Lady J, week one

CharlieCobra · #1 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

Ah yes, the restoration of Lady J starts in earnest. First we pulled the little Kubota that hasn't fired in over 18 years.

It spins freely, seems to have good compression and has both compression relief and glow plugs. My big old Perkins has neither. The heat exchager is toast.

While the boys worked with heat guns on the paint, wooding the old girl, I went after the seams. This job is not entirely painless.

The compound the previous folks used is like an epoxy, hard as a rock and sticks well to the wood on whatever side it stuck to. I have to chip it loose and then reef it out. I'll post a video tonight showing the painful, tedious process.

Sometimes I get lucky with a long run, usually not...

There were some dubious repairs done to her in the past, such as this thru-hull plug with fasteners set in seams. I'll have to scarph in planking to fix that.

CharlieCobra · #2 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

They also has drilled holes in the shaft strut in order to make sure the goop they faired it with stuck. C'mon..., drilling holes in perfectly good, irreplaceable bronze for THAT? Somebody needs an a$$kicking...

Of course, the goop they stuck on caused it's own issues that I'll have to deal with.

The seams do clean up nicely, if well opened. Seeing as how see has 9" centers on the ribs, I'm not worried about caulking too hard. This is the best built Kettenburg I've yet seen, much stouter than the K-38's or PCC's.

CharlieCobra · #3 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

More shoddy work in the sisters and transom where they didn't sink the fasteners enough to set bungs. I'll have to fix this, especially on the transom where she'll be bright.

The boys have been making good progress as well.

So, all in all, it's been a bit tedious but steady. She'll go inside the shop next week for further work as the yard gets nervous with all of the scraping and carrying on we're doing. We do vacuum up a couple times a day though. Yes, that's right. We vacuum pavement and dirt to clean up the paint chips. I reckon we have the cleanest dirt in the PNW....

Gene T · #4 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

I enjoy your updates, thanks!

Gene

Stillraining · #5 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

Looks good....very happy you found your nitch Charlie...wish you well.

Sabreman · #6 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

Quote:

There were some dubious repairs done to her in the past, such as this thru-hull plug with fasteners set in seams. I'll have to scarph in planking to fix that.

Question - Why do you have scarf in new planking? While I would never set fasteners into the seams (there are so many reasons NOT to), I wonder why you have to scarf in a new plank. At the risk of being sacrilegious, couldn't you insert a piece of plastic in the seam and fill the screw voids with epoxy? The plastic would be removed after the epoxy cured and then the seam would be caulked normally. I'm certainly not questioning your judgment, only attempting to learn a nuance.

Not sure why they drilled the strut and faired it. Unless the boat was seriously raced, I can't conceive why anyone would do that. Even if they raced, I think that there are 1000 other things to do before I'd structurally compromise a strut.

Any idea why they didn't sink the fasteners on the transom? It's such a basic, easy task that I wonder if there was another reason.

I'm going to enjoy watching the progress on this boat. Keep it up!

Sabreman · #7 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

Why are there nail heads surrounding the strut?

oceanscapt · #8 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

She has some sweet lines! Hats off for the labor of love wooden boat restoration. She's going to be an eye turner, for sure.

As for vacuuming dirt, we do it here in South Florida. Seems the cleanest places in the yard are under the boats getting their bottoms worked on.

smackdaddy · #9 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

Charlie - that's some freakin' amazing work. You oughtta get inspired by Still and do some videos every once in a while of the critical stuff. It's really cool seeing the process in video.

The best part though is seeing you and the boys do what you love. That's a beautiful thing mate.

LandLocked66c · #10 (**permalink**) 07-31-2010

I think your crazy Charlie! There is enough work on a glass boat, this thread is one more reason why I won't own a huge wood boat!

Good work man! Look forward to further updates!