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

[jstarmarine]

This past year as been one of many turns and changes along the way. We had plans to get the restoration of Chance underway in a major way. however this was not to be the case. As the following paragraph will show you.

Having moved Chance from Woodplumpton in the previous November to Walton on the Naze in Essex, we set about making plans to start doing the restoration in the spring of this year. However, this was derailed by the passing of my wife's mother after a long illness, this event happened and so the project was put on hold for most of the year apart from doing the odd bit here and there either on Chance or in the workshop doing small jobs while we rebuild our lives once more,

So has the months when on during 2023 without the heart to move the project along the project ground to a slow halt and in the end it stop with a cover being put over the boat and all work stopped on the boat itself.

So we both when about our daily working lives while we came to terms with the passing of my wife's mother. Now that this year is coming to to an end and the Christmas break as given us both a chance to recharge our minds and bodies, so that we can make a fresh start in the spring on the outside of the boat and get the major structural work done to the starboard side and the transom.

In the meantime, we can get on with work on the inside of Chance starting in the forecabin and start to rebuild the cabin and put some of the parts of the boat back in place as they were originally made to be. However, first there as to be a fair amount of parts put in the boat such as floorboards from the aft end of the boat to the front so that we can walk through the boat without a major problem of tripping over parts of the boat structure.

We also have to think of putting in parts that need to go in below the floorboards and inside cupboards and lockers. We do have to replace a number of ribs and beam shelf so that these jobs can be done. So we will have to plan the work carefully so as not to do the jobs twice,

So after this christmas break is over, it will be back to planning our next moves on working on Chance in the coming months.

We both hope that 2024 will be a better years and we can make a good start into the new year and get the project back on track.

 

[ianc1200]

Hi Simon, if you weren't aware your tarpaulin has blown off - noticed when dog walking yesterday.

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi Simon, if you weren't aware your tarpaulin has blown off - noticed when dog walking yesterday.

Hi Ian
Thanks for letting me know. I will go over and have a look at sorting it out.
Regards
Chance

 

[jstarmarine]

Hi Simon, if you weren't aware your tarpaulin has blown off - noticed when dog walking yesterday.

Hi Ian,

Been to look at Chance, she appears to look okay apart from the cover being blown off her, as soon as I can get down to her with some more hands I will get the cover back over her and tied down better. these last couple of gales and storms have not helped. However, in the new year hope to get a better cover to go over Chance for the rest of her restoration. Just got to raise some more funds to purchase the materials to build the shed cover over Chance. So I better start a GO Fund Me page for people wishing to donate to the project going foreward.

 

[jstarmarine]

 

[burgundyben]

These boat projects are bloody tough, make no mistake. I did my first one aged 30, I'm now doing my 4th one aged 52 and its a lot harder! And a lot more expensive.

Its no mean feat, they say once the shed door is closed its hard to open, so keep at it.

We're rooting for you. She's a fine old lady.

 

[jstarmarine]

These boat projects are bloody tough, make no mistake. I did my first one aged 30, I'm now doing my 4th one aged 52 and its a lot harder! And a lot more expensive.

Its no mean feat, they say once the shed door is closed its hard to open, so keep at it.

We're rooting for you. She's a fine old lady.

Hi Ben,
The projects are hard work especially when you are doing the work by yourself without the people of any volunteers to do some of the smaller or easier jobs so that the major jobs can be done by people like me with the experience to undertake the major structural jobs like the beam shelf and transom. There are a lot of smaller jobs that I have at my workshop which will be done over the winter months and then be ready for refitting later.

 

[jstarmarine]

 

[jstarmarine]

 

[jstarmarine]

After the Christmas break has come to an end it was time to go down to Chance and survey the damage the high winds and rain had done to Chance. Thankfully, Chance was in reasonable condition given that I had not been able to get down to her apart from securing the cover on the ground so that it did not get damaged anymore than it had already.

Chance had taken on a lot of water in her bilges because I was able to get the cover over her before today given the high winds and the rain made it dangerous to work on her decks. So today was the first day that it was safe to get on her decks and get her cover back over her again and start to empty out her bilges which were full of fresh water, a bad type of water to have in any bilge.

Now that I have the cover back over her topsides and tied down again, it was time to make a start on emptying out the water that had collected in her bilges. This was a job I had done before the Christmas break, but having the cover come off the boat I had to do it all again and this time there was a lot more water to remove, not just the odd pint or two, however, this time it was gallons of water from one end of Chance's bilge to the other end.

