Restoration of the BC Salmon Troller "Petrel"

[Slacko]

Very slippery slope all right, but quite rewarding having a drawer full of planes for various tasks in ready to go condition.
Keeping them ready to go whiles away the evenings nicely too.
I bought a nice book, "The Handplane book" by Garrett Hack that gave me enough info to be useful and inspired.

[leop]

Hi Chris,

I am wondering if you soaked everything with your antifreeze concoction before assembly? Or do you plan to reassemble with everything soaked in paint?

I often wonder how much bedding and protection to apply so I am asking around to see what others think about the question.

The job looks great. Did you use a Kreg tool for the screw holes, because they look like they came out darn near perfect.

[cstevens]

Leo, I installed the cleats dry because that's the way the original pieces were done. No idea if that's the best approach but I figure it will last at least as long as the rest of the boat. I'm going bed the plywood backing panel in paint per the advice from Nick and others though. And thanks - no jig for the holes. Just freehand with a countersink. A drill is one tool I'm reasonably competent with...

[J.Madison]

When do you think you will pull out for the bottom work? May I suggest doing all the floors before recaulking the garboard? (Your list had them in the other order.)

Lovely boat. How did you find a marina willing to take you without insurance? Or how did you get insurance for a boat with so many known issues?

[cstevens]

When do you think you will pull out for the bottom work? May I suggest doing all the floors before recaulking the garboard? (Your list had them in the other order.)

Lovely boat. How did you find a marina willing to take you without insurance? Or how did you get insurance for a boat with so many known issues?

Hoping to haul in April or May, depending on when the weather looks like it will be reasonable for a week or two. That might be optimistic around here but sooner the better. And yes, you are right - floors before caulking of course. Not sure why I had it the other way around.

As for insurance... I'm embarrassed to say that I have something of a don't-ask-don't-tell relationship with the marina about that. I tried to get her insured for port risk only last year but was told that I needed to completely rewire her first. I don't know why that was the sticking point since I've removed all of the electrical systems except the minimum needed to run a bilge pump and start the engine, but there you are. My fallback plan if the marina ever makes an issue of it is to take her back to South Park and put her in the yard there until I have done enough work that she will pass an insurance survey. And yes, I know that's entirely sketchy. Not at all how I would like to do it. From a practical standpoint I am checking on the boat every day and I'm confident that she is not going to sink, catch fire or present an environmental hazard so I think the actual risk is pretty low. But I'll also acknowledge that I am not setting a very good example for anyone else who might be tempted to take on a project like this one. So kids, don't do what I am doing!

[cstevens]

Picked up another Craigslist find this morning:



It's an old Davidson dinghy. Made in B.C. just like Petrel. Ok, yes it's fiberglass. And pretty ugly at that. Definitely workboat quality but a little paint and some repair to the wooden bits and I think it will be the perfect tender for Petrel. I'd love to have a classic B.C. handliner, like one of these:



But until one drops in my lap the Davidson is a pretty good substitute. Big enough to comfortably carry two adults, a child a dog and supplies. Floatation tanks for some reserve buoyancy. Rowable, unlike the inflatable I have now. And not something I'm going to worry much about when I drag it up a rocky beach.

Anyone else have one? I'd be interested in any photos or information. There is a bit of info online, including a couple of people on the forum who have them, or did in the past, but Davidsons are still a bit scarce it seems. Not like Mintos for example.

[2dogsnight]

very nice dinghy Chris !....and owning a big boat you definitely need one

[cstevens]

Thanks Wojo, but to be realistic, it's more of a dinghy project right now. So I now have three boats to work on! But Petrel comes first. And I do need to spend a couple of weekends spiffing up the Whitehall soon. The Davidson will have to wait a bit longer. Still a $250 dinghy is hard to pass up and it can sit in my shop until I have the time to work on it.

[Curt G]

Chris, It sure looks like they didn't spare any of the extra Barn Paint coating that dinghy. Is that a drain plug?
I've also got that same Record low angle block plane. It's a nice carpentry level plane but not for finishing work. My wife does furniture and hates it. Meh, tool snobs.

Curt

[cstevens]

Barn paint is about right Curt. It's pretty rough. And yes - a pretty nice bronze drain plug actually. I've been doing some research on Davidson boats. I had heard of them before but didn't know that much. But of course Tad Roberts had more info on his Facebook page, including some photos of a really nice cold molded version of the exact boat that I have in fiberglass:



It turns out that Hamish Davidson made some pretty nice dinghys! Mine isn't one of the nice ones though. I suspect it spent most of its life on a fishing boat. But that's appropriate enough. If I had a dink like this one I would never, ever drag it ashore and that would be a shame. Can't spend your life anchoring only in places equipped with a dinghy dock...

