Farallone Clipper #15 restoration

[bdbFC]

To round it out since last week, I had help from good friends to do a number of misc. jobs. Started to strip the varnish on the toerail, cleaned the mildew and rust out of the cabin lockers, and sanded and filled cracks on the cockpit seats to prepare for paint. For the last mast step area floor, we needed access under the settees to get to the frames. So we pulled the settees off and cleaned the planking there too. And more floors. It feels like we're making decent progress.



Marc fitting the floor for the back of the mast step. Purpleheart is DENSE. It eats chisels.



This is after the cleaning under the settees. From green to sort of white. This will all be newly painted.

[bdbFC]

And last but not least, an update on the varnishing stuff at home. It's been a bit slow going on varnishing, as I can only do it at lunch or in between being at the boat and doing other things like, you know, life. But still moving forward. Doors now at 5th coat. They are starting to look kinda good.



And other misc parts for fun.

[bdbFC]

Lots of prep done since last post. What's the old saying? If all you have is a brush with primer, every problem is an unprimed piece of wood. Or something like that. So the theme these days is prime or seal anything and everything. Not much to look at, but it's progress. My friends have been helping a lot these days, which is so great! This round includes cockpit brackets, inside both settees, in the forward lockers, and in the head. I've sealed the remaining forward floors with epoxy, as well as the transom in preparation for varnish. Left to do is prime inside the forepeak and the undersides of the deck, and then everything except for the area behind the galley and icebox will have been touched. There are misc. screw holes still to filled before the top coat, but it's getting closer.



I need to find out if the space heater and battery charger above still work once I redo the electrical. My guess is no.







And it was fun last night watching Spaulding's adult boatbuilding class launch their rowboat project. Very cool

[Jay Greer]

Ah there you go again showing off all of that fantastic work and those beautifully carved doors! Excuse me, a moment while I go and get a Kleenex to wipe my drool off my keyboard!
Great work!
Jay

[bdbFC]

Thank you, Jay!



So the boat came outside for a couple of days while an event was happening in the main building. Seemed strange to see it in the sunlight. I've gotten so used to just looking at the lower section when I walk in, so to see it as a whole boat again was nice, but also felt a bit overwhelming when considering the list left to do. Anyway, it's back inside now, so onward!



Didn't have a lot of time, but managed to strip the toe rail and put a couple more coats of varnish on the transom while it was outside. Figure it's easier now then in the water. And then to more priming inside. The underside of the deck had never been painted in places, and it's pretty messy with mold and water stains. I scrubbed it with bleach, and first coat of paint. It will someday need to be replaced, but not this go around. Also 2 coats of primer inside the forepeak.





I'll also repaint the paneling when the topcoats go on. And last, but certainly not least, two new aft frames ready to be steamed into place. It's coming along!

[bdbFC]

We refer to the hull repair job as "front" or "back", depending on which part of the gaping hole separated by the good frames in the middle. But both front and back are beginning to be quickly filled up. Soon, it will just be "the hull" again when the planking starts.

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Only one more frame left to go on the port side of the stern.



And forward, the mast step has been installed. Sloped pockets were cut into the fore and aft floors to lock it in place, and the side floors will provide lateral support. Very solid! The remaining side floors should be done the rest of this week. The last floor (for the gap at the top of the picture) will be need to fit flush
on top the frames. This is where the front of the v-berth sits against. So those frames will the first ones replaced.

[Jay Greer]

Looking very good! Is there a drain hole drilled in the bottom of the mast step mortice?
Jay

[bdbFC]

Hi Jay,

It doesn't currently, but that is a really good point

[bdbFC]

All the floors up front are installed now, as well as the two most forward frames. And in back, port frames are done and starboard has begun. In addition, I've been doing a random assortment of jobs like more painting in the main cabin under the settees and lockers, removal of more old wiring and plumbing, and began to reef the fore deck for new caulk. If it seems like I'm all over the place, I sort of am - but there's some reasoning. My priorities until now have been:

1. Anything to help with the main hull construction (which has often meant taking more stuff apart and/or prep work for the new parts)
2. While that stuff is apart, seal it if below the waterline. Hence all the epoxy sealing and priming.
3. If there's a lull in the hull, do things that are hard once in the water - transom, hull prep for paint, thru-hulls, etc.
4. Next are things easier to do inside the building than outside, like recaulking a completely dry deck.
5. And then everything else...

