Restoration.

[Springsong]

Thanks Jill.

I think I have finally managed a reasonable finish on the companionway steps. There are still some flaws but the barn is after all a sometime grain store with the resulting dust problems

, but still better than trying to do it on-board and I can be there whatever the weather.

There are as you can see three grey boards in the photo, the two large ones are the ply backing to the removable panels to the front of the gas locker and the stern fender locker, so the reverse side is tongue & groove to match the rest of the after cockpit. The third smaller board to tell the truth I am not 100% sure. It is either an infill between the forward bunks or more likely a kind of hatch to the forepeak. It has been three years since I ventured into the front cabin and my memory is rubbish.

I have finally managed to get my head around rubbing down the wheel spokes. There are so many rings on each spoke and little chamfered edges all collecting traces of old varnish. Still I think I got them all, too late now as the first 50/50 coat has gone on, with another top coat for the infill bits .

[Guest DAYTONA-BILL]

Hi Barry, the pictures above look great and show how much work you`ve been putting in. Have you been busy lately and has there been much progress, as these resto threads are VERY interresting, but have all gone very quiet lately. Please keep this thread going, as i`m sure a lot of people are just as keen as i am to see the excellent progress you are hopefully continuing to make. Regards ................. Neil.

[Springsong]

Hi Neil

Thanks for the comments.

No we haven't stopped although I don't seem to have been to the barn for awhile. Work continues on board

but so much is repetetive stuff that I have not posted. My oppo Alan has had shingles and has been quite poorly for

the last six weeks or more. I am slightly reluctant to get on the boat if I am quite alone especially trying to weild that heavy cover around.

We have been down the last couple of weeks and Alan has almost got the starboard side deck off, or at least unfastened

ready for removal and new ones cut to pattern. I am as we speak collecting quotes for 12mm ply for the replacements.

I meanwhile have been rubbing down the aft cockpit in readyness to get some varnish on it before winter

a very long and awkward process I might add.

The other reason is that there are moves afoot to speed things up, at this stage I can say no more other than

WATCH THIS SPACE.

I did take some photos but somehow managed to wipe the camera. Clever eh.

[jillR]

hi barry

my favorite place for ply is edens

http://www.edens.co.uk/default.aspx?Asp ... eSupport=1

they are out at snetterton and they supply all the main suppliers in east anglia

i go to collect and get to pick the best pieces

http://www.edens.co.uk/gfx/ul/files/Plywood.pdf

jill

[Springsong]

Thanks Jill

I shall look into it.

[andyg]

hi barry. fantasic work you guys are doing.will you sell this boat on our will she be kept for your own use.

thanks andy

[Springsong]

Hi Andy

She doesn't actually belong to me, I am just the "project manager" . I sincerely hope Jock does not sell it

I heed a good few weeks on it before if ever he does that. I am sure he has no intention to sell he wants it as a mothership for

his White boat.

[Springsong]

After too long an absence we have again been working on SP. The decks are almost all ready to be removed, just the bow section remains.

When the starboard side deck was lifted it revealed yet another tank. Now I know one of them is definitely a water tank. The diesel tank is on the port side as is the other water tank , the black water tank is underneath these two tanks to starboard which leaves this other tank. Could we have three water tanks ? possible but odd. Further investigation needed here I think !!  I should have commented on the relatively good condition of all the deck beams and shelves. So far I don't think we have any that need replacing, just a liberal dosing with wood preservative should suffice. Whilst Alan has been "doing" the deck I have at last got some Epiphanes on the aft well. As I said before I had given it a good rubbing down but I was a little worried about the co;our, it looked rather plummy red or damson. Anyway once I got some varnish onto it this beautiful golden honey colour appeared which is exactly what I had hoped for.Whilst Alan has been "doing" the deck I have at last got some Epiphanes on the aft well. As I said before I had given it a good rubbing down but I was a little worried about the co;our, it looked rather plummy red or damson. Anyway once I got some varnish onto it this beautiful golden honey colour appeared which is exactly what I had hoped for.This is the other side. There is still some work to be done before I am completely happy with the coaming especially this being the first thing you see.

have found out what the two tanks under the starboard deck is. Alan and I were going through the restoration photos and he spotted it on the 1960 brochure plan. It quite clearly on the starboard side deck says water tankS. So there you have it we have three water tanks and counting.

I have taken to the barn all the ash cladding from the saloon A to avoid damage and B it is so much easier to varnish in the horizontal than the perpendicular. No excuse for runs now.  Here is the cladding with its first coat of 50/50. It doesn't really do justice to the lovely golden honey colour that it is in fact. it will only get better.

[Springsong]

The repair to the door as you can see is not the right colour so I am  having to stain it. Derek a chap at the MOB who is very knowledgeable about varnishing and staining says that stain should always be added to varnish and not used neat. The results as you can see are starting to look reasonably good.

