Restoration.

[Springsong]

10th. April

Thanks Jill, as far as eBay is concerned this was my first attempt, which appears to have been a complete success.

Alan and I between us have painted the inside of the hull where the water tank is to go. We have not put the tank in place yet as the space is quite confined and all the water pipes heating pipe ans electrical wiring will have to run under this tank and behind the black water tank. I don't want to make more holes in the bulkhead than I have to, oh and the exhaust runs in this corner as well.

I know it all sounds complicated it is.

The saloon, cabin sides and bulkhead are ready, the beams need just one more coat but as you can see they have taken on a lovely golden colour.

The hole you can see to the left of the bulkhead in the middle is where the old light switch used to be. We are having difficulty with the wiring to that switch which operates the light over the mirror on this bulkhead, it is not much use in this position as it is behind the door when the door is open so we are going to find a nice bit of old mahogany cover it and mount the cabin door retaining hook on to it.

You may just make out a black hole towards the top of the second bulkhead panel. This is where the wires from the switch came out and went into the back of the light, what I propose is to drill through the bulkhead in this place and bring the wires in from the rear of the light. The cockpit side where the hole comes out will be covered by the finishing piece for the cabin roof after it has be clothed and epoxied.

As for the light switch we haven't made a final decision but somewhere a little more accessible as one comes down the steps.

[Springsong]

The rather nice light mounted on its oak plinth and fitted to the bulkhead. The new mirror will sit under the centre of this light, as I explained before this will have the led light panel fitted and the wiring will come in from the rear from the cockpit side.

I said I would report on the Deks olje that I was going to use in the cockpit. Well I have so far done two bits, the front of the dashboard, you can see the hole where the steering wheel fits. This oil comes in two stages No 1 and No 2. First job is to prepare the wood to the best finish one is able to produce, as with all these thing preparation is all. I stripped the old varnish with a hot air gun andscraper, then machine sanded with an orbital; sander using initially 80s grade then 120s grade, I then finished it by hand using320s to obtain at least what felt like a mirror finish. Then the No 1 is applied recoating as many times as is needed until the wood cannot absorb any more. The No 2 is then applied, six coats as a minimum letting it dry between coats. These varnish like topcoats must be applied within a month. The beauty of this oil system as I see it is once the wood is prepared there is no further sanding to be done, the down side is the price, but it does seem to go a long way.

The second piece I have done is on of the bulkhead panels in the cockpit. This has just been treated with the No 1 oil so is at present matt finished. When I am able to get back up there I may try some more oil on it to see if it will absorb any more. When I have finished the rest of the cockpit I will leave all the panels matt until the new front roof is finished and the engine has been lifted and refitted, just in case any damage occurs which has to be rectified but hopefully there wont be any also it should repel any oily greasy finger marks.

[VetChugger]

When I bought "Glenmore" and decided to have the topsides rubbed back and varnished someone advised that I consider using Deks olje. The rationale behind it was convincing and I asked Brooms about this. They seemed horrified at the prospect and said it was something they would never use! Unfortunately I didn't question it any further and accepted thier advice based on their "reputation"! Having since read more about the oil I do wish I had investigated much more. When someone else is doing the work for you the major part of the cost is in the labour of course. Given that they reckon to have put six coats of varnish on I do wonder what the actual price difference would have been using Deks olje? Just the cost of the oil itself as against the varnish I suspect.

Trevor

www.normanboats.co.uk

[Springsong]

Trevor as far as I can tell 5 ltr of the oil will go about as far as 5ltr of varnish, the oil may actually go further. The saving comes in the lack of rubbing down at all after the initial preparation. The oil at just short of £100 is not cheap but depending on whose varnish and where you buy it can cost £90 odd squids. £10 worth of labour ain't much

[Guest]

Hi Barry

Any more updates been missing my monthly read

Jonny

[Springsong]

Hi Jonny

So much that I have been doing of late has just been repetitive work that didn't really warrant the telling.

