My winter projects for this winter.

[jstarboats]

Having got the lower half of this MerCruiser outdrive unit it was in a sorry state





Full of dirt and other rubbish

[jstarboats]

After undoing the bolts and nuts holding down the water pump upper housing found the root cause of the engine cooling problem, the water pump impeller totally U/S little or no blades left behind






Even the upper housing is U/S as it got hot and as mis-formed itself and so as the lower plate






Now got the new parts on order should be up and running again

[jstarboats]

Had an away day in Kent, fitting a new set of Windows and seals in a Hardy Family Pilot, In my job you can get called to do jobs all around the country. One it could be Kent like today. Other times I have been asked to go to Scotland before now to sort out boat repairs. So I am truly nationwide when it comes to doing boat repairs and restorations having been in the marine industry for over forty five years , there is not much I have not come across and have been able to repair or restore. Long may it continue, I always like a daily challenge from every it comes. It keeps your mind active.

[jstarboats]

The condition of the impeller when the leg was removed from the boat, one melted and misshaped impeller




The boat getting a quick wash down before going back to its owner




Just be getting a wash and polish





It got a small auxiliary outboard for getting into small spaces








The engine leg back on the upper outdrive unit this was a challenging job

`

[jstarboats]

First shape the moulding pattern to fit and then cut the moulded baffle plate







The moulded baffle plate released from the plywood panel








The baffle plate cut to fit the inside faces of the tank









The top panel released from the moulding panel and ready to cut to size and shape








The pattern being used to make the pattern the correct size and shape before cutting the panel. I cut the inspection hatch holes to be able to fit the top in the correct place once it is cut to size.

[jstarboats]

First stage of fitting the baffle plate in the water tank

Having set up the position of the baffle plate in the water tank it was time to sand down the faces of the baffle plate and the water tank face where the baffle plate is going to be fibreglassed in position






The next job was to mix up some epoxy resin with filler powder into a thick paste








Then spread it so it makes a radius at the base of the baffle plate so that the fibreglass can go round the radius curve and adhere correctly to both faces

[jstarboats]

The Enterprise dinghy to get spruced up ready the sailing season, along side the Enterprise dinghy is the Mai Star Class dinghy which needs a sprucing up has well, The Mai Star Class dinghy also need to have a mast and boom and gaff making along with a rudder and tiller. Then it5 will be ready to go sailing as well.







Another job awaiting restarting is the Cornish Crabber which had to be stopped over the winter and spring as the cover was destroyed in the winter gales and I am awaiting a replacement cover to arrive so that the cover can go back over the boat so the work can be started and the beams can be fitted and the refit can continue.








Some of thepartsd out of the boat that need sorting and repairing as necessary

[jstarboats]

The Morgan Giles 30 hull painting to continue doing with more layers of Hi-Build Epoxy Primer until the hull is fair and ready to paint its final orange paint







The deck fairing to continue until it is fair and ready to get painted with Hi-Build epoxy primer and then a deck non slip covering




This pilot 14 is getting a overall colour change to be yellow all over






This former sailing whaler, which for a time was a lady's rowing gig is now being converted into a motor launch for its latest owner to explore the local rivers and estuaries around North Essex.



These have all been long term projects which hopefully will be coming to a close in the near future and so to make room for further projects to come into the yard.

[jstarboats]

First job was to mark off the waterline before starting painting the white undercoat





It a large area when you have to paint the whole of the hull and the superstructure






Just about halfway round and it is looking better, when this is done leave for a couple of days and then paint the yellow gloss paint






The superstructure finished off




Now back to where I started. Just got to wait for the paint to dry.

[jstarboats]

The Pilot 14 has now turned to a bright shade of Yellow which the owner wish me to paint the boat from a very dark blue.


So it begins from the grey to the bright yellow, it will be seen for a distance away




The colour is bright, however you will never missing coming towards you from now on.