I bought two of these hand rails at the MOB boat jumble for £1 earlier in the year. The other one is temporarily attached to the aft cabin roof to assist me on getting into the boat. Depending how they finish up I think we may use them for exactly that purpose.

I had thought originally to have new hand rails made for the cabin tops but then I notice the beautiful curve on the forward hand rails (see photo)and immediately felt, either or, hard work steaming new ones, or worse still money setting in.

Now as you can see from the picture they are beginning to clean up quite nicely, my problem is that they sit in rather splendid brackets which we have had re chromed, now obviously the more wood I remove to regain the colour and sand out the weather the more they will rattle in their brackets. I guess I shall have to get one down to the barn and test it

First coat of Epiphanes on the locker fronts for the aft cockpit/well. I have brought these back to the boat from the barn to varnish them on the boat so that they get the same number of coats as the rest of the aft well.

First coat of Epiphanes on the locker fronts for the aft cockpit/well. I have brought these back to the boat from the barn to varnish them on the boat so that they get the same number of coats as the rest of the aft well.

You may remember I took the shelves away to be painted cream. I have decided to finish the whole sideboard area off I have put the shelves in,(see photo) which I am very pleased with, I shall bring the doors, which have been varnished, back and fit them give the whole one more coat and then cover it all with something to protect it and a piece of ply wood on top of that and we will have our tea table back again.

The unpainted piece that looks rather like the top shelf is a piece of ply running behind the steering cables that you can see. The ply is completely banjaxed so we will remove both the end pieces but not the middle bit between the two blocks that the cables run through.

[Antares_9]

All looking good Barry, out of pure curiosity how close do you reckon you are to launch?

[C.Ricko]

Looking good Barry,

dont do what I did and launch it and not finish

[Guest]

Barry looking stunning yet again.

what is your estimated time for finish?

Jonny

[Springsong]

Thank you all three of you for your comments.

We had thought to be re launched next year, but having had some quotes to have some of the work done profesionally we are having to revise that. We do have some ongoing negotiations which we hope to have resolved this week which I cannot yet reveal. If these go as I hope we will be making a major step forward, but anyway as yet pie in the sky.

Once I know anything I shall let you all know.

Thanks again for your interest.

[jimbo]

She's really coming on Barry! I can't wait to see her afloat for a good look round

Ps That was a sneaky spot you had there at Luham the other week Glad I didn't rip the sunroof off ready for your camera at the other side of the bridge

[jillR]

looking good

[Springsong]

Thanks Jill.

Do you mean this spot Jimbo. Rather a dismal day as I recall so I have had to brighten the picture up a little.

[jimbo]

Thats the spot Barry Do you mind if I pinch the picture for my collection?

[Springsong]

Of course not help yourself, but thanks for asking Jimbo

[Springsong]

I have somehow overlooked this cupboard at the end of the sideboard, probably because to do it means getting down on my knees , which for me is to say the least uncomfortable . So next week my job will to be to sand it all and undercoat the whole of the inside. Although it appears to be damp it is in fact bone dry and the cause of the original water damage (a leaking window) has been cured.

The doors to the sideboard I varnished yesterday (Friday) so hopefully when I go tomorrow to collect them they will be ready to take back to the boat for fitting. There just appears to be one patch in the photo that is bothering me, the door nearest the camera, anyway we shall see.

The drawers are ready to go back in, just the handles to refit.

[Springsong]

Our new S/S water tank is now finished and back on board.

I think we shall probably have to have a new diesel tank made

and fitted before we put the water tank back in. I am sure that

it can be done but I am equally sure it will be easier to get the

diesel tank in and out with the water tank removed, also in the

next few weeks we will have the decks removed giving more

space to work in.

[andyfish]

Bet this will look a proper job when its done

Andy

[Springsong]

It bl***y well better had.

[Springsong]

The ash with its first coat of 100% varnish on and beginning to look ok.

The wheel is now about ready to reassemble.

The wheel is now back together. I must say that is one of the worst

varnishing jobs I have ever had to do, and I haven't really finished yet.

So fiddly and prone to runs, I shall have to do a little bit of localized touching

up to make it right, at least for me.The ash with its first coat of 100% varnish on and beginning to look ok.

The wheel is now about ready to reassemble.

[NorfolkNog]

Fantastic stuff Barry, you cannot beat the look and feel of varnished wood. Must make all your efforts worthwhile. Love the wheel, proper authentic job and much nicer than the cold shiny stainless steel ones you get on a lot of modern boats.

[Springsong]

I couldn'y agree more Howard I just love wood and varnish

Well the sideboard is coming along nicely. The doors are all on and the drawers are in. Both the cupboards at the far end still have to have their doors varnished;the bottom of the two has only been undercoated inside so has to be painted with cream enamel. The upper one has to have another coat of bream enamel and the bottom of this cupboard has to have at least two more coats of varnish.The top of the sideboard whilst looking reasonably good hasn't got the depth of shine I would like so some more coats to go on there.

You can see the in the photo the doors appear to have the kind of depth I would like.

Looking aft