After this holiday I will post up some stuff as things are going to move forward quite quickly.

All will be explained.

[Guest]

Hi Jonny

So much that I have been doing of late has just been repetitive work that didn't really warrant the telling.

After this holiday I will post up some stuff as things are going to move forward quite quickly.

All will be explained.

Look forward to it Barry

Jonny

[Springsong]

So much that is going on is repetitive work that I have been over with you before, but there are a few things that are worth mentioning.

We have cleaned up all around us and removed all the clutter from on top of the boat in readiness for moving into the shop next door. This is so that Martham Boats (MB) can make and fit the new front cabin roof, I had hoped the move would have taken place this week but as of yesterday no movement. The boat on its way into the work shop passes under the engine gantry so we are asking them to remove the engine and attend to the underneath as in the days of yore drip trays were not de rigeur and the hull is pretty mucky. We have asked for quotes for other jobs as well while she is in there, some of which are easier done with the engine out but we have not had the quotes back yet. I will tell you more about these other jobs when we decide which way to go.

So to things that are actually happening. I have been wondering for awhile about stripping the stem to see if it would take being varnished, It would have to be stripped anyway but perhaps not finished to quite the same level if being painted. It is a shame about the repair but I should be able to stain in down to match the older oak.

I am sorry the photo is not up to much.

This is the inner door to the front sleeping cabin. I though that I could get away with a coat of varnish, but having put one on it looked truly awful, so I then had to strip both sides, this has had a coat of 50 / 50 and one coat of almost full strength. Looks so much better already.

I think I have said that the cockpit is going to be treated with Djek oil, so this is one of the sides having been coated with No 1 . it doesn't look all that much but once the six odd coats of the gloss No2 oil are applied it takes on a whole new depth. If you look closely at the bottom of each plywood panel there is no wood in the frame. The frame is very badly rotted there on both sides also underneath at the bottom of the left hand side of the dropside you can see a “black hole†which is also rot, Alan is going to take the side home to work his magic on it.

Behind you can see the untreated one and how pale it is by comparison.

This is the new ash cladding for the other side of the aft saloon bulkhead, it has just had a 50/50 coating and is awaiting some varnish.

This is one of the cockpit doors oiled with No 1 and ready for its six or more coats of gloss No2. You can just see at the bottom where I have had to do some filling, I stained the filler and while not perfect nor am I.

[jillR]

all looking great barry

jill

[Springsong]

Thanks Jill

She is now in the MB work shed and as you can see under the gantry with the engine out. I unfortunately could not be there so Alan took these photos for me. I have been in touch with Parsons the original company who marinised the engine in the first place over fifty years ago to find out the colour that the engines were painted. They are a very helpful bunch of people, they tell me the closest they can find is Hammerite blue so I have bought a tin so that I can give it a new coat of paint.

And here it is ready to be lowered to the floor.

[Springsong]

Now that we are next door things are really beginning to hot up. MB have a list of to dos which I would like pricing before we go ahead, I am funny that way. I don't as a rule quibble at prices but I just like to know.

The engine space with no engine. There is some work to be done to clean all that up. I have asked MB to give me a quote to tidy it up and paint it

The main reason for coming in here in the first place was to have a new front cabin roof with ash beams to match the rear roof. Well the first stage is under way with the removal of the rotten front

and the roof as you can see is off.

Here it is in all its glory

The cabin side from the port side removed. We are hoping after MB have used it for a pattern assuming that is what they will be doing we have a number of ideas and plans for the use of the old wood. Of course it is the same age as the rest of the wood in the boat so will be very useful for patching and letting in repairs.. I am hoping there will be a piece big enough to fill in the large hole

in the cockpit where the heater/boiler is going to live.

Here is the starboard side cabin side, I am glad I don't have to clean the paint of that.

[diesel falcon]

Ouccch !! that looks painful, thanks for the update ,looks awful at the moment but will soon look good

[Springsong]

Yup it is a little ouch especially when next door listening to a coal chisel being whacked extremely hard.