It will need a second coat to cover the white undercoat, however, I did not think it was going to cover with just one coat




Finally finished the first coat. Put the second coat on tomorrow

[jstarboats]

The Yellow boat is coming along and the outside is coming along with the antifouling paint applied to the bottom





Now the bottom as been painted it breaks up the mass of yellow paint




The back does not look so overbearing with the black antifouling covering the lower part of the Transom and the stainless steel on the outboard well also breaking up the mass of yellow paint




Once the black rubber fendering is bolted along the hull to deck joint the whole boat will not look so overbearingly yellow




Just got to order the bolts and washers and nyloc nuts to blot this black fendering to the hull

[jstarboats]

The outside now just as to have the rubber fendering fixed in position





Now the bottom as been painted with a coat of antifouling paint the waterline is well defined




When the black rubber fendering is fitted it will break up the mass of yellow paint into a more understated yellow




Now the cockpit s painted grey it is looking a lot better

[jstarboats]

Starting to set out the laid deck for the front of the Picnic boat

It has been a while since I have worked on the Picnic boat, it is now time to set out the planks for the laid deck on the front and aft decks for the picnic boat





These thin planks of Mahogany will make up the major part of these deck with a thin strip of light wood going between the planks to look like a traditional laid deck




Setting out the planks to get an idea of the amount oplanks that will be needed on both decks




The first few weighted down with lead weights to keep their position while the forward ends are cut and shaped to fit the deck capping




The starboard side planks cut and fitted




Making a start on the port side




Once these are all cut and fitted the insert will be cut and fitted between the mahogany planks

[jstarboats]

The foredeck now all splined and ready to be glued down on a bed of thickened epoxy





Just the centre round the filler pipe to finish off




The aft deck all set out ready to be glued down after the aft deck is glued and screwed down






This will set off the deck well when thiy are sanded and varnished as they are not teak

[jstarboats]

After a long period of doing other work, now started to apply more coats of Hi-build epoxy primer to fair up the hull.





This is the first of three coats of Epoxy primer before the undercoat and then the final coat of custom orange top coat




The hull is getting fairer with each coat of hi-build primer, just a lot of long boarding with sandpaper so we finish with a fair hull ready to apply the finish coat.




now just need to let this coat cure and then apply more coats.

[jstarboats]

The hull is getting coats of hi-build epoxy primer so that the hull can get faired up ready for the final coats of orange paint





There are a few more coats to apply to the hull, however in the meantime the deck of the boat is in need of the same treatment with coats of hi-build epoxy primer to seal the decks after they have been repaired and in some places major work as been done on them.




So while the hull cures between coats it will be time to get on to the decks and clean them down after months of not working on them and set to work on getting them ready to coat up with the first of three coats of epoxy primer.

[jstarboats]

The decks are now getting the same treatment has the hull, now the decks have two more coats on the decks and now this will cure over the weekend and then there will be a bit of spot filling where it was not filled enough when they were sanded earlier.





The deck will now be filled where needed and then will get extra coats to buildup protection




The deck are a lot smoother and will be able to stand up to a lot of hard work over the next few years.

[jstarboats]

Starting with a drawing from the owner and looking at the dimension's and seeing they were a little under spec, We decided to increase some of the dimensions to give a safety margin when putting the tiller hard over in a blow





Having done that we decided on the final size and shape and the tiller was born





The tiller was made up of mahogany and ash strips epoxy glued together




An amount of shaping then took place and the finish shape was made and the hand grip area made into a comfortable shape and size




Now starts the long process of building up layers of varnish until the correct number of layers of varnish are achieved

[jstarboats]

First job was to more all the plywood from behind the boat so we had enough room first sand down the transom and then to paint the transom.





Having moved the boat up the workshop and gaining enough room to set up the staging to sand the transom.




Thefirst coat of three to go on the transom to make the paint thickness to the same as the rest of the hull.





The new top coat arrived from the supplier so when the hull is ghost coated with a coat of black paint and then sanded back this will be ready to apply to the hull.

[jstarboats]

It has now come to the stage in the refit to think about doing the hull re-painting. It can be seen that the Morgan Giles 30 was once an orange hulled boat, Which it is going to be again, however, it had to go through a transformation first.





