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

[Wansworth]

Blaming the weather for not a lot of work being done on Chance.

In England, we always blame the weather for not being able to work on our boat projects, especially if you us you are not able to afford to have the boat project undercover because of the cost of shed space or able to afford the cost of the materials to build a shed over the boat to keep the weather off the boat while you are working on her.
During last winter and into the spring we tried to keep a cover over Chance, as soon as we got her a cover over her and tried it down then came a series of strong gales which were more powerful than normal and each case removed the cover again after each gale. so in the end we gave up trying to keep her covered up.
Since as happened we have left the cover off her. Also the problem now it is too hot to work on her as the temperatures are in the high 20's degrees and it is impossible to work for more than a a hour or two in the intent heat without stops to drink lots of liquids and sunblock.
So we have given working on Chance until the temperatures fall to a point when it is going to be able to work on her again. The only problem will be that the weather will change and we will not be able to work on her because it will be wet and windy as the Autumn and winter set in. So we dammed if we do not work on her or if we do. So we are hoping for a calm Autumn and winter so we can work on Chance again. In the meantime we will try to fill in the wheelhouse windows with some leftover perspex from a job we did early and refit the wheelhouse roof and cover the other holes around the boat to keep the weather out until we can save up the funds to build a temporary shed over Chance.

Worth building a cover like tally Ho had at least you can plan a bit

 

[jstarmarine]

Worth building a cover like tally Ho had at least you can plan a bit

Planing is not the problem!!! The getting funds is at the moment trying to save enough funds to purchase the materials is.

 

[jstarmarine]

May I should have a mini boat jumble sale at my yard to raise funds for the Chance restoration project shed

 

[Wansworth]

Planing is not the problem!!! The getting funds is at the moment trying to save enough funds to purchase the materials is.

Set up a YouTube channel with ladies wearing bikinis,problem solved

 

[jstarmarine]

Set up a YouTube channel with ladies wearing bikinis,problem solved

I wish it was that easy, I think I will post a video out on the Chance restoration project page and ask if anyone can help us with a mobile shed to go over Chance.

 

[steadyeddy]

Cover for Chance would a container be large enough to fit and work round

 

[jstarmarine]

Cover for Chance would a container be large enough to fit and work round

Unfortunately not as Chance is 12 feet from the keel to the top of the wheelhouse and she is 11 1/2 feet wide at the widest point amidships . and she is 40 feet long from stem to transom. A Polly Tunnel shed workshop would be the way to go. Something like which is over Helen Whyclery in Whitby at the moment. Then there would be enough space for the boat and working space for benches and storing wood and setting up tools to work on her.
Thanks for your comment.
Regards
Simon

 

[jstarmarine]

Next week hope to get back to work, repairing people's boat and also working on Chance,

 

[jstarmarine]

The grey shed/Workshop at the J-Star Marine Services boatyard is now the home base for the any work that can be done off Chance and items that be worked on undercover.



A work bench is now set up to use as a sanding bench so that all the floorboards can be laid out and inspected and sanded down.



A lot of the floorboards have been left to weather and need a good sanding down to get though to the clean surface and so can varnished again as they once were and give the cockpit a bright airy feeling once more.



The floorboards starting to get a better colour after being sanded back to show off the rich teak colour these floorboards once had and will again



Getting through the pile of floorboards, these are just the cockpit floorboards, there are the rest of the floorboards from the other areas of the boat to do as yet.



The tops being sanded back and then turn them over and sand the backs before gery bilge painting the under sides of the floorboards throughout the boat. In time the whole of the bilge in Chance will be painted with grey bilge paint so that it will be easier to inspect the bilge in future.

 

[jstarmarine]

Taking photos of the parts of the interior that need major work doing to the fabric of the interior.
The breasthook of Chance is a shaped steel flat bar with a series of holes in it to fit bolts through to connect the stem to the forward ends of the upper beam shelf. It appears that the bolt through the stem has been cut off on the outside and hammer through into the chain locker and not replaced when the new upper section of the stem was replaced in the past. Having looked at the top of the stem that was replaced it is not the correct shape or size so this will be replace in good time before a new bolt is fitted through the stem and int the breasthook.



One good job that was done over the years was that the inside of all the lockers was painted with white paint so that it give us an idea of how the interior was originally fitted and so gives us a good idea of the shape and size of all the cabinetry



This is highlighted on all the bulkheads where cabinetry fitted throughout Chance's interior from the forecabin in the bows to the aft cabin at thew stern of the boat.







This is the first of thew major jobs we will have to tackle the removal of the rudder and it associated iron works that makeup the steering system in the back of the boat. Once we have the rudder removed then we will have to tackle how best to remove the stern knee the other parts that make up the section of the stern and the hog before being able to scarf a new section of hog into place before rebuilding the whole area

 

[jstarmarine]

Now having removed a number of planks on either side of the hog as found that the inner hog is in need of replacing. This means that we will have to remove the rudder tube. This means having to remove all the frame work from the transom to expose the rudder tube.



The rudder tube in this photo is sitting on two shaped wedges on top of the hog.



