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Child Item

A restoration tale (with pics)

dnme

I have been posting on here and getting amazing help from fergal and others. I thought I might make a thread outlining my attempt at a boat restoration. The boat is a 16' fibreglass day cabin. It is in horrendous condition but I think the fibreglass itself is pretty good.

Shopping for a while and looking at various boats. Big, small, cabin cruisers, fishing boats etc. What I really want is a boat that will fit me and my dog and that I can sleep on and maybe run up and down the Erne waterway. This caught my eye on donedeal

I made the call and arranged to go and view it. At the viewing, I bought it for €530 (asking price on dd was €1200). On Saturday 19th March 2011, myself and a friend towed it home (from Birr to Co. Sligo).

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alexlyons

dnme wrote: »

tap...tap...tap...
So, did ya enjoy the post?? What did ya think? interesting? boring? could you have lived without it? did it add anything to your day?

A post by you on this thread always adds something to my day!

Was interesting alright, certainly felt for you when you threw the toolbox across the paddock!

Trying to come up with a way for you to get the epoxy off some of the more important tools...

On a side not, I'll be joining you in the making stuff end of things, converting the shed to my woodwork "room". So I get to do manly things with wood and big power tools!!!!

dnme

alexlyons wrote: »

.25kg is 250 grams... :P

sorry, i hate people like me

tap...tap...tap...
So, did ya enjoy the post?? What did ya think? interesting? boring? could you have lived without it? did it add anything to your day?

alexlyons

.25kg is 250 grams... :P

sorry, i hate people like me

dnme

Day 49 - A practical demonstration in Darwinism.

I was gonna take a break from posting because the work in this update is pretty much samo samo but I feel the need to communicate, to be part of a group again, that and the fact that the past two days were gloriously mild and calm. Yesterday, I tackled the starboard cabin seat. Yeah! I learned from my mistakes the previous day on the port seat and therefore yesterday’s job went very smoothly……..you’d think so wouldn’t ya!.

I spent yesterday over-engineering a seat support. I came up with cross battons, partial batons, joinery, clotted cream, clear epoxy, screws, bolts….jesus, you name it. The result was a mess. Every joint or screw I drove, called to me…..”undo me and use epoxy aswell, undo me! undo me”. Like an innocent naive puppy dog, I heeded those calls. I spent ages measuring timber, cutting, then over cutting and scrapping. Every time I added a new piece it affected the rest of the assembly. I offered up the assembly using a bed of clotted cream, but of course I forgot to use that same epoxy mix on the batons. This I discovered an hour into the cure up, everything had to come out, extra tacky, half way cured. Panicking, trying to mix up new batches of the mix. Then trying to wet out pieces of cloth, leave them to tack up and apply them at a later stage. At one stage I started crying, seriously! I lost it. I could not handle any more mistakes. I could not handle any more sticking to things. I looked down at my beloved tools, had them for years…now all covered in epoxy. Cordless drill, ‘the bitch’, hammer, screwdrivers etc etc. I picked up my toolbox and flung it out across the paddock. It bounced spinning violently launching 100 tools in 100 different directions. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted two walkers who had just passed by. Yes they did look back. I am gonna have to learn to calm down…people are starting to talk. As of today, I am still finding tools in the paddock.

The above paragraph is not designed to tell you what I did, it’s just there to give you an idea of how I usually get myself into a right kerfuffle. There aint nothing slick about me or the way I do stuff. I believe the trade term is ‘fcukwit’, often prefixed with the word ‘complete’. Yesterday was painful. I made so many mistakes, I had epoxy everywhere, on everything. All my hair got covered in it. It was bad, so much so that I actually threw some acetone on my hair last night……..yeah I know!! Of course like I said, a ‘complete f’wit’. Last night I spent an age trying to untangle my hair, trying to remove balls of tack. The result was a significant loss of hair!! Something I can ill afford these days. The bit I have left will now surely die after it’s wash in “Acetone”, by Loreal…..because I’m worth it.

This morning, I awoke with the sun. I decided to try a new approach to life. Slow down, take your time. Enjoy the day and plan sh1t!!! Yes try and plan…there’s a good lad. As I was throwing back the curtains, there up in the field was old John (next door) with their new pup Prince. Some of you may remember my referring to said pup some weeks back in a video. Anyheeew, John was moving cattle, and there was Prince beside him, for all the world looking like a fully fledged and fully trained cattle dog. He was turning cattle, nipping at their hoofs, barking, and more importantly knowing when to back off and sit low. It was an incredible sight, and what makes it more so is the fact that Prince has had no training whatsoever. Everything he knows and all his instincts are purely hardwired. There ya go you creationists…..living proof of evolution right there. Anyway…onto the boat.