As for tool snobs, everyone needs a hobby I think the Record is about right for my current skill level though. Anything better would be wasted. Doesn't stop me from wanting - and occasionally buying - nicer tools though.

[Curt G]

Barn paint is about right Curt. It's pretty rough. And yes - a pretty nice bronze drain plug actually. I've been doing some research on Davidson boats. I had heard of them before but didn't know that much. But of course Tad Roberts had more info on his Facebook page, including some photos of a really nice cold molded version of the exact boat that I have in fiberglass:



It turns out that Hamish Davidson made some pretty nice dinghys! Mine isn't one of the nice ones though. I suspect it spent most of its life on a fishing boat. But that's appropriate enough. If I had a dink like this one I would never, ever drag it ashore and that would be a shame. Can't spend your life anchoring only in places equipped with a dinghy dock...

As for tool snobs, everyone needs a hobby I think the Record is about right for my current skill level though. Anything better would be wasted. Doesn't stop me from wanting - and occasionally buying - nicer tools though.

Chris,
I've got plans for John Brooks "Ellen" that I've never used so they're still valid with the copyright. It has a really sweet "nesting" version that he did an article on in WB years ago. It would fit on Petral nicely.
Maybe when you get closer to completion (Quit laughing. I mean it.) it might be something I could pass along. I meant well when I bought em'. But I don't need a little catboat now.

The only reason I can figure for that drain plug is so you can store the boat upright and open on deck without filling with rainwater or spray. The problem for me is if you're tooo lazy to flip a dinghy you're probably too lazy to pull the plug at the same time.

[cstevens]

Chris,
I've got plans for John Brooks "Ellen" that I've never used so they're still valid with the copyright. It has a really sweet "nesting" version that he did an article on in WB years ago. It would fit on Petral nicely.
Maybe when you get closer to completion (Quit laughing. I mean it.) it might be something I could pass along. I meant well when I bought em'. But I don't need a little catboat now.


The only reason I can figure for that drain plug is so you can store the boat upright and open on deck without filling with rainwater or spray. The problem for me is if you're tooo lazy to flip a dinghy you're probably too lazy to pull the plug at the same time.

Thanks Curt! I have to admit that I did get a bit of a smile from the thought of being "closer to completion"... But I guess it will happen eventually. Someday I would like to build a little sailboat. Something to do with Dash when he's a bit older perhaps. As for the drain plug, I'm thinking the boat was originally a dinghy or lifeboat for large workboat. If it was stowed on davits then the plug in the bottom would make sense since a transom plug would be higher than the bottom of the bilge and wouldn't drain completely. And a working crew wouldn't want to have to flip the dinghy to drain it. They have better things to do. Plus it's heavy. Really heavy. Davidson built it to last for sure.

[cstevens]

Inspired by my progress last weekend, I went on a bit of a tool buying binge over the last few days. A new Dewalt cordless jigsaw to replace my aging and anemic Ryobi, a Workmate bench, a few more clamps and this:



Stanley No. 5. $100 on eBay. Not a bargain perhaps, but in the battle between instant gratification and frugality, instant gratification won. As it usually does. I haven't had a chance to set it up properly but I'm itching to try it out so I'll be tackling that in the next few days. I'll probably be coming back for advice when I do. And then this morning I think I made up for spending full freight on the plane with this find:



Ridgid 13" planer. It's an older two-blade model, but it's in good shape and it was only $30.00 (!) Even if I need to replace the blades or rollers I think it's still a bargain. And just what I will need to surface the lumber for the floors.

But back to the project of the moment. I finished making the backing plate for the outside helm today. First I cut the panel from 3/4" meranti plywood and fit it to the bulkhead:



Then following the advice I've gotten here I dug out an ancient can of Bilgekote and slathered both surfaces:



And finally screwed it down.



Next step here is to cut the opening for the helm pump but I'm still waiting for the new one to show up so in the meantime I'll work on moving the fuel fill deck fitting to make room for the Morse control head.

[Phil Y]

Good deal on the planer I'd say. And progress on the boat too, well done Sir!

[cstevens]

Thanks Phil. It's nice to be putting wood on Petrel rather than taking it off for a change.

[2dogsnight]

I would love to see your boat this summer. Make a motorcycle day trip up to Seattle.
Such a cool boat.

