Time to fix up the old green boat

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  • Rich Jones
    What boat to build next?
    • Apr 2009
    • 19643

    Time to fix up the old green boat

    I've mentioned this boat in the past: a 14' Sam Devlin designed Cackler garvey that I built 20 years ago. Designed as a duck hunting sled, I rearranged the interior for family fishing. My kids were young back then and it made the perfect stable platform for family use. Knowing it would get hard use, I gave it a workboat finish and didn't mess with any fancy woodwork. Latex house paint and no varnish! It's painted green and, never having a formal name, is simply referred to now as the old green boat. Lots of sentimental family memories in this old barge.

    It was getting a little scruffy looking, so I decided that fixing her up would be a good winter project. One thing lacking was watertight lockers to store gear. Plus, the transom needs some beefing up.
    Construction was 1/2" marine ply stitch and glue covered on the exterior with glass/epoxy and epoxy coated on the interior. The glass on the decks is cracked in places and needs some attention. Glass on the bottom is still solid after all these years. Plus, I'll tweak a few other things just to spiff her up.

    First project was to build a cradle.

    IMG_3796.jpg

    Next was to back the trailer and boat into the garage and hoist the boat up in the air on straps. Here she is doing her anti-gravity imitation.

    IMG_3801.jpg

    Now, back to earth on the cradle and ready for work.
    IMG_3803.jpg
    I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
    Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.
  • hawkeye54
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2017
    • 7357

    #2
    Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

    Rich, that shop WAS looking a bit too clean and empty ..... (just saying )

    Rick
    Charter Member - - Professional Procrastinators Association of America - - putting things off since 1965 " I'll get around to it tomorrow, .... maybe "

    Comment

    • Rich Jones
      What boat to build next?
      • Apr 2009
      • 19643

      #3
      Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

      Originally posted by hawkeye54
      Rich, that shop WAS looking a bit too clean and empty ..... (just saying )

      Rick
      Yeah, all that empty space was just screaming for a project.

      I'm having hernia surgery next month, so the plan was to great the boat in the shop and get everything ready for when I'm healed up. I've all sorts of other things to do also; bring in the firewood, stack a couple of tons of wood pellets in the garage and take care of other pre-winter chores around the house. Of course, with a hernia, these chores have to be done slow and easy, a little bit each day.
      Tried to tell the wife that she's got to handle the snowblower this winter, but she ain't buying it...
      I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
      Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

      Comment

      • Rich Jones
        What boat to build next?
        • Apr 2009
        • 19643

        #4
        Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

        The boat was designed and built with a motor well. After using it for a while, I felt the sponsons where digging into the water and throwing a bigger wake then if it had a regular transom. Plus, with the motor hanging further aft, I'd have a little more interior room in that the aft seat would be further back. In the end, performance remained unchanged, but I did get that little bit of extra room.
        I dug out the plans and traced over the faded lines to show the original stern.
        IMG_3822.jpg

        Here's how I altered it around 15 years ago and exposing what's left of the original motor well.

        IMG_1083.jpgIMG_3826.jpg

        Seeing that this is a work-boat type vessel, I feel comfortable just taking a sawzall to the structure. Out with the old!

        IMG_3835.jpg
        I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
        Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

        Comment

        • Rich Jones
          What boat to build next?
          • Apr 2009
          • 19643

          #5
          Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

          I'm three weeks into my four week exile from my shop as a result of the hernia surgery. Next week, I can go back to lifting within reason.
          But, I felt that cutting and gluing the new inner transom was light enough work, so I've been doing that yesterday and today. Here it is epoxied into place, clamped and held with temporary screws.
          Tomorrow or Friday, I'll do the fillets and glass tape the corners.

          IMG_3846.jpg
          I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
          Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

          Comment

          • Oldad
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2008
            • 3415

            #6
            Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

            Nice work Rich, go easy though. Hard to do when you have a fun project and you start feeling pretty good. What size motor do you put o her?

            Comment

            • Rich Jones
              What boat to build next?
              • Apr 2009
              • 19643

              #7
              Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

              Originally posted by Oldad
              Nice work Rich, go easy though. Hard to do when you have a fun project and you start feeling pretty good. What size motor do you put o her?
              15 hp 4-stroke Merc. Not nearly enough. I was mislead by the salesman 17 years ago when I bought it. I should have gone with a 25 hp. I now think the guy was overstocked with 15 hp motors and wanted to get rid of them.
              It gets the boat up on plane with just me and my wife in the boat and does about 17 mph. Add anymore passengers and it just plows through the water like an old tugboat.
              I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
              Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

              Comment

              • jcpout2c
                Member
                • Dec 2017
                • 96

                #8
                Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                Looking good. That'll be a great winter project.

                Comment

                • Rich Jones
                  What boat to build next?
                  • Apr 2009
                  • 19643

                  #9
                  Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                  Poking around the old transom, I came across a couple of small delamination/rot spots. Water intruded somewhere over the years.
                  I patched them up, but it just reinvigorates my search for a replacement design.
                  I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
                  Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

                  Comment

                  • Rich Jones
                    What boat to build next?
                    • Apr 2009
                    • 19643

                    #10
                    Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                    Here are the aft seats/lockers going together. Fir marine ply which will be coated with epoxy. Hatch and top of locker will be covered with glass. And yes, I did remember to put drain holes in case of water getting in there.
                    The boat was originally built "rough" since it was to be beaten up as a family fishing boat. I'm continuing in that vein, not driving myself nuts with perfection.

                    IMG_3849.jpg
                    I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
                    Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

                    Comment

                    • Oldad
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2008
                      • 3415

                      #11
                      Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                      Looking good Rich.

                      Comment

                      • Breakaway
                        Senior Member
                        • Mar 2007
                        • 28419

                        #12
                        Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                        Thanks for sharing, Rich.

                        Kevin
                        There are two kinds of boaters: those who have run aground, and those who lie about it.

                        Comment

                        • Rich Jones
                          What boat to build next?
                          • Apr 2009
                          • 19643

                          #13
                          Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                          The aft lockers/seats are complete other then paint and hinges.
                          IMG_3864.jpg

                          Here you see the ledge I put around the opening to keep water out.

                          Below are the finished lockers/seats.

                          IMG_3865.jpgIMG_3866.jpg

                          The dark colored wood is leftover Khaya from my Palmer launch.
                          I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
                          Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

                          Comment

                          • Rich Jones
                            What boat to build next?
                            • Apr 2009
                            • 19643

                            #14
                            Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                            Now, we're off to the other end of the boat. Time to rebuild the front locker/seat.
                            IMG_3863.jpg
                            This is how it's been for the past 20 years. It was simply covered with two pieces of marine ply that just sat in place. It worked, but was far from watertight!
                            And now, with the new hatch framing in place.
                            IMG_3867.jpg
                            I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
                            Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

                            Comment

                            • Rich Jones
                              What boat to build next?
                              • Apr 2009
                              • 19643

                              #15
                              Re: Time to fix up the old green boat

                              Some might ask, "You big dummy, why didn't you do this when you first built the boat?"
                              Simple answer: I was short on time. Back in 1997, I was working 12 hours a day, plus Saturdays. I was also pretty much single-handedly building my vacation home in Vermont while maintaining the home I had on Long Island, N.Y. Not a whole lot of time to devote to boat building. If I wanted to take the kids fishing while they were still kids, a quick and dirty build was necessary.
                              But, the time to spruce this old girl up has arrived, so she's getting a refit. I wouldn't bother if my wife didn't like this boat so much. I was going to retire the boat, but the good wife wanted nothing of that. So, the old green boat lives on.
                              I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
                              Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.

                              Comment

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