First we had to paint several coats of Hi-Build epoxy primer to the hull after we removed the old paint system off the hull and did any necessary repairs and modifications to the hull during its long refit.





So it has come to the time when after the coats of Hi-Build epoxy primer have come to an end and it is now time to flat back the epoxy primer back to a smooth finish ready to start the repainting back, you guest it back to orange again. however, it is a different shade of orange this time




The ghost coat of black paint as been sprayed all over the hull which now as to cured before we sand the hull down back to a smooth grey colour before coating it with its first coat of orange




So there is going to be a few hours of sanding the hull ahead for us over the coming days before we are ready for the first coat of orange.






So let the fun begin

[jstarboats]

I was asked by a client if I could make him an emergency tiller for his Catamaran.
Between, we made up the metal work and I made him a tiller that could be used both as an emergency and also as a tiller to use without having to sail the boat from the wheel.





Because it is a good length there will be little pressure to be needed to make any manoeuvres. That way he has the best of both worlds




The tiller even pivots as well so when not being used it can be lifted out of the way of the cockpit.

[jstarboats]

Starting at the starboard bow using an air sander with P320 sanding discs.





Sanding the hull was hard going as the Hi-Build Epoxy primer had a rough finish, however, the end result was a smooth finish which is true and fair with just a small amount of fine filling to be done in a few places.




Finally got to the bow again at the port side after two days of sanding and a a lot of elbow grease and patience later




Just got the cove line and waterline area to hand sand to finish the job off before preparing to paint the first coat of orange gloss paint






One of the more difficult areas to do as have limited room to put up staging to work on this area, will have to move the boat further up the workshopto gain better access to this area.

[jstarboats]

The top edge of the hull the Cove line and the water line are all sanded down ready to get it prepared to paint the hull





There are a few areas which need a bit more fine filling




Most of the hull is now ready,just got to clean up the area round the boat and get rid of any dust laying around the boat




Going round the hull doing a few more areas of spot filling




The biggest areas are where the chain plate are glassed and bolted through the hull which have been the biggest area that needed filling over the course of applying the Hi-Build epoxy primer and then sanding the hull back to a smooth finish







The other job done this week was to move the boat up the workshop to get access to the transom so it can be painted a lot easier than leaving where it as been for a long time.

[jstarboats]

Starting at the bow sanding back the previous coats of hi-build primer with a lead light at deck level check where the low spots are so that they can be filled and then sanded back





The deck are a lot smoother now that the hi-build primer is sanded back and it shows where the low spots are














Once this is sanded back then the final filling can be done and the decks can be ready for their final deck paint coat.

[jstarboats]

Before the works break, we were working on renewing the iroko rubbing strakes on the Hardy Pilot 20.
The old rubbing strakes behind the front part were completely rotten and so we were able to get old of the covering pieces which we are now taking a profile of so that we can make a new front piece to the same profile as the piece.





Using a profile gauge we are able to get the profile of the old piece and so make a pattern of this and use the pattern to make the new profile




Here is one of the back pieces getting planed to shape along its length as there is a curve along its length to mirror the sheerline of the boat where this attaches to the hull with bolts along its length.




Another job getting sorted is the repairs to the Westerly Centaur which came to us with the blade full of water and parts of the rudder in need of extra fibreglassing where it had become thin over the years when the boat dried out between high water on its mooring.

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The port side is now cleared of the old wooden fender rail with all the old sealant removed





Just have to compound the hull before getting the hull ready to fit the wooden fender rails




Marking out the iroko plank ready to cut out the new wooden fender rails which will be planned and thickened to the correct thickness




Cutting out the wood ready to get it shaped

[jstarboats]

While doing other jobs as part of the refit on this Hardy Bosun the wooden fender rails were found to be rotten below the upper part of the wooden fender rail. So with careful use of wooden wedges it was able to remove the upper part of the wooden fender rail.





It came off in more or less one piece apart a few places along the lower edge where the glue was still holding the two parts together.




