Restoration Thread and Interesting Finds on the Late 1800s Scull


'Are those ballast weights along the inside bottom of the keel in that one pic??'
"Thanks Carl. If you're talking about the blocks you see in the first pictures from mid ship to stern. They were wooden blocks that covered a 1/4-3/8" seam. Not sure if they were original or later but none the less, after filling and fairing the seam they will no longer be necessary. I sanded them and glued up the cracks to put them back in but after accessing the situation, they just looked like a good place to trap water!"
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Brad, might they have been installed in order to give the keel something thicker / stronger to be attached to besides the planking?
 
'Are those ballast weights along the inside bottom of the keel in that one pic??'
"Thanks Carl. If you're talking about the blocks you see in the first pictures from mid ship to stern. They were wooden blocks that covered a 1/4-3/8" seam. Not sure if they were original or later but none the less, after filling and fairing the seam they will no longer be necessary. I sanded them and glued up the cracks to put them back in but after accessing the situation, they just looked like a good place to trap water!"
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Brad, might they have been installed in order to give the keel something thicker / stronger to be attached to besides the planking?
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I don't think so, as they were't screwed through the keel, only through the planking from the outside and into the planking through the block from the inside. They weren't in every section and the screws seemed a little different than the rest used on the boat.
 
Fairing is for the most part done. Need to shape up the keel and sand it a bit. Put a coat of epoxy on and she soaked it up like a sponge! Weather is kicking my tail on drying times and of course its blushing like crazy making things even more of a pain. Regardless, should get a little sanding done tomorrow or the next day and maybe some glass work.
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Brad
 
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Brad~

Thanks so much for this post - great job all around. And, you have earned your "Duckboat Detective" shield finding her origins.

Regarding your plans for the deck covering - you might want to look at Dynel. It is commonly used on high-end restorations instead of canvas. I just used it on Cassiopeia's pilothouse roof and really like it. It certainly looks and feels like canvas - but there's great confidence in knowing that the epoxy is keeping the water where it belongs. Defender Industries sells it: http://search.defender.com/?expression=dynel&x=9&y=4 It's $12/yard for 60-inch wide 5 ounce cloth. I set it in wet epoxy then used a foam roller to saturate it without filling the weave. (this was my first time so I had an experienced friend showing me the way.)

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On the other hand, every account I have read (WoodenBoat since mid-80s) uses plywood for decking when covering it with Dynel. So, I would think about the seams in a planked deck and how they might move with swelling. I might shiplap or T&G the edges of the cypress to at least minimize the shearing from up-and-down movement.

I look forward to your next posts!

All the best,

SJS
 
Thanks Steve! I have seen the dynel before but have never used any of it, definitely sounds like the way to go. Thanks also for mentioning doing something to the edges of the cypress decking, I wouldn't have given any thought to the up and down movement of the boards, but definitely makes sense.
Brad
 
Question? What type of foam roller? I usually lay glass with a spreader. It's easy enough to squeegee it out and show the weaves but if a foam roller is better, that sounds like a plan.

Brad
 
Brad~

I just used the foam roller covers any hardware store sells for adhesives, etc - and toss it away after, of course. I rolled the epoxy onto the bare wood with a saturated foam roller and then used a dry one to work the Dynel until it was saturated. I sometimes needed to add some more epoxy with the original roller. The dry roller does not stay completely dry but it never gets saturated. I picked up the technique right away and I'm sure you will, too.

All the best,

SJS
 
Brad~

I just used the foam roller covers any hardware store sells for adhesives, etc - and toss it away after, of course. I rolled the epoxy onto the bare wood with a saturated foam roller and then used a dry one to work the Dynel until it was saturated. I sometimes needed to add some more epoxy with the original roller. The dry roller does not stay completely dry but it never gets saturated. I picked up the technique right away and I'm sure you will, too.

All the best,

SJS
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Thanks Steve, sounds easy enough! Will be a couple more weeks on my cypress getting kiln dried.