[cstevens]

I would love to see your boat this summer. Make a motorcycle day trip up to Seattle.

You are welcome any time you like Wojo. Just let me know when!

[2dogsnight]

You are welcome any time you like Wojo. Just let me know when!

thank you Chris, I would like that very much!

Wojo

[cstevens]

A bit more progress today. First, this morning Dash and I spent some time cleaning up the boat:



Then after lunch I tackled repositioning the fuel fill deck fitting to make room for the engine controls. The old fitting was a bit hacked up, but I still have some hardware left over from Perihelion, including the Morse controls and the deck fittings. So after removing the old deck fitting I test-fit the control head which, as I expected, really needed to go right where the fuel fill had been.



But it was a simple enough task to cut a new hole a bit further forward...



...and drop in the new fitting:



That was as far as I got with that part of the project as I found that I didn't have the right screws, despite rummaging through several bins of fasteners. I have stainless. I have brass. I have bronze but in the wrong size, or too long, or too short, or phillips head, or square drive... but no #8 x 1" flat-head, slotted, bronze wood screws. So that's another run to the store needed then. And I may take the time to recess the fitting into the deck as well.

Then I took a pass at removing the old deck fill pad. Which, of course, had been glassed-over when the cabin top was fiberglassed by some previous owner. So it was a bit of a chore.



After a few minutes with a cheap chisel I had the pad off:



But I still need to do some grinding and cleanup of the fiberglass, and I'll have to patch it up a bit after cutting the new hole for the controls. My plan there is to make a new pad and install it over the fiberglass, bedded in Dolphinite.

[jsjpd1]

Looks like it cleaned up nicely Chris. How's that next rail block?

[cstevens]

Looks like it cleaned up nicely Chris. How's that next rail block?

Pretty sketchy. They all are more or less. And the handrail is just some sort of thick-wall pvc pipe, so it's all on the list to be replaced. New blocks with copper (red brass) pipe, through-bolted instead of the lag screws that are in there now. But I have a few other things to do first...

[cstevens]

1 of 2


More progress on the outside helm today. The helm pump I bought on craigslist arrived yesterday, so today I tackled the project to make the bulkhead cutout for it. With the Wagner pumps the shape is not just a simple hole, it’s a keyhole shape. So the cutout took a bit of work.


I started off easily enough by cutting the round section with a hole saw:





Then I marked out the rest of the keyhole





and drilled holes to cut out the upper section





before finishing it off with a chisel:




It needed a little work with a rasp for a good fit of the pump but everything came together nicely





And then a trial fit with the steering wheel to make sure everything is in the right place





Looks good to me. Eventually I’m planning to add a brass cover plate around the opening but that’s a ways off.

[cstevens]

2 of 2


Then I worked on the pad for the engine controls, using a piece of the Douglas Fir that I bought for the cabin sole:





This piece was my first attempt at rounding edges with a block plane so it’s something of test





Looks ok but it’s not very symmetrical and I got a bit of tear-out on the end grain





I have plenty of wood to work with though, so I’ll take another stab at it tomorrow and see if I can do a bit better.

Oh, and for the detail-oriented members of the audience, yes - the top of Workmate I bought is stenciled backwards. I'm working with Black & Decker customer support to see if I can get a replacement. Handy little bench and I'm happy with it so far, but not exactly a precision tool.

[jsjpd1]

That looks pretty good Chris. Are you sure you need to redo that pad? It sure looks paint ready from here.

[andrewpatrol]

^ what Jim said , bit of sand papering and it'll be fine Chris

i thought you'd done it with a router until you let the cat out

[cstevens]

That looks pretty good Chris. Are you sure you need to redo that pad? It sure looks paint ready from here.

Probably not. I'm happy enough with it as it is, and it's certainly no worse than anything else on the boat! Mostly I want the practice - I'm trying to get better at this whole woodworking thing. If I get a better one the second time around, great. If not then I'll use the one I have and be satisfied.

[cstevens]

When I turned twelve, my parents gave me a flatiron skiff with a Seagull outboard. It was a homely little thing - flat sides and bottom and not a speck of varnish on it anywhere - but I loved it and spent every free moment exploring the waterways around Seattle in it. But at first it had no oars. So I bought a pair of unfinished oars from the Wooden Boat Shop and varnished them myself. Those oars were nothing special either. Just your ordinary, garden variety sticks made for bashing into piers and poling off rocks. But I spent hours and hours sanding them through progressively smoother grits - much to the amusement of the old salts at the marina where I was living with my sister and my parents. When I reached 400 grit one of the guys at the yard finally told me “it’s just a pair of oars fer chrissake!” He was right, but to my eyes they were lovely when they were done - all golden and shiny, with laced-on leathers and buttons. Far nicer than the rest of the boat in fact but I didn’t care.