Today I started on the bow seat access panel. This one is tricky ‘cos I have no access underneath the way I did with both side seats. Also, the aperture is too big, again thanks to me! So the support assembly will have to be made in two parts, then placed in under the cutout. Then joined, epoxied and presented up to the underside for glue up. So in light of my new found profound outlook on life, I spent today taking my time, engineering a nice cut out that slots in nicely to the old existing batons in under there, and that is ready to screw together once in place. In other words….it took me an entire day to cut two pieces of plywood. But it was a glorious day, I spent it entirely out in the sun, doing a bit on the boat. Helping John move cattle. Mowing the grass. Me and Honey heading to Boyle for ‘supplies’. Yea – I had an epoxy free day.

1. One take, come on....gimmie some credit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMkGchNW6YE

2. Prince, evolution, neural networks already hardwired. Amazing to watch this.

3. Nothing is simple with this bow seat, even trying to get a template made out of cardboard was tricky. No underside access you see…

4. Careful now

5. Had a delivery of supplies today and wanted to show you this. This is a bucket of colloidal silica. The stuff is so light, it's almost not there. This entire bucket weighs 0.25kg or 250 grams.

6. Due to the shape of the bow seat aperture and Pythagoras, this final seat assembly will have to be done in two parts.

7. Doing some dry test fits for support batons.

8. A dry test fit.

9. After a few trims here and there, we have an assembly that fits beautifully. Tomorrow I will once again return to the living hell that is - working with epoxy in tight spaces and against gravity.

dnme

Jack_regan wrote: »

dnme wrote: »

Glad to see you back hard at it!

Looks good, what would you think of fixing (glue/screw) some more battens underneath the plywood batten you have already added and using the centre off cut of the 12mm plywood as part of the lid construction. i.e. glue the centre off cut of 12mm ply to the 3mm lid. It might strengthen everything up a bit. I'd say if you just lipped the four corners of the existing plywood batten with some 2 by 1 or whatever you have to hand, then the centre off cut of plywood would sit down nicely onto them, it might be necessary to support it in the middle also.

Good points Jack, thanks for the reply btw, tonight's post took ages (like nearly 3 hours).

I think the lid will be pretty strong, it'll be 3mm ply with a layer of woven roving epoxied to the underside. It will be like a piece of heavy plastic, almost no bend in it at all, you would not believe the strength of epoxy/glass. If it sits too low into my recess, I'll just laminate another piece of 3mm ply to it. Bear in mind, all this will be covered by cushions when it comes to people sitting/sleeping etc.

Now about the extra batons / corner supports underneath. You may well be right here. Tomorrow (when it's cured up) I'll know how it looks feels with regard to weight. I had to leave it this evening as I was destroyed in epoxy and was soaked, miserable.

So, this seat assembly is the first one, a trial run. I'll learn from it and apply the lessons to the rest. But jesus what a bitch of a job. Way to complicated and epoxy thirsty I reckon. I've probably done this all wrong and am annoying the experts / purists. I'm a total novice. That's one of the main reasons for this thread...............help and advice.

Glad you're reading, nice to hear from you.

Jack_regan

dnme wrote: »

Day 48

6. Making plywood surround batons. These will sit underneath the seat protruding inwards creating a lip to support seat lids. The lids will be varnish finished 3mm ply with a layer of glass underneath.

Glad to see you back hard at it!

Looks good, what would you think of fixing (glue/screw) some more battens underneath the plywood batten you have already added and using the centre off cut of the 12mm plywood as part of the lid construction. i.e. glue the centre off cut of 12mm ply to the 3mm lid. It might strengthen everything up a bit. I'd say if you just lipped the four corners of the existing plywood batten with some 2 by 1 or whatever you have to hand, then the centre off cut of plywood would sit down nicely onto them, it might be necessary to support it in the middle also.

dnme

Day 48

Summer is gone; It’s a thing of the past, a distant grey damp memory. I am acutely aware of this as I struggle to get out to the boat every day. It is a constant battle against heavy showers, high winds and rapidly diminishing daylight. It’s getting to the stage now where there is almost no window of opportunity to do any significant work after tea. I am desperately dependant on September giving me some ray of hope. I need a few dry days, not to mention warmer temperatures.