I found the engine sat on a pallet awaiting pressure washing and

painting, a rather large beastie.

These are the new cabin sides in the raw so to speak. The wood

looks good with some nice grain.

I am not sure what the technical term for these are it may be just

beam rail, anyway that is what they are going to be, or maybe beam shelf ?

[Springsong]

Things are moving apace here at Martham. The front cabin sides are in place as is the cabin front itself. While looking forward to preparing the aft cabin roof for epoxying the decision was made to router the top edge of the cabin side and let a new piece in. When the port side was done, as you can see in the photo, the cabin side was found to be a bit suspect, it also has a rather large split in it. The split would have to have a piece let into it. You can guess what's coming, the decision has been made, new cabin sides right through the whole boat both sides. The labour involved in making it all look good would have been quite high and when set against the shorter time it in fact will take to put in new sides and the new wood all from the same tree I think the end result will be justified.

I have to confess to being a little sad to see all the old wood disappearing from the old girl because with all due respect to MB and their suppliers I don't think modern woods are as good as they were even when SP was built in the late fifties. MB are of course saving the old cabin sides for me and we will be using as much of the wood around the boat as possible, for instance I am hoping to get the “new†dashboard out of a cabin side, and the light switch plinths (not sure of the correct term).

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, If so my apologies, but we intend to build a bunk above the double in the forecabin from the rear bulkhead running forward at about 3' height and in the region of 6' long but curving into the hull, in fact tapering towards the bow. I am hoping we can utilize the bottom of one of the front cabin sides to make the edge of this bunk.

The rear cabin roof we have decided is not really strong enough so prior to putting the scrim on a new layer of ply will be glued on to beef the whole thing up.

BA best practise says something along the lines of there should be two means of escape from any cabin. The front of SP has only the normal doors to exit by so we are having a sliding hatch put in over the front bunk so that, god forbid, in an emergency an exit maybe be made through the roof. For such a small extra cost it seems silly not to, we are also have electrickery put into the roof for a light in the companion way and for a mast head light on the mast.

A little indulgence maybe but I am seriously considering having Brian Ward's company make a bespoke distribution board for us to take all the AC and CD connectors. To my way of thinking this means as amateurs we can run all the cabling into the boat and have a professionally made board all marked up and all we then have to do is connect the right wires to the relevant (right) switch (RCD). Simples?

As you can gather my thoughts are turning to electrics, and as you may also know my knowledge of electrics is really very basic but I know what I want, so with help[ I shall be starting to wire it all out over the next few months, so watch this space.

The photos not in any particular order and not very good either. She is parked under a big roof light (window) and taking the photos from ground level looking up is not ideal.

[Antares_9]

A little indulgence maybe but I am seriously considering having Brian Ward's company make a bespoke distribution board for us to take all the AC and CD connectors. To my way of thinking this means as amateurs we can run all the cabling into the boat and have a professionally made board all marked up and all we then have to do is connect the right wires to the relevant (right) switch (RCD). Simples?

As you can gather my thoughts are turning to electrics, and as you may also know my knowledge of electrics is really very basic but I know what I want, so with help[ I shall be starting to wire it all out over the next few months, so watch this space.

Not really an indulgence Barry but a sensible idea, and indeed will make things simpler, you can make your own one from modules available in the Blue Seas range for both AC & DC without having to go as far as a bespoke unit, when completed they look and are a very professional job, just calculate the wattage of each load and from there it is fairly easy to calculate cable sizes etc. Do a diagram and label each cable at both ends with its function for easy fault fnding down the line. Proper crimp terminals are the way to go, not those horrid red / blue / yellow automotive things as uninsulated tinned copper ones combined with adhesive lined heat shrink and PVC slip over insulators will ensure a lasting reliable install at verry little extra cost, it just takes a bit longer.