Also all this aft deck planking is going to have to be removed as well. no easy job as it was laid down with galvanized screws which have been in place for almost 80 years and will very likely not come out without a lot of damage to the teak decking, so it is likely we will cut off the screws between the deck and the deck beams. This is not a problem as the deck beams have to be replaced anyway because at one end they are not fixed and at sometime in the past were cut short.



So now the fun will start dismantling the aft end of the boat more to get the hog repaired and the whole of this area rebuild as strong as when it was first build.

 

[jstarmarine]

The Papendick Family's restoration of our James Silver "Western Isles" Motor Sailer "Chance

This video is a follow up to the last video to detail the work we are going to have to do to replace the hog/keel on Chance. How much of the aft end of the boat we are going to have to dismantle to be able to remove the hog/keel. The job is going to involve shoring up the aft cabin with props off the hog/keel. Then we will remove the all the aft teak deck planking, all the aft deck beams, and then remove the steering gear and turning blocks on either side of the boat. then remove the rudder tube and shaft and rudder so that we can then remove the lower part of the rudder tube out of the hog/keel and replace the hog. While we are doing this the sternpost/knee and other frame work will be removed and new parts made up out of the oak stock we have back at J-Star Marine Services yard. WE will also pattern up and made new parts of frame which are missing on the starboard side and temporary fit new frames to the starboard side to get that side back to its correct shape.

 

[jstarmarine]

The Papendick Family's restoration of our James Silver "Western Isles" Motor Sailer "Chance

Just a quick update from the Chance Restoration project team. We have all had a quick break from Chance and have been up in the Whitby area of North Yorkshire. Now we are back with recharged minds and bodies it is time to crack on with work on Chance and our other restoration project the rebuilding of Mai Star II which is in J-Star Marine Services outside shed being work on during the week while we work on Chance at the weekends and any spare time in between. Before we had our break, we found that the hog was damaged and was in need of replacing. This is going to involve a lot of dismantling of more of the aft end of the boat and a major part of the aft end of the boat being removed in order to get to the parts that need replacing. The biggest job is going to be removing the aft teak deck and the three aft deck beams. While at the same time supporting the aft cabin and shoring up the hull in the correct position while we remove the rudder its rudder shaft and the rest of the steering parts so that we can remove the rudder and replace the hog/ keel and then renew all the parts that need replacing. This is going to be one of the biggest and major jobs on the restoration project along with the beam shelf. The planking is going to be a far less stressful job than the one we are undertaking over the next few months.

 

[jstarmarine]

Starting work on removing the rudder and the quadrant so we can get the rudder removed and the rudder tube out of the hog. Then we will able to repair the damaged hog/keel and start to re-build the back of the boat.The next job will be to lift the quadrant off the top of the rudder shaft if that is the way it is put together and then grind off the bolts holding the rudder shoe on the bottom of the rudder blade. Then lets hope the rudder blade comes out of the top mount of the rudder. otherwise we will be digging a deep hole below the rudder blade to get it removed. Lets hope that is not the case.

 

[jstarmarine]

.In this video, you will see what we get up to when we are not work on Chance and the other work we do to fund the restoration of Chance and Mai Star II. It will give you an insight into the work we do behind the scenes at our workshop where we make the parts for Chance and also Mai Star II our other restoration project. Mai Star II is our 1939 east coast Gaff Cutter we are currently restoring at our home boatyard a mile away from the boatyard Chance is being restored at which is also in Walton on the Naze.In the video you will see the dinghies we have in the workshop at present and also the jig we have made up to make our new deck beams for both Chance and Mai Star II. The deck beam jig is made so that we can change the camber for which ever camber the deck beam is and so the deck beams can be made according to its position on the deck and so the deck camber is correct for its position along the deck. This especially true of Mai Star II deck beams which change as the deck beams are positioned on the beam shelf as they move further aft on the long the length of the boat. The same is true on Chance's deck the camber changes as it go from the stem to the wheelhouse and then along the side decks and the aft deck. and the aft cabin roof as its own camber which is different again.While we are in the workshop over the winter we will start to make Chance's second dinghy, as Chance originally had two dinghies, one for the owner and his wife and the other smaller dinghy for their crew. So keep tuned in for our building of the second dinghy over the course of the winter.

 

[jstarmarine]

Tuesday morning walk around Chance and letting you know what we will be doing over the next few weeks and Chance. The first job today was to take the airplane steps round to Chance to make it easier to get on and off the boat and make working on the deck and other jobs on the top of the boat safer and easier to do. Hopefully now we can get some real work done on the decks and get jobs underway and done before the worse of the winter weather sets in.We will try to put the big white cover over Chance again and fix it in place with a number of battens screwed in place around the top of the hull.One job we wish to do soon is to get the hatches sorted out and also get the floorboards back down inside the boat so that we can walk around safely. So now it is a matter of loading up the box trailer with all the floorboards out of Chance and putting them back in place and the ones that need repairing get them done so that we can walk around the inside. We are going to put the wheelhouse roof back in place until we have a chance to make a new roof which will in future be made to be removable so that engine work can be done without destroying the wheelhouse in the process.