So now it is a matter of letting the bilge dry out again and start again. One good thing to come out of all this was that the four sections of bilge are all watertight and so the hull is still holding water and not leaky through the plank seams, so that is a positive note.

The next time, I am at Chance I will start to set up lights through the inside of the boat and a few power sockets so that I can use power tools as well as battery tools.

Also, I have to sort out the pile of floorboards which I have in the temporary outside workshop in my yard and clean them up and paint the undersides and pit them back in the boat and put thin plywood cover panels over the floorboards so I can walk through the inside of Chance safely. Once the floorboards are down then work can start on the inside more easily than before.

s you all know we had to strip out the inside of Chance to to inspect the hull and frames and ribs to see how much work was going to be needed to sort the condition of the hull. Now that we know that we can make plans to sort this out over the coming months and as the weather is against us to work outside on the planking repairs we can start on some of the interior work instead.

So we can going to make a start on the fore cabin and clean down the hull planking and get rid of all the old paint and make a start on rebuilding the cabins it was originally made in 1948 when Chance was commissioned. So we have our hands full for the foreseeable future so as they say onwards and upwards.

If there is anyone out there who could help with plans or an no longer needed bow shed we could have to cover Chance with a more secure shed to go over Her for ongoing restoration.

 

[burgundyben]

Mine is a mere 23ft and single engine, but still the costs are so much higher that 2001 when I had my first one.

 

[lusitano]

I,ve seen several old wooden boats with bungs in the bilges to allow for drainage when cleaning etc.
Also very handy for draining a fully submerged hull that has been intentionally sunk in order to close up seams.
Would it not be an idea to open up a couple of bung holes on Chance ?
Even with the cover on, you will always have problems with fresh rainwater finding its way into the bilge.
Self draining would be a bonus, particularly over the coming months

 

[jstarmarine]

I,ve seen several old wooden boats with bungs in the bilges to allow for drainage when cleaning etc.
Also very handy for draining a fully submerged hull that has been intentionally sunk in order to close up seams.
Would it not be an idea to open up a couple of bung holes on Chance ?
Even with the cover on, you will always have problems with fresh rainwater finding its way into the bilge.
Self draining would be a bonus, particularly over the coming months

Hi,
Chance's bilges are divided up in to four non connected bilges so that the engine bilge is a divided bilge from the rest. Which is a good thing given the fact the engines leaked badly over the years. However, now the bilges are cleaned of all the oil and grease and the bilge paint can be seen like it was do in the first place. The rest of the bilges have been cleaned as well. I just need to get them dried again and give them a final clean and then paint. When Chance was in commission she had a bilge pump system that you could pump individual bilges or more than one depending on get valve you had open when you pumped the bilge pump. I am going to fit a bilge pump the water if any get in when I am not onboard.

However, I am going to get a more permanent shed over the boat in the coming months

 

[lusitano]

Hi,
Chance's bilges are divided up in to four non connected bilges so that the engine bilge is a divided bilge from the rest. Which is a good thing given the fact the engines leaked badly over the years. However, now the bilges are cleaned of all the oil and grease and the bilge paint can be seen like it was do in the first place. The rest of the bilges have been cleaned as well. I just need to get them dried again and give them a final clean and then paint. When Chance was in commission she had a bilge pump system that you could pump individual bilges or more than one depending on get valve you had open when you pumped the bilge pump. I am going to fit a bilge pump the water if any get in when I am not onboard.

However, I am going to get a more permanent shed over the boat in the coming months

If the funding and time are readily available to build a proper weatherproof shed, then that is obviously the way to go.
Best of luck with the project(s)

 

[jstarmarine]

The funding at the moment is an issue, however, we trying to get funding sorted, however, it is as always a hard job to sort out correctly.
Time is not a problem as I can always make time to build a shed to protect Chance

 

[jstarmarine]

 

[jstarmarine]

 

[jstarmarine]

Not much to report this week as it as been one of the coldest weeks this year, However, it is gives us time to plan our next jobs on Chance.

