The restoration of Lady J, week two.

[CharlieCobra]

Time for the weekly update on Lady J. The Port side of the hull is paint free the old fashioned way, heat gun and scraper followed by long-boarding with 220 grit.



With her in the shop, it's impossible to get a side shot.

90% of the seams below the waterline are reefed and clean.



I did find freshly cracked ribs from the transport.



The other bilges are full of broken but sistered ribs. I haven't decided whether to fix these or leave them as they are. It's up to the customer.



and



Now that the engine is out, I can see a couple in there too. Two have a strange fix already. Somebody took a SS band, bent it to fit on the broken rib and bolted/screwed it in place. The only issue I have with that is that they mixed SS and Bronze in the same piece and the floor bolt only a few inches away is galvanized.



My wife Fredia came by to help this week. She was on the mast.



The rest of the motley crew was on the hull.



I think this needs replacing...



And this needs something other than Bondo in it.



Plenty of work still to do. More next week.

[Sabreman]

Went back to review progress.

What did you end up doing about the broken & sistered ribs? Your note said that it was up to the customer.

[CharlieCobra]

I pulled rank and ripped the sisters out and scarphed in new rib sections using black locust, all 28 of them. They look sweet as seen below.

[starboardyacht]

Mr C,
you make this look easy & fun, really enjoy your posts... do wooden boats hold up better in your venue, than others?

[BenMP]

If you don't mind my asking.
How did you "scarf in" the repair? (are they dove tailed or similar joint?)
I am asking because a boat that I am thinking of getting has a cracked rib (steamed cedar I think)

[CharlieCobra]

Yeah, the cold water helps keep borers like Torredo worms to a minimum. Other than that, it's the same as any other climate.

Ben, this is probably the best example photo I have at the moment.



Another method is to make three joins in order to keep the grain oriented correctly but after testing, I found that to be overkill with black locust.

[JimMcGee]

Charlie,
I took a look at your web site. You guys take on some amazing projects. I can't imagine the man hours that go in to doing a project like the Lady J the right way. But it has to be an great feeling when you see her on the water after all that work.

I noticed that you're fininshing the hull bright, and started with an application of Daly's stain followed by CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). In your experience is there a big difference between brands of CPES and do you prefer one in particular?

Thanks,
Jim

[CharlieCobra]

I prefer the original by Smith's. They are the folks who invented the stuff and have been shown to have the best through testing over the years. It's also marketed under the name "Restore-It".

[BenMP]

Thanks that really helps. Absolutely beautiful work.

[Sabreman]

Nice scarf