 

[jstarmarine]

Last week we were able to get the water out of the bilge of Chance and get them dry once more. We also remove the temporary floorboards that had been down throughout the boat for sometime and had done their job. They were removed and the original floorboards were put down again where possible apart from in the galley area which needs a new couple of floor bearers making to make it possible to fit the original floorboards back in place again. We have now put the wheelhouse roof back in position and have put a cover over the boat to keep the rain out of the boat as much as possible. We will have to get a small cover for the last few feet of the bow as the cover is a little short in length to cover the whole of Chance up. However, this is in hand and will sorted shortly. Another job which was sorted was removing the plywood covering off the aft deck to expose the old deck planking and there were a few surprises there. Extra holes in the deckhead for vents that had been covered over when the deck was sheathed with plywood and fibreglass. One of the holes was for the exhaust for the engine room bilge blower and another was for a opening for a large cowl vent base and a smaller deckhead vent for the heads compartment. We also started to sand back the wheelhouse sides and front to expose the mahogany sides that had been painted white. When they should have been varnished with chrome trims on the corners and round the window openings. So we will be doing a lot of sanding and a few wheelhouse sides repairs and re-varnish the wheelhouse the way it was original done.Another job we can hoping to do over the winter is to make a new tender for Chance in a similar design to the original tender which is missing from Chance.

 

[jstarmarine]

It is at this time of the year, we think about moving into the workshop to do jobs that were put to one side while working on Chance. Although not a lot was done on Chance one way or another there were some jobs done on her this year. We did get the rudder out of the boat although in three parts otherwise, it would have meant digging a six foot hole under the back of Chance to get the rudder out of Chance in one piece. We are now in the early stages of making a new design to make it possible to make it possible to remove the rudder blade as a separate part from the rest or the steering gear So making it possible the rudder without messing about with the major part of the steering in the future. This will also help with replacing the hog / keel at the back of the boat where a lot of damage and rot as happened in one way or another.

One job we are going to be doing shortly in the workshop is to make some new deck beams for the aft deck of Chance once we can get the old deck beams out of Chance and back to the workshop to make a deck beam jig up and be able to make the new deck beams out of laminated oak as these will be stronger than the original deck beams. we will also be making up new side deck beams and also a pair of new aft cabin carlins along with a number of lodging knees which have to be replaced as well. All these parts will be laminated oak and we will also have to have custom made fixings made to fix these new parts in position as they are all different lengths and sizes and not an item you can get off the shelf in your local ironmongers.

Some of the custom parts we will need will involve a trip or two to Davey & Co which is close to where we live and where Chance is during her restoration at Titchmarsh Marina in Walton on the Naze Essex.

As many of the original parts which were involved in Chance original construction it is likely that Davey & Co is a good place to go to get replacement parts for her restoration. As they have vast catalogue of parts used in the construction of Boats such as Chance and her sister ships from the James Silver Boatyard in Rosneath in Scotland.

So there will be videos of our work in the workshop over the winter and a few of us working on Chance when the weather allows us to do so.

 

[jstarmarine]

When life sends you a curved ball !!!!. However, we will bounce back again.

At times it feels like you just can not get ahead with your projects and as much as you try to battle through you still can not gain any headway.

So it has been just lately. First the mighty truck (Ford Ranger 3.2 ltr) decided to have a major expensive mechanical problem (£1000.00 +) Namely the oil pump in the sump of the engine seized for no known reason until the garage dismantled the bottom of the engine and find the oil pump was or the original part but a non- standard part and that it had seized and in doing so destroyed the Turbo at the same time.
So, while the mighty truck is off the road getting the correct parts fitted and the mighty truck gets its heart back again and we can get work underway again using the little truck(Ford Kuga) in the meantime. So we can get on with some of the smaller jobs which we can put in the small box trailer and bring back to the workshop to be worked on in the workshop or in the yard.
While we are at Chance we will try to remove the last of the fittings in the engine bay. Namely the original gear shift units which do not need to be in there and also the seacocks for the engine which will have to come out as they are not the size they need to be for the new engine we will be fitting in Chance at a later date.
So it is back to the drawing board and rejig the plans for which jobs to get on with over the next few months on Chance and what can be done in the workshop back at the yard when it is not possible to get down to Chance.

Life can and will send you a curved ball, its how you get round these hurdles that sorts out the men from the boys or dreamers

 

[jstarmarine]

When life sends you a curved ball you can either cry or dig deep and push on. Here at Life's a Gamble, lets take a Chance we are the second type of people. Life is difficult however, you have to be able to adapt to change and move on and sort out the problem and sometimes take a different direction and look at the situation from a different angle. So we have had to stop work on Chance herself for a while so that we can do paying work to get the Ranger back on the road as soon as possible and so we can get work on Chance done and also get paying work into J-Star Marine Services workshop so that we have the funds to keep Chance's restoration underway. In the meantime as you can see in this video we are working on other projects for our clients to get the funds in to keep the restoration on Chance going even if it is a little slow at the moment.