I’m working on the seating inside the cabin. I had always envisaged this being a simple job. Cut out access panels, then add new batons that doubled up as seat / lid support flanges. Well it turns out it’s a massive, difficult and complex job. I have a knack for doing things the wrong or at least the hard way, and I fear I may have struck again when it comes to these damn seats.

The seating in the cabin has a corrugated finish on the top. I hate it, always did. It’s a nightmare to sand, strip and clean and it looks awful. So I decided to bite the bullet with it. I grinded down the corrugated surface, using the edge of “the bitch” to get into the grooves and the belt sander to remove some of the high spots. That left me with a weakened version of what was already there, stripped of all paint and gelcoat. I then mixed up a few batches of clotted cream and proceeded to fill out the old corrugation. Some of you may think this is a waste of epoxy and you may well be right but I can’t think of another way to preserve these seats and get them flat. I have also spent some time repairing old damage in the seating structure, using small pieces of woven roving glassed in on the inside and filling with clotted cream on the outside.

Now to deal with the seat access panels. Firstly it occurs to me that I may have cut them too big but that’s another story. After cutting out the panels, I was left with old baton profiles underneath that needed to be gouged out carefully thus not damaging the seat. This proved to be one of the most dangerous jobs I have ever done. I cut out all the old stuff using the bitch, in many cases single handed and often blind, kinda hoping for the best. It would often bite into baton timber making it kick violently. I’m way too blaze with that thing. Anyway, old batons are out.

Onward to make new batons. The plan is to cut out plywood surround batons in single pieces. These will support the old seat and provide me a 20mm lip which will support new seat lids. The plywood is measured to butt up to other existing batons under the seating. Once cut, I rounded over the inner edge with a router as this is where arms and limbs will be when in use. I then cut out some pieces of woven roving tape, wetted out all mating surfaces and glassed the tape to the baton using a staple gun to hold it on the underside and the outer edge. Then it was a matter of turning the ply assembly over, adding thin ply shims to act as standoffs and lining the surface with a bed of heavy thick clotted cream packed with glass strands. This is then offered up in under the seat access panel and held in place with pinch clamps.

I have to tell you, all the above jobs are really tricky. I am covered in epoxy as is most of my gear. I have spent hours struggling to get in underneath those seats in seriously restricted access, trying to wetout glass cloth and trying to get it to stick upwards. It’s awful work, usually in rain and cold. It’s so cold that any epoxy I am using is not cured fully next day, still tacky and soft to the sander.
So as you can see, I am doing these seats the hard way. In my head, when I visualised this before cutting the panels out, it all seemed so simple. Turns out, it’s very tricky and using a lot of valuable epoxy. Am I crazy, am I doing this all wrong, tell me if you think so, or if there is a more obvious or better way to do this.

1. Video sets the scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyFjXp3qObA

2. Grinding and sanding the old corrugated grp.

3. After cutting out the access panels, I needed to gouge out the old batons with the grinder. Dangerous stuff!!! I’m lucky to have both hands tonight, I swear to god.

4. Repairing all the small damage areas in the seating. Then starting to fill the old corrugated profile with clotted cream.

5. After curing overnight, the old corrugated profile is filled and more or less flattened. I have also fillited the edge of the seat grp to add strength and stability.

6. Making plywood surround batons. These will sit underneath the seat protruding inwards creating a lip to support seat lids. The lids will be varnish finished 3mm ply with a layer of glass underneath.

7. Glassing in the plywood baton. I glass and staple 2 pieces of woven roving tape all round the underside. Then flip over, staple on standoff shims, add a bed of clotted cream. And then the fun starts. Getting down in under that seat, in the tightest spaces, hardly any access, trying to get cloth to stay up, epoxy everywhere, on everything. Cold, wet, miserable.

dnme

Again rain halts play.
Absolute bitch of a night out. Only one thing for it....

dnme

This thread has gone to the dogs.:D Aaaaaannnnyway, I am working away on the money boat ands will post an update in a few days time. Hope to combine a few images and video.

ISAW

ValerieR wrote: »

LOL - it does sound very much like ours. He's a black lab-collie X and his name is Casper (a real ghost !!! )

I hope the day is as nice and sunny up there as it is promised here.