[Springsong]

Thanks David, I think we will go with the Brian Ward option mainly because I am lazy but also because my electrics are really very iffy, which is why someone else will be doing it all. Having said that I take your point about the bare connectors and the heat wrapped insulation etc sounds the way to go to me in the salty damp atmosphere that is boating near the east coast.

The engine bay as you can see is pretty dire and needs a good clean up and a paint. I think we will leave it to MB to do that, they can then have the problem of disposing of the oily wastes which I am guessing they have the facilities to do. From the bits you can see the wiring and plumbing both need dragging into the 21st century and in fact over the next few months they will be.

[Springsong]

Alan has taken to his home one of the cockpit drop sides. This allows him to work on it at his leisure. You may remember the rot in the bottom of the frame that the plywood sits in. Alan has routered out the offending rot and has made a new piece to fit in its place. The other side he has already done and is glued and clamped with a large weight on the centre as it is difficult to clamp there.

The new piece in place, they both (sides) come a fraction higher up the ply to hide some of the delamination in the plywood, as one cannot see both sides of the boat at the same time it will not show. Just incidentally the wood for these repairs came out of a cabin side from a 1950s boat so the timber should be of a similar age,unvarnished it looks a very good match.

The new cabin sides are now moving apace , a couple of hiccups sail no 1 Whitewings broke her mast and had to have a new one made as did I think America out of the hire fleet, but as you can see it is all taking shape now.

The starboard side cut out ready for fitting.

The starboard cabin side removed and ready to receive the new wood.

[Springsong]

Things are now beginning to move apace, we are making a serious effort to launch in the spring of next year.

The photo is off the rear cabin roof with its extra layer of ply fitted and epoxied, all that is required now is rubbing down scrimming and painting, the same with the decks.

This is the ash for the new beams that are to go into the front cabin roof.

The rear windows have been cut into the new cabin sides, I wouldn't like to have to make that first cut. The cabin sides are very nearly ready to take some varnish, I just have to get the chrome surrounds out of store to fine tune the openings.

The new beams are all in place now. We have decided to have a sliding hatch at the forward end of the roof , you can make out the hole and the frame work where it will be.

We made this decision mainly on a safety basis there being no other exit from the forward end of the boat other than through the cockpit. The BSS at present I think have this as best practise but I feel fairly sure that before too long it will be compulsory to have this second exit, so to save having to do it at a later date it must be easier to do it now.

MB have just started to lay the tongue & groove onto the beams.

[Springsong]

Whoops missed a photo

[ranworthbreeze]

Hello Barry,

It is looking good, takes me back a lot of years, wish we had the space that you have to work in, our was a small project and filled a standard garage until we had to bring the boat outdoors to finish it off.

Regards

Alan

[diesel falcon]

spring launch....that,ll merit a song looking better all the time thanks for sharing.

[jillR]

looking good

[Springsong]

Thank you all for your comments.

Things are moving apace now, every day I go something else is completed I am back in the frustrating position of not being able to get on board, it may be a good thing from the yards point of view as almost certainly I would be getting in the way.

We decided that a peak on the front cabin roof would give a little character to the front of the boat as well as diverting any rain water from the roof onto the epoxied deck rather than the cabin front. This should make things last a tad longer.

The front roof looking forward awaiting epoxy.

The front roof looking aft and awaiting epoxy

This is taken from the cockpit looking forward into the inside of the front cabin. I am very pleased with the new beams and all that work on the T&G looks to have paid off, and I think when all the ash is varnished and the same on coming around the hatch it will all look great.

The front cabin top has been prepared for the epoxy to be applied, with the new sides well protected.

[Springsong]

While all this has been going on someone has had the unenviable job of cleaning out the engine space. A pretty good job he has done as well, all I have to do now is paint it all.

[C.Ricko]

Fantastic progress Barry,

I must say that with all the fine work going on here I think it is a shame to put a noisy lumpy old engine back in, I regret doing the same thing with my boat and have to think about doing it all again

If it were a nice quiet vintage sidevalve that would be different

sorry to put a negative view on what is an amazing properly committed restoration.