Brad
 
Little bit of work in between hunting and honey-dos.

Well, thought I was done fairing, after sanding found a few more spots that needed to be touched up.
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Lastly, spots touched up and center board getting glassed.
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Brad
 
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Here's the latest I've found out. Mind you when I bought this boat, I knew virtually nothing about her history and never expected to find this much. The pictured boat is actually in the possession of the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum. It has been in storage since 1989 but can be viewed by making an appointment. This isn't so much about my boat, but about it's design. After looking at this picture, there is no doubt mine was built by Brooks Boat Co.

http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/Impage.cfm?PageNum=92&bibid=36560&ChapterId=7

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Brad
 
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Brad that is totally awesome...congratulations!

Been a while since I hunted in the Piedmont, do the NC regs allow for sculls?

Tim
 
Brad - What an amazing history! Some might say that boat needs to be in a museum. I beg to differ. I believe Laing and Wheeler would tell you to "Float it man! It was built to kill ducks so, kill ducks!!"

The only regret on this forum is probably Bob Welsh being jealous he didn't find it first. It would just be one more boat his wife doesn't know about...

Congrats on a great find and piece of history and, thank you for sharing it! Pat
 
Brad that is totally awesome...congratulations!

Been a while since I hunted in the Piedmont, do the NC regs allow for sculls?

Tim
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Thanks Tim. Yep, no restrictions on sculls here in NC. While I don't doubt there are others, I only know of one person here in NC who has a scull and he isn't an active sculler. I have never seen on the water hunting. Of course that could just be the overall lack of birds in NC! Haha

Brad

Brad
 
Brad - What an amazing history! Some might say that boat needs to be in a museum. I beg to differ. I believe Laing and Wheeler would tell you to "Float it man! It was built to kill ducks so, kill ducks!!"

The only regret on this forum is probably Bob Welsh being jealous he didn't find it first. It would just be one more boat his wife doesn't know about...

Congrats on a great find and piece of history and, thank you for sharing it! Pat
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Thanks Pat, those are my sentiments exactly. I knew there would be mixed feelings on what I'm doing with her and have encountered some of it on other sites. However, when she came to me, she was far from pristine and had seen some restoration at some point in her life. She had bondo like material in the screw holes, remnants of polyester resin/fiberglass, some type of black rubber sealant/adhesive in the largest seam between the planking and keel board. Couple that with a center board that had deteriorated away and would have been gone if not for one of the recent owners saturating it with epoxy, broken braces and framing, some braces that fell apart to the touch, the only thing holding the front of the coaming together was the old glass, significant rot on the deck, and some cracked planks. As it is, when I finish, the boat will be 90% or so original and will last many, many more years. It will stay in my family, hunted, and passed on to my son who will know her history.

I don't know if Laing or Wheeler ever had anything to do with this particular boat but it was obviously styled after the boat they contracted Brooks Boat Co. to build. I wish there was a little more about Brooks in the article, I'm hoping that the donor might still be alive or some of the descendants so that I can work my way backwards. I'd really like to find some descendants of the Brooks family. Until then, Mike R. has been kind enough to offer to make a appointment with Mystic Seaport this spring to see the scull they have in possession and hopefully take a ton of pictures for me.

Brad
 
I'll see that it happens Brad! It will be a great reason to take the kids to the museum there.

As a member of the Shang Wheeler DU Chapter I say float it and hunt it!!! I think, from what I've learned about him he would agree regardless of his contact with this specific boat or not.
 
I wish I would have found it. Nice restoration. Heres a little present for you.



Looks like your model . Read the caption. Courtesy of Shang Wheeler!

Found this in an old book, I knew I saw that boat somewhere.
Sorry about the bad pic maybe somebody can fix it.
 
Thank you Bob!! I really had little hope that I would found out as much as I have about this boat. I appreciate you posting the picture. I wonder if Laing or Wheeler have any surviving relatives who might be able to shed some light on her?

Brad
 
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