Fairing planks to stem - restoration of dory skiff

[Thorne]

We had a "boat turn-over" party and I pulled the rotten ply false / second bottom off the dory, plus removing most of the various fairing compound / bondo? from the planks at the stem.

Since I'm no boat-builder I'm not sure what the process is called where you match up the planks with the stem and make it all smooth and nice...fairing?

Anyway the builders of this Chamberlain dory skiff seem to have left quite a bit of twist in the planks, with an offset between the stem and plank edges both top and bottom (stem wider than the planks to the outside).

I *think* the original builders used some West system stuff to fair this gap in places, then the second owner used bondo or whatever to do the same but moreso for the rest of 'em.

Any ideas what I should do? I'm planning on removing the rest of the artificial stuff on the planks and stem edges, then painting it.

But there seems to be a few places where the planks were not fitted properly to the stem or warped later, leaving some unsightly bumps and un-eveness.

Obviously with lapstrake the top of each plank will be set back from the edge of the stem and the bottom should meet the outside edge of the stem -- leaving an offset/hollow edge at the front end of each plank where it meets the stem. Some of these planks seem to have cupped or warped a bit beyond this, however.

Tempting to use fairing compound or whatever to clean this up before painting, but I don't want to repeat the earlier mistakes that resulted in the fairing material cracking and causing the paint to crack and bubble.

http://www.luckhardt.com/stempic2.jpg

http://www.luckhardt.com/stempic3.jpg

[ 10-09-2005, 12:12 PM: Message edited by: Thorne ]

[Granville]

it appears the gains were not cut deep enough and the amateurish job was half assed further by the addition of goop in an attempt to make it look better. it must be a false stem - I would pull off the old one and find out what is underneath it. When you fit a new false stem into place you can probably do a better job by standing back and looking at what you need as far as width where it comes into contact with the varying planks and size the false stem accordingly. Its going to be wider in some spots than others- the widest spot is going to be the controlling factor. It is probably going to require a judicious use of goop to once again make it look to be fair.

[Old Bingey]

It might be that at some time the stem was replaced and the planking had to be cut back a little bit where the ends of the strakes were rotted, too. The only proper way to fix it is to replace the stem again and take the planking laps apart far enough to re-cut the gains until the planks fetch up into the rabbet flush. It could be that the person making the original repair thought the boat wasn't worth the trouble of doing the job right so he just slapped it together just good enough to go a little longer.

[Paul Scheuer]

Obviously with lapstrake the top of each plank will be set back from the edge of the stem and the bottom should meet the outside edge of the stem -- leaving an offset/hollow edge at the front end of each plank where it meets the stem. The “gains” that are mentioned are the rabbets in the lapped planking that makes the ends come out to match the stem, so you don't get the zig-sag joint.

It kinda looks like there was an attempt made that missed the mark, or as above, the stem was replaced, with goo to hide the shortcommings.

There are probably better examples, but here's an illustration.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid25/pd34062ff0641d00ff02201b985c43ab9/fd8e2ab1.jpg

[Bob Smalser]

First things first, here:

Glad to see you've fallen off the all-bright bandwagon. This isn't the boat for it. It's a work boat built heavy and fast for economy, function and the ability to take hard knocks...not for pretty.

First thing is to save the boat, getting the rot out. I don't like the looks of those planks...dark color and checking. Get an ice pick in there are see if they are soft. Use a belt sander with 60-grit if you have to so as to check other suspect areas around frame bottoms and garboards...some paints and putties are so hard they fool the ice pick.

Where the soft spots are determines your plan of work, not where you happened to start. It'd be real dumb to fix those gains or scarf in a new hood end or two only to discover more rot in that plank later that requires full replacement.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/8408305/113600042.jpg

Soft wood is cut out, the remaining bare wood treated with CPES, and new wood epoxied in.

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/8408305/113600037.jpg

http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/8408305/113600127.jpg

If the hood ends of any of those planks are soft, you'll have to remove the false stem, unfasten the planks from the stem and from each other for a ways and let them spring outwards to scarf in new hood ends. Make sure the boat is well supported and the bottom level when you do it. You can correct all those planking gains then with a shoulder plane like the one in my pic....Gardner's Dory Book will show you how.

If those hood ends are sound from the outside, then pull off the false stem and check the end grain to make doubly sure. That bare, discolored wood is what CPES was made for, so use it there.

If no scarfing is required, then rather than unfasten the hood ends from the stem, you can use a plane to take your "gains" from the outside of the planks rather than recut the rabbets...then fashion a new false stem to match your work. Won't be as perfect as redoing the rabbets, but it will match the rest of the boat's flaws, which are part of its originality and even charm.

It'll never be a light, pretty, brightwork dinghy...so don't waste time trying.

[ 10-09-2005, 06:41 PM: Message edited by: Bob Smalser ]