This week has been quiet low key with not much going on with the Chance restoration project. Mainly because it has been so cold and trying to outside was not a good idea, so it gave Simon the chance to work on ideas to get work done in his workshop while the weather was too cold to work outside on Chance herself.
One situation which has been bugging Simon has been how to best tackle the work in the fore cabin and how best to get rid of all the old paint off the inside of the hull to expose the planking and be best able to gauge the condition of the planking and the frames and ribs.
Once the paint is removed then make a plan of action as to how best to repaint the chain locker area before putting back the chain locker bulkhead back in position.
The old chain locker bulkhead was rotten in more places than it was in sound condition and so it was removed completely to expose the frames it was fixed to when it was in position. There was no chain locker door in the bulkhead as this was missing when Simon and his family became Chance's new owners. Looking at other James Silver's of the same period there was sometimes one door in the opening and sometimes two depending on the model of James Silver you looked at, having taken a number of photos of that part of the boat and working out the size of the opening it would be a good idea to make a pair of doors with ventilation in the doors to keep the chain locker from becoming damp and a hot bed of wet rot in the future.
Moving back from the Chain locker bulkhead, it has been obvious that the fore cabin was only set up for one person. As the cabin as a hanging locker to starboard which makes fitting a second bunk difficult to do as there is not enough distance between the chain locker bulkhead to put a bunk for an adult and it would only be any good for a child bunk.
It is planned to refit the forecabin as it was before when Chance was originally commissioned with a single crew berth and have a sea toilet and hand basin fitted to the starboard side of the fore cabin. That way making the fore cabin a self contained space for any crew member who wishes to come on Chance in the future once Chance is recommissioned.
There are a number of jobs to do in the forecabin/ forepeak of Chance. The Many job is to sort out bilges and get them dried out and cleaned, Simon as does a far amount of work in this area already, getting rid of a lot of the dirt and grease in the bilge and repeating cleaning the area with a de-greasing agent( which is a by product of making bio diesel and makes a very good de-greasing agent and is bio degradable as well, the bio diesel will be what Chance's engine will run on when they are installed in Chance) which as got rid of a lot of the dirt and grease and still needs a lot more work doing on it before it is possible to paint out the bilges in this area. however, Simon is getting there slowly but surely. The many problem is getting rid of the old paint when there is no good place to stand at the moment as there are no floorboards in the forecabin at the moment as they are being repaired in his workshop. However, once they are repaired and able to be put back down in the forecabin then Simon should able to stand and reach the parts he has not been able reach until they are put back down again.
Also in the forecabin area there will be a lot of stripping back of old varnish off the hanging bulkhead and the main bulkhead between the fore cabin and the galley which is the next cabin behind the forecabin. Most of the bulkheads are in reasonable condition apart from the outer ends of the bulkheads where they met the hull and deck joint which over the years as leaked and as caused freshwater to get to the end grain of the bulkhead tops and because the leaks were not sorted quickly and the cabin not being ventilated properly became a good place for rot to start in the tops of the bulkheads. So, now we have to replace the outer ends of the bulkheads with new Mahogany.
So as soon as it is possible we will get up on Chance's fore deck and seal the deck temporarily to stop any more water damage until such a time as the deck will be removed and the problem sorted once and for all. Simon, hopes to remove the whole deck teak deck and machine the original deck to a thinner thickness and put it back on once a marine plywood sub-deck is fitted making the new deck watertight. In the meantime, just sealing the deck as it is now is the first job to get done.

Plan, Plans and yet more plans to go over and get the job lists sorted to come over the next few weeks while we in Simon's workshop.
You just have to love the winter months, Roll on the spring when we can get outside again.

 

[burgundyben]

Yes, it has been ruddy cold!

I try to do something everyday, however small, I did miss one evening and took to the sofa.

I plan by month, end of January goals are trailer sorted and cabin painting prep done.

I guess yours is a bit more complex to plan.

 

[jstarmarine]

Yes, it has been ruddy cold!

I try to do something everyday, however small, I did miss one evening and took to the sofa.

I plan by month, end of January goals are trailer sorted and cabin painting prep done.

I guess yours is a bit more complex to plan.

Hi Ben,
I am trying to do just that at the moment, I will have to sit down at my deck in my workshop and list the jobs I need to get done first in the Fore cabin. I have been able to sort out the floorboards this week. I just need to sort the floor bearers in the forecabin and then I will be able to get on with the work in the fore cabin a lot easier. Once the bilges cleaned out once and for all then I can paint the forward end of the bilges in Chance and then move back. When we get to the main cabin then the major work starts with replacing the ribs in this part of the boat as they are all broken at the turn of the bilge where she was lifted in the past by a crane without spreader bars and broke the ribs. I know the last time she was lifted on to transport they did not use spreader bars but the damage was already done by this point and lifting once more did not do any more damage than there was already done. However, when Chance lifted off at Titchmarsh Chance was lifted off with a boat hoist and the slings were at the correct angle to the hull and Chance was laid up correctly with the correct number of supports. So at least we can rest assure that the hull is set up and will not move out of shape anymore. We just have to sort out the starboard side aft and the transom and get that part back in the correct position in the spring.