And what does that story have to do with the price of beans in Bakersfield? Not a damned thing but it was in my mind this afternoon as I was looking at the pad I made yesterday for the engine controls. As has been pointed out to me before, my perfectionist tendencies sometimes go beyond reasonable. So I decided to take Andrew and Jim’s advice and hit it with a bit of sandpaper to clean it up, and then spend my time on more productive things than making a better one. Which I did.

First I feathered the fiberglass cabin top so I could patch the spot where I removed the old pad for the fuel fill:





Then I sanded the face of the bulkhead in preparation for paint:





And cut out the openings in the pad and the cabin top for the engine controls:











It’s coming along. Next up is to fiberglass the cabin top, and then prime, fill and paint. Then run the control cables and hydraulic lines.

[jsjpd1]

That looks loads better with the paint cleaned up Chris. Nice job.

[cstevens]

Thanks Jim. Ironically, sanding the cabin sides for paint is the job I was working on last September, which led me to refastening the trunk cabin, and then to the tarp project when the weather changed, and so on and so on. So it's nice to finally be getting back to that task even if it's just in this one spot.

[andrewpatrol]

Amazing how one job precedes another, I sometimes forget what's what and have to undo something.

is that a secondary helm for docking etc Chris ?

[cstevens]

is that a secondary helm for docking etc Chris ?

Not specifically for docking, although it will be handy for that. I wanted an outside helm for several reasons. Ultimately because I would like to be able to pilot the boat from an outside station when the weather is nice, something that I always wanted on the boat I lived aboard but never had. And in the short term having the second station solves a number of problems. With the interior torn up as much as it is now, and thus no soundproofing for the motor, the boat is far too noisy inside to pilot without hearing protection. That makes it difficult to use for any sort of family outing. Being able to steer from on deck lets me use the boat while I'm still working on things like engine room bulkheads, hatches, etc. And one of my upcoming tasks is to replace the bulkhead separating the pilothouse from the forecabin. That cannot be done without removing the inside helm. Having the second helm in place means I can do that work without disabling Petrel for the duration of the project. And finally, it gives me an excuse to do something other than chip concrete out of the bilge - a job I'm happy to avoid for a while longer.

[cstevens]

I've been thinking about the next steps on the outside helm project and have another question for the forum. I need to patch the fiberglass on the cabintop where it runs under the pad for the engine controls. That's easy enough but there is another issue that I want to tackle at the same time. Looking at this photo, you can see that the fiberglass covering on the cabintop runs up the side of the pilothouse by 2" or so.



However the glass is not adhering very well along the top edge and I'm concerned that it's an entry point for water. I've considered various options for covering the edge but right now I'm inclined to grind it back a bit to where the existing glass is still adhering (maybe 1/2") and then cover the edge with a band of fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin, extending it another 2"-4" up the face of the pilothouse. Does that seem like a reasonable approach? And would you just tape the vertical surface or run it down across the joint between the pilothouse face and the cabintop? Whatever I do I want to tackle at least the section adjacent to the controls so I don't have to remove them later, so I need to come up with the plan now. Any advice appreciated!

[Rumars]

Looking at the photo I see chopped strand mat and delaminated wowen roving, so I will guess the resin is polyester. I also see patches of dark wood and I guess it's wet. I would strip the whole glass from the cabintop, let the wood dry and redo with epoxy.
I know it's not good news, sorry.

[cstevens]

Thanks Rumars. It's true that the old covering is not to the standard that I might like (chopped strand mat and polyester resin being only part of the problem). I may strip it off and re-cover at some point and if I do I would also lay down a layer of plywood to serve as a better foundation for the glass than the T&G planks. But that's not going to happen any time soon. I don't have any indication that water is getting in right now. The wood is dry where I removed the fiberglass around the old deck fill pad for example. I suspect the discoloration is from the several decades prior to the fiberglass covering. That may be wishful thinking but in any case, re-covering the cabin tops is well down on my list of priorities so my only goal is to address the loose edges for now so I can move on to more pressing issues, like leaky garboards and rotten frames.

[Rumars]

Then cut at the joint between cabin and pilothouse, remove the strip on the pilothouse wall and run a fillet of epoxy in the corner. You can put a strip of fiberglass over it if you like.