It helps keep me from getting sucked down the rabbit hole of "too-much-stuff-to-do" paralysis.

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Reefing the deck seams. The fun has begun! Actually, it's going pretty quickly. Certainly faster than removing stripped screws.

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[Jay Greer]

Looking forward to the next news of how the project is progressing.
Jay

[bdbFC]

Before the last of the frames go in, Marc "reset" the keelson rabbet back to 1" square. It was originally designed to be this wide, but for whatever reason, my boat was done with a smaller dimension. And the years of over-caulking had ruined the edge anyway. It was not square in a lot of spots. So he chiseled and ground the rabbet and keelson back to square. It's now clean and straight, ready to accept the garboard plank.

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Marc attaching the batten to serve as a guide for the cuts.



Beginning to remove material.



And cleaned up, looking toward the stern. Very nice!

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And now with the floors, frames and keelson faired, I could back-prime them. It's hard to believe what a mess this area was when we first opened her up.

[bdbFC]

On the home front, I finished the cabin doors and have now started on the butterfly hatch.

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[jstarboats]

Hi,
the doors are looking great, just got to give the butterfly hatch the same treatment and you will be well away.

[sailcanoefan]

Wow, when I'm looking at this boat, I can't complaint about my little 19ft amount of wood needed to build it.

Thanks for sharing

[Benjamin269]

Being a novice and not knowing much about the structural properties of each of the different wood species available, I would like to ask why you selected purpleheart for all of those parts?

[bdbFC]

Purpleheart is rot-resistant and extremely dense. (It dulls tools like crazy, so it's not the easiest to work with though). And at the size needed for the gripe, it was available from Marc's source and not as expensive as white oak would have been. The frames however are white oak, which is strong and steams well.

[bdbFC]

Got the transom done today with the installation of the thru hulls. These will be used for the bilge pumps. The one on the right was originally for the exhaust (hence the bigger flange) My daughter helped paint the name, and then final coats of varnish. One more project checked off the list! I may wrap the topside paint around the edges to clean up the transition a little, but will see when I get to that point. Also started priming the forward floors, and misc. screws removed and/or refastened as the forward frames installation continues.

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[bdbFC]

The last of the frames in back are all installed now (yay!). I spent time prepping for the re-installation of the bronze floors.






Up on deck, some planks had begun to lift and I had planned to refasten these before recaulking the seams. But I found that even on planks that weren't lifting, there was a more common occurrence where screws had been just fastened straight through the planks to the decking below - without countersinking and/or plug covering. Some had caulk smeared on top, but most didn't. It's no wonder the plywood under the teak is in bad shape. I've begun to remove them with a screw extractor (of course, most of them are stripped) and refasten with countersunk bronze.



There are lots of these.

[jstarboats]

Look like you got your hands full with the deck seams, I have forgotten how many teak deck planking screws I have taken out and re-fixed over the years and re-plugged the screw holes and then sanded down the deck. It must be a few miles over 35 years in the business. However, the end result is always worth it in the end.

[jstarboats]

it looks a lot better now, you have got a bit of new wood in there and a fresh coat of paint. At least being white you will be able to see any problem easier in the future when you shine a touch in the bilge. Happy days ahead when you get the planking back on and start caulking the seams.

[Jay Greer]

You might want to check with the rep for the seam compound you are using just to see if some kind of primer is needed. Some use nothing or just plain salt water. Others, CPES. Just a thought. The companion way doors are spectacular. They do have a distinct oriental look. Very nice! Transom is great too! Who gets to hang over the taff rail and shine those through hulls?
Jay

[bdbFC]

At least being white you will be able to see any problem easier in the future when you shine a touch in the bilge. Happy days ahead when you get the planking back on and start caulking the seams.

thank you for the encouragement! That was my thought when choosing white for the bilge color. I know I'll have to clean it a lot, but I'll also know it's condition at a glance.

