub-deck is made to make the deck watertight.The first bit of deck will be the aft and the two aft cabin side decks so we have a good safe deck to work on.
~Now all we need is a few dry days and many hands to get the work done.



https://www.patreon.com/posts/time-now-to-on-74436516/edit

 

[jstarmarine]

We have at long last been able to get to Chance and start working on her. Last week was a wash out as it did not stop raining long enough to get any work done on her. So it was a matter of doing planning instead and getting things sorted for this weekend.

As you can see if you become a patreon @ Life's a Gamble so let's take a Chance Restoration are creating The Historic boat Chance restoration by Simon,Tricia, Michael | Patreon in that video the amount of work on the first day was not a lot, just removing bits and pieces out of Chance, also removing some of the rain that got in the boat as we have not had chance or the money to get a large cover for her yet. I have got a number of trestles and boards which I had spare in and around my workshop and yard. These are just the right height to work on the beam shelf and the deck. Now they are in place we can get on with the major repairs on the beam shelf and the sides decks.
One job we will have to do is to shore up the aft deck and support it while we repair and replace the the whole deck structure over the coming months and also the transom framework before we are able to renew the transom skin once more.
So today was sorting out a few things in and around the boat and tomorrow it will be sorting out the boat some more and laying a new temporary floorboards inside the boat so we can work on Chance safely.
So now the major work begins.

 

[burgundyben]

I've got my project boat in a tent from machinemart, its not great, but it will do.

Getting undercover is essential but costly, ultimately yoy want to be spending money on boat materials not storage fees and shelters, so a balance has to be met.

 

[Hacker]

Ben, there’s a guy called Tim Newson who runs Practical Sea School. He had a big tent at Dell Quay when he was restoring his Baba 35. Not sure if he is still using it/has it but it was a strong well made frame.

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi Hacker,
I am restoring Chance I would be in the market for a second hand big tent to go over my Boat, If you know of anyone, could you DM me with their details so I can get in contact with them.
Regards
Simon

 

[burgundyben]

Thank you Hacker, but I've decided to stick with my tent for now.

Simon, you go for it, you need cover.

 

[jstarmarine]

Thank you Hacker, but I've decided to stick with my tent for now.

Simon, you go for it, you need cover.

I am looking into which company gives the best deal and the material to use to make the shelter.

 

[bristoljim]

I am looking into which company gives the best deal and the material to use to make the shelter.

If you can find a commercial polytunnel frame which is no longer being used a new cover is relatively cheap & if you use the heat insulating tape to keep the cover off the steel the cover will last 10 years or so.
Jim

 

[burgundyben]

I am looking into which company gives the best deal and the material to use to make the shelter.

Its tricky and materials are costly, ultimately you want to be boat fixing not shed building.

 

[jstarmarine]

Its tricky and materials are costly, ultimately you want to be boat fixing not shed building.

Very true,
I will try and get some tarpaulins this weekend to get some of the boat covered while I get the funds together to get a more permanent covers sorted .
Regards
Simon

 

[Keith 66]

I have my Saunders launch in a hooped roof shed, Was originally made by Dick the Dutchman to build a large steel yacht in, then a couple of owners before i got it. Hoops are semicircular rolled steel scaffold poles so about 18ft wide. Cover was made by a canopy manufacturer Weatherweave in Rayleigh Essex. Cover we originally had made was a white polytunnel ripstop material, It has lasted nearly 18 years but is at end of its life now. Use hotspot tape to protect the cover from the steel.
I just bought an equivalent spec cover & it was £740, A pvc lorry tarp cover the same size would have been £1400. Its worth spending on a decent cover.

 

[jstarmarine]

I have my Saunders launch in a hooped roof shed, Was originally made by Dick the Dutchman to build a large steel yacht in, then a couple of owners before i got it. Hoops are semicircular rolled steel scaffold poles so about 18ft wide. Cover was made by a canopy manufacturer Weatherweave in Rayleigh Essex. Cover we originally had made was a white polytunnel ripstop material, It has lasted nearly 18 years but is at end of its life now. Use hotspot tape to protect the cover from the steel.
I just bought an equivalent spec cover & it was £740, A PVC lorry tarp cover the same size would have been £1400. Its worth spending on a decent cover.