However, the lower part was rotten and full of water and just fell to pieces when removing it from the side of the hull.






The forward end of the wooden fender rail is wet however, apart from that it is still sound.

[jstarboats]

After cutting out the blanks which make up the front sections of the Iroko rubbing strakes, it was time to cut the bevel on to the blank to give the rubbing strake its lower angle to meet up with the base section.








Once that was cut there was a far amount of shaping as the bench saw could only get a close angle, not the exact angle. So with the aid of an electric power planer, it was able to get the correct angle.







A profile pattern was made of the original shape so that when making the new rubbing strake it will be the same profile as the original




To make the rounded edge of the top of the rubbing strake we sometimes use electric tools to get the original profile

[jstarboats]

A piece of the original back section of the rubbing strake which came off in a useable length to be able to use as a template for the replacement back section





Having made the front section it is placed on the back section, so that the angle of the back section is a continuing angle to the front section




Having clamped the sections into position the back section is marked so that the angle can be planned on to the flat section

[jstarboats]

First using a variable profiler, take the shape off the old section to use as a pattern for the new section.





Having removed a lot of the angle using a power planner taking the rest down with a hand plane to get to the same profile as the original part.




setting up the lower section ready to remove the large part of the angle before final shaping with a hand plane.




Several runs at the lower section and the angle starts to appear




Once the angle is near to the finished angle the upper section is then fitted




Then dry screwed in position so that final shaping can be made.

[jstarboats]

As part of a survey it was seen that the fixings holding the rudder shoes have been fixed on with the wrong grade of Stainless Steel, it appears that the stainless steel bolts have been A2 stainless steel and not A4 grade stainless steel which is the grade for fixing underwater fittings.

With this in mind the other fixing are going to be removed and replaced with the correct grade of Stainless Steel A 4


he anodes will need replacing as a matter of course before the boat is re-launched



Both the shaft and the hull anodes are showing that they are working




The port rudder is in good condition, however the fixings are going to be replaced to make sure that the same does not happen to this as it did on the starboard rudder shoe

[jstarboats]

First job to remove the cockpit canopy and make easier to work around the back of the boat





First of the headlining panels to come down in the heads compartment




Then the first of the two in the cabin area




Then the second headlining panel to remove to expose the fixing for the wheelhouse sides




The first panel out of the way




Then the second panel removed

[jstarboats]

finally the head compartment panels down and out of the way, just leaves to remove the wiring for the navigation lights, wipers and the power supply for the instructments before the wheelhouse can be removed




The navigation lights removed so that the wires can be removed as we lift off the wheelhouse off the cabin sides




not an area most owners ever see

[jstarboats]

The joints are reasonably intact, however, there are parts of the carlin which are rotten in places, so it is as well to replace the whole of the carlin as part of the restoration of Chance.





It was good to see that at least one end of the deck beams had not been messed about with unlike the outboard end which had been butchered. So it will be possible to redo the deck beams in the same manner has they were when the deck beams were first fitted back 1947/8 when Chance was build.






One deck beam that did not survive as it had been either rotten or broken out when they repaired the beam shelf and relaid the deck planking




The aft end of the carlin is in the same condition as the forward end , the major problem in this area is going to be making new aft deck beams and making new lodging knees. However, this time we will make the parts out of laminated oak which will be a lot stronger than the original parts and be more rot resistance.

[jstarboats]

Having ground back the surface gelcoat to remove the stargazing out of the gelcoat it was time line dermal the stargazing out of the lower level to that rid of any lower level stargazing.


Once that was done then, it was time to start to fill up the dermal-ed lines to level the lines up with new Oxford blue gelcoat



The stargazing was a very long length




The length was from ahead of the cabin window to as far back as the porthole in the toilet compartment, so it is a long stargaze.




It is going to take a bit of time to fill up the stargazing with gelcoat, however, as we fill the stargazing up, we will then gelcoat the whole area from the forward end of the stargaze to the aft end and from the wooden fender rail to the rudder fendering then sand and compound the whole of the blue stripe to its original colour.