You might want to check with the rep for the seam compound you are using just to see if some kind of primer is needed. Some use nothing or just plain salt water. Others, CPES. Just a thought.

Thanks Jay! I'm going to use TDS for the caulk. Off the top of my head I think it just requires bare wood cleaned with acetone, but I'll certainly double-check before applying it.

Who gets to hang over the taff rail and shine those through hulls?
Jay

Ha! That'll be me.

[floatingkiwi]

This thread is a pictorial bonanza. And they show very well the awesome work you are doing here..
Well done mate.

[bdbFC]

Thanks floatingkiwi!

A hodgepodge of different things are in progress on the hull...

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Installed a new cutlass bearing. We need to build new motor supports for the Elco now that the rear frames are in, and need the shaft for alignment. I had also started fairing the shaftlog transition to the wood.

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The original 3 rear bronze floors will be reinstalled, plus 2 new ones (above is the new bent stock before the sides are cut to fit the profile). These were all shimmed to square the floor to the midline of the boat.

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For the most forward of these frames just in front of the deadwood, I fit a purpleheart floor. This is in addition to the bronze plate that will tie it all together.

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And to round it out down below, all of the port side frames are now installed. Only one remaining to go on starboard!

[bdbFC]

Up above, more deck work and misc. projects. I continue to extract screws and refasten the teak strips. My daughter helped cut and glue plugs. She thought that was really fun, which is great, because there are a lot of them!

I liked being able to come to the boat yard and do a coat of varnish first thing when I was doing the transom and then spend the rest of the time on other structural areas, so I want to continue that habit. Next up will be starting with the rails. Starboard side has been sanded. And since I'm almost done refinishing the butterfly hatch doors at home, a friend helped start stripping and sanding the corresponding housing on deck. I figure that will be a nice inspiration piece as the project continues.



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[shade of knucklehead]

Don't forget to cut the limber holes....

[floatingkiwi]

Don't forget to cut the limber holes....

Yeah, unless you stick a pump in every space, like the boat I have been workin on has.

[bdbFC]

The last frame is done! Planking will begin soon. And apart from the hull, friends have been kindly dropping by to help continue stripping varnish and sanding topsides. Thanks for that!

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Mocking up the support placement for the motor bed, which will be made from leftover purpleheart.

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And my daughter helped to pull more of the wiring out of the cabin, which means more fun electrical discoveries! I guess someone needed another outlet.
I'm convinced more and more that this boat was on the verge of becoming firewood.

[bdbFC]

[shade of knucklehead]

Cool picture, really shows the twist to her.

She's still limberholeless...

[bdbFC]

Don't worry - the limber holes are in there. You just can't see them from this angle.

[bdbFC]

Before and after, working-at-home addition. These were fun.

[Aquinian]

Stunning!

[bdbFC]

A lot has been done recently, but not a lot of photos to show this time. All the aft bronze floors have been fit, cut, installed, and primed(Including limber holes! ) Between squaring up the frame faces with oak shims, and cutting and shaping each floor's outside edge bevels, it took a little bit longer than I was initially thinking, but what doesn't? I'm satisfied with them.

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I also must get the engine bed installed before the rear planks go on, as doing this upside down from only the cockpit access wouldn't be fun. Scott made a cool jig of the motor dimensions using the adjustable motor mounts, which has been immensely helpful. From 1/8 plywood patterns, I've made the motor supports and stringers out of leftover purpleheart. These are dry fit. Last to do is to cut notches into the stringers to lower the whole top assembly the last couple of inches, fair up the overlaps, and then bolt it all together. These pics don't show it very clearly, but I'll try to get better angles when it's together.

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The propshaft is being replaced, but using the old one for alignment.

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[bdbFC]

We finished and installed the motor bed. I need to build a support for two of the six batteries here as well, but doing so won't hold up planking since I have decent access from inside the cabin. Im happy with how the bed turned out. It should add a lot of strength to this section of the boat, too.

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