Hi Keith
Could you let me have a few photos of the frame so I can see if I can get a framework made for my Restoration project

 

[jstarmarine]

News from Chance Restoration HQ on what the team have been up to this week
It has been a busy week at Chance Restoration HQ, because the last few days the weather as been not so good for working outside, we took the chance to sort out the parts of Chance we brought back from Woodplumpton when Chance was transported down to Essex.
There was a large amount of parts that were loaded in the two box trailers, some of it is little more than firewood, however, there are a number of important bits which can be used as patterns and others that need cleaning with degreaser and then cleaning down to get rid of any oil and grease before drying off in the workshop before being repaired and re-painting and putting away or putting back in the boat. Such items such as floorboards which need to go back so we can walk around the inside safely.
One of the items that was brought back was the over a ton of scrap iron which made up Chances internal ballast. This will need sandblasting and then coating with epoxy tar and then stored and when the time is right re-fitted to the boat in the bilges in boxes to keep it off the planking and hog.
One of the jobs high on the list of jobs is to get a cover over Chance as soon as possible to keep the rain out of the boat and get the boat dry so that work can be done on the inside at the same time as work is getting done on the planking and the transom.
One job we have been doing this week is removing the deck hatches on the foredeck and aft deck of Chance so that these can be repaired and in some cases replaced as they are to far gone to salvage as they are either rotten or broken. Once the bases are removed the holes can be filled with plywood blanks and sealed until time when the deck hatches refitted to the restored deck.
Another job we were doing over the past few days in work on the transom by removing the old rotten framework from the port side so that I can pattern up the shape of the port side which we know is correct and then turn the pattern over to the starboard side which we know as moved out of shape.
Once the portside pattern is made and turned over on to the starboard side then we can prop up the starboard side of the transom back into the correct position and then the new transom framework into position and fix the planking to the new framework to hold the transom and that part of the hull back in the correct place.
At which time we will be able to steam in the new ribs which will further hold that part of the hull in the correct position. However, they are jobs for another day.
First get the boat more watertight from above and make the transom pattern to get the back of the boat sorted out.



https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2619970828254989209/5429990813450670649#

 

[penfold]

As you're changing the internal fit-out, removing redundant items and replacing heavy fuel/water tanks and engines with lighter/smaller modern equivalents, the ballasting is going to change a lot; might be an opportune moment to change to lead as you'll need more ballast anyway and there may not be enough bilge space for iron. In the long term external ballast shoes attached to the existing external ballast could free you of bilge clutter.

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi ,
I am only changing the internal layout back to how it was when Chance was originally build. As Chance as been mess about over the years by different owners. This has been seen in the the way they hacked about the aft cabin and the main saloon cabin and the way they mess about with the fore cabin. The aft cabin they removed the two bunks and the drawers between the bunks and removed the aft bulkhead in the aft cabin and put in a athwartships double bunk made out of pine. Thankfully the outline of the original bunks is still there to see how it was build originally in 1948. So we have an idea of how it was originally build and laid out.

In the main saloon cabin they fitted a diesel cooker / heater and hack about the cabinet on the starboard side and put a hole in the deckhead. This is not going back in and the cabinet work is going to go back in as it was originally build when Chance was launched.

The forecabin was messed about with as well with bits missing. However, from looking at other James Silver's we will be able to rebuild the forecabin back the way it was originally build and laid out.

As for the ballast , I take it onboard that the weight will have to be increased to take into account that we have removed close to 2 tons in engines and tankage and yes I will need more ballast. We will be fitting more modern engines and they will be weighting a lot less than the original engines and tanks. However, we will be fitting more batteries, a generator and a hot water system and a modern heating system , grey and black water tanks and if we need any more ballast we will collect over the years some lead to replace the iron ballast.
We hope to not have to fit any external ballast if possible. That will be a thing we can sort out later in the restoration.

 

[jstarmarine]

Having removed these lids off the butterfly hatch bases at the weekend it was time to dismantle the lids so the extent of the damage if any was present in the lids



The surface needed to be given a heavy sanding to get rid of the grey surface oxidation and the moss that had grown on the surface after years of neglect.



Once the splines and putty was removed from around the glass it just needed a little pressure and light tapping with a leather hammer and the glass came out of the frames



Then it was a matter of cleaning out the old putty from the frames to let the frames start to dry out after years of neglect and lack of varnish and a lot of TLC that they need them to keep looking good





The four lids now sanded down and ready to put on the selves in the workshop to dry out until they are ready to be restored along with the bases which are still on the deck of Chance. Once we have got the bases removed they will get the same treatment as the lids and then left to dry out until they are needed to be refitted later in the restoration project.

 

[jstarmarine]

Chance inclusion on the National Register of Historic Ships UK
This certificate shows that the National Historic Ships UK see Chance as meriting inclusion on their register of Historic ships has Chance is of merit as Chance is a historic ship of note and as such needs to be restored to her original condition and preserved and restored. To this end we are in the process of trying get funding for funding bodies in the maritime sector to help us achieve Chances' restoration and have her once again sailing the high seas.