ValerieR

I think it is very cruel to be forcing this dog to carry the top of an outboard motor round the place. I don't care what "special harness" you had made to help him carry it! The cruelty to animals people should hear of this.

dnme

jimmmy wrote: »

dnme wrote: »

neyessssss! I'm not so sure! What in gods name have I started?:D
[ /QUOTE]

I've got a theme song for the upcoming tv documentary / book / whatever. For some reason Christry Moores "Ordinary Man" springs to mind.
I'm an ordinary man, nothing special nothing grand
I've had to refurbish the boat that I own
I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got
Enough to keep my car and my home

Now they say that times are hard and the wind has dealt my cards
They say there's not enough luck to go around
And when the wind did blow, the boat over did go
Tonight i'm going to cut this vessel down
And I'll tear it d-o-w-n

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay
For twenty weeks best I could
Now with a coffee and a mouse, it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through the bad times and through good

And so condemned I stand just an ordinary man
Like thousands beside me in the queue
I watch my darling dog, trying to make the best of life
And God knows what Aldi is going to do
No more epoxy from outside the state
I will have no boat for a mate
And as long as I live, I never will forgive
The wind that stripped me of my dignity and pride, it stripped mebare
it stripped me bare, it stripped me bare

Keep up the good work, the boat will be worth it when its finished. Leave that chainsaw you were talking about with your neighbours.

:D:D

jimmmy

dnme wrote: »

@jimmmy and @Newhope, I trust you both have day jobs?

I do not know about Newhope, but I normally do work, I'm just on a few days holidays at the moment.

dnme wrote: »

neyessssss! I'm not so sure! What in gods name have I started?:D

I've got a theme song for the upcoming tv documentary / book / whatever. For some reason Christry Moores "Ordinary Man" springs to mind.

I'm an ordinary man, nothing special nothing grand
I've had to refurbish the boat that I own
I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got
Enough to keep my car and my home

Now they say that times are hard and the wind has dealt my cards
They say there's not enough luck to go around
And when the wind did blow, the boat over did go
Tonight i'm going to cut this vessel down
And I'll tear it d-o-w-n

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay
For twenty weeks best I could
Now with a coffee and a mouse, it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through the bad times and through good

And so condemned I stand just an ordinary man
Like thousands beside me in the queue
I watch my darling dog, trying to make the best of life
And God knows what Aldi is going to do
No more epoxy from outside the state
I will have no boat for a mate
And as long as I live, I never will forgive
The wind that stripped me of my dignity and pride, it stripped mebare
it stripped me bare, it stripped me bare

Keep up the good work, the boat will be worth it when its finished. Leave that chainsaw you were talking about with your neighbours.

dnme

neyessssss! I'm not so sure! What in gods name have I started?:D

@Sleepy, I think the pun might be the point, as therein lies the humour.

@Fergal, Who and what is that? and what is it singing? Is it a man in drag?

:D
@jimmmy and @Newhope, I trust you both have day jobs?:D:D

NewHope

KEMAS- row row row your boat - //www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB31YummgAI

jimmmy

How about writing a song, a song for the times that are in it ?

" there I was, with nothing to do all day
I though of fixing a boat, to go out on the bay
No use complaining about the rain,
The IMF and the dole, they are all a pain"

fergal.b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrimU30aXzw

Sleepy

No need for puns:

'Sail Away' - David Gray
'Sailing' - Rod Stewart
'Rock the Boat' - The Hues Corporation (had to look up the band on that one!)
'Sloop John B' - The Beach Boys
'The Voyage ' - Christie Moore
'Drifting' - Jimi Hendrix
'Into the Mystic' - Van Morrison

Not sure if Otis Redding's 'Dock of the Bay' counts as it's more about the dock than the ships but worth a bonus point, surely?

jimmmy

"Banana Republic" - a Boom Town Rats original sung by the talented Lads of Leisire

"Sailing" by Rod Stewart

"Dont forget your epoxy if you want to go to work" by Christy Moore

NewHope

" Plimsoll Line " by The Electric Light Orchestra
" The Anchor Song " Björk

dnme

It BeeMee wrote: »

Bilge over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel
Lets Hear it for the Buoy - Deniece Williams
Keeling me Softly - Roberta Flack

:D:D

Hoahhh There e is

It BeeMee

Bilge over Troubled Waters - Simon & Garfunkel
Lets Hear it for the Buoy - Deniece Williams
Keeling me Softly - Roberta Flack

dnme

......and while we're at it

Now that the nights are drawing in and I find myself twiddling my thumbs more and more, I have decided to throw together a boating top ten (you knew this was coming)....

It's not easy. I challenge you to pun up boating jargon. I was going to extend the terms of reference to include fish but for now I think it best to remain focussed:cool:. So, here's my top ten, but it's always open to new chart entries. Come on, throw one or two into the hat.......you know you want to.

More than a 'keeling' - Boston
'Keels' Like Heaven - Fiction Factory
Don't stop me 'bow' - Queen
Where is the lifering I gave to Nancy Spain - Unknown
Love me 'fender' - Elvis Presley
Riders on the Stern - The Doors
'Transom' Prison Blues - Johnny Cash (well I'd like to see you find a better match)
My Girl 'Bilge' - Jim Stafford:
'Starboard' - David Bowie
'Hull'o - Lionel Richie

dnme

gardoyle27 wrote: »

looking good mate, just for yer own sake compare these to photo's

thats some gooooood work my friend!!!

neayesssssss! basically it's taken 4 months to do a bit of sanding. But I appreciate your effort:cool:

gardoyle27

looking good mate, just for yer own sake compare these to photo's

thats some gooooood work my friend!!!

dnme

Day 47

This is not an update. It's merely a post to satisfy the do-gooders and various law enforcement agencies that the boat is indeed still alive. I have received many communique's expressing concern as to its welfare, especially considering Aldi's special offer coming up tomorrow.

I can assure you all the boat is fine. Absolutely fine! Infact the boat is resting. I'd go so far as to say it's experiencing a new found piece. Nah there's no need for any photos ........ you trust me don't you?

Meanwhile somewhere in dnme's brain (mouthed in a very stressed hoarse whisper)........ DIE!!! KILL!!! KILL!!! REDRUM! REDRUM! REDRUM! ....... HI HONEY I'M HOME!!!......DIE!!! DIE!!! DIE!!! RRRRREEEEEDDDDD RRRUUUUMMMMMM!!!

Neeahh...the boats fine:rolleyes:

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Oh alright goddamit. But I draw the line at photographing the dam boat holding up the cover of today's Irish Times:D

1. Look at it there:cool: Photo taken 20:00, August 24th 2011. Also note the work I have done on my table. New legs jointed into the table top, braced and preserved. Table is rock solid now. Legs sitting on grp pieces cut from the seat access panel cutouts.

2. Straightened up and pulled about 10ft forward.

3. Tucked in for the night. MoFo!

4. Couldn't let you go without this. Dreaming of the day, even in a rain storm.

dnme

Slig,

Cancel that request for a forklift, I managed to straighten and move the boat tonight using the car, a trolley jack and a 12ft beam. She's back up out of that hole now, straight and a bit closer to the house:rolleyes:.

Many thanks for the offer all the same.

Sleepy

It's taken me 3 sittings just to get through this thread dnme and have to say, it's one of my favourites on boards.ie to date.

The fact the boat took it's tumble in it's stride is a testament to the quality of the work you've done on her to-date so don't get disheartened by it: try think of it as part of the Quality Assurance phase

As someone who can only dream about such a project I've nothing to offer but encouragement: keep her going and consider firing a treatment and sample chapter to a couple of publishers. Something tells me there's a book in this.

dnme

oscarBravo wrote: »

When I saw you'd posted again, I held my breath when I clicked on the thread...! No chainsaw pics, whew.

No oscar, mind you I have been checking out Aldi's specials this coming Thursday!! The cun..eh..I mean boat; seems unharmed. Infact I was impressed at the absolute strength of it after it fell. Not a scratch afaics. All the comments coming in after my post were a bit of an aa meeting.:rolleyes: Lots of positive little wisdoms. Yeah! - they're helpful :cool: (I know, I know, and I'm grateful to all who replied)

Spent the day rebuilding my work table. The legs and upper tabletop laminate are in bits from all the wet. So they are now replaced, re-enforced and slapped with coats of fence preservative. Just got in before the rain, the forecast is berrr-oooooo-tal!

In the mean time I need cheering up, so I'll Soprano up into the wee small hours ands leave you with this gem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfi5I02r6xE

oscarBravo

When I saw you'd posted again, I held my breath when I clicked on the thread...!

No chainsaw pics, whew.

My repair job is coming on nicely. It's always the way: bad days, good days.

dnme

Slig wrote: »

for some reason that stupid wedding song with the lyrics "rock the boat" keeps going round my head:p, but seriously, if anything like that happens again just give me a call and I'll see about organising a forklift (or an appropriatly large chainsaw) much better than doing your back in.

dont worry too much about structural damage, if it cant take a little roll then you'd be in trouble on rough water anyway, better to find out now (but prefferably not while in the boat). If its any consolation I think I've found some mahogony panels in the "commune" that could be used for a new door or hatch cover, something you could work on outside of the boat and get you away from the fibre glassing for a while.

Slig, if you can ever deliver on that forklift, I need to move the boat, needs to be straightened and moved up the paddock after yesterdays events. I'd be very grateful.