Scull boat project--Done!

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

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So, since I'm getting so much useful advice, I figured I'd start out with some teaser "before" images. I'll post some pictures showing progress this weekend.

This is a boat I purchased sight-unseen on a bit of a whim, but I had a local friend of a friend check it out. It was sold in Delaware; I live in Maine. Negotiating the purchase was easy, but hauling an unknown used trailer from NJ to Maine was a bit of an adventure. We made it with no mishaps, and the one missing brake light did not lead to me being rear-ended on the Garden State Parkway, or on 495 around Boston.

Here she is in the barn she was sold from:
View attachment bow.jpg View attachment stern.jpg



View attachment interior.jpg

What I was told of her history was that she was built in Bath, Maine in the 1950's, then stored unused until just a few years ago. The seller's father bought the boat, glassed it, and hunted out of it a few seasons before he passed on.


Will post some photos of the damaged area and the initial work tonight--then, with luck, some "almost done stripping glass" photos this weekend.

View attachment crack.jpg
 
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looks like this fall's duck season will be action packed. Packed with learning to scull, I'm afraid. I'm hoping that a lifetime in canoes and kayaks makes this an easy skill to for me to pick up.
Click to expand...
 
http://undertheoar.10.forumer.com/

Jeff click on the link and register with this site. They all don't use real names but they are a good group that lives and breathes sculling. There are several guys from the Maine / NH area that will give you a shout if anything is needed re your float.

Also Bowdoinham Maine is holding its second annual ducks unlimited duck show on August 14th and Bowdoinham is home to several sculling float builders.

Paul
 
Here are some early progress pics from back in March. I made good progress until trout fishing got decent in late April, and it's been sitting since then.

Boat off the trailer and up on horses in the barn. This shows the first couple of "chips" when I started poking at the cracked glass with a putty knife:

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Here's an hour or so later:

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As I progressed from here to really trying to strip the glass, I learned a lot. A belt sander will remove a lot of glass fast, but then it will go through the glass and remove wood even faster. Fortunately I learned this lesson with just one mishap. A random orbital sander was too slow for me--and filled the barn with glass dust very rapidly. Somebody--can't remember if it was here or over on a canoe building forum--suggested a heat gun, and that's been the method of choice. By the time the mayfly hatches started and I got distracted, I had just a bit less than half the glass off. This was not a rapid process, I'd say I average maybe 2 square feet of glass per hour. At 15 feet long by 5 feet gunwale to gunwale, it's been a slow slog. I may be doing better than that now and getting maybe 3 or 4 square feet per hour of work.
 
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Nice scull boat .
Like Paul said click on the link and register with the site sculling_waterfowl::Index
and then post some pictures !
A lot of us use real names . I have been sculling for five years.
The scullers on this site have helped me a lot -- from the history of the boats to how to scull and more.
Its great that your boat has a plaque that tells you who and when it was made .
Good luck with your scull boat .
 
Great work! I almost bought that boat. but heard how heavy it was from all the glass. clean her up well you have a pice of history in your yard. look forward in watching the restoration.

Mike
 
Mike, even without the glass, I'm going to end up with a trailerable boat, not one I can toss in the back of the truck.

FWIW, in it's current half-glassed condition my wife and I can pick it up and move it--although she's told me in no uncertain terms that the next time it moves, one of my "duck buddies" will have to help. I haven't weighed it, but I'd guess ~150 lbs. The keel is a big solid piece of what appears to be oak.

Working on the bow last night I found some spots with 5 layers of glass, so I suspect it will be lighter when I get done than when I started.
 
Slow progress. Epoxy and glass supplies arrived last night. I think I have two more evenings or a long weekend session of glass removal to get the last of the glass off, then I can move on to sanding.

Question: It's becoming clear what the problem was with the orginal glass job. On one side of the boat the glass stripped off to mostly bare wook quite easily. (This is the side the glass had failed on.) On the other side, removal is much more difficult, and in most places I am leaving behind a layer of epoxy (or at least some kind of resin).

As I move on to sanding, how diligent do I need to be in getting down to bare wood everywhere? If I can get a fair surface, can I put new epoxy over a thin layer of the old stuff? I'm scraping as much of the old resin off as I can with a heat gun and paint scraper, but if I get too agressive I am gouging the wood underneath. In most places, there will be a thin layer left.

Larry at Raka suggested that I "not go too crazy" and that epoxy would adhere to the old resin, even if its poly-or vinyl-ester.

Will try to get pictures this weekend--hopefully with all the glass removed.
 
Jeff
Hull looks in good condition -- great job. I have good luck removing old glass with a 7" disk sander with a 35 grit disk. Definitely an outside job with a respirator.
 
Most glass guys use a high speed grinder with 36 grit. It eats a lot of glass in a hurry but will as you noted require a light touch just as the glass is about thru. Finish sand with a long board if you can. The little DA sanders leave a lot of dips and ridges.
Board can be made out of 3\8 ply and stick back sand paper in 8o to 100 grit. Board is about 2 to 3 inches wide and 12 to 16 inches long and should flex some. Wood handles can be screwed or glued to it for grip. 3M makes one that jamestown sells out of foam. Then you can do some touch up with the DA and a 120 grit paper.

Boat is sweet and you will have a treasure when you are done.
 
The project is looking good but you better shift it into high gear ..... the season is right around the corner.
 
wow ! thats alot of work buddy ,your doing her justice,right fine job as they say around here,,,

shermie....
 
The last bit of glass just came off the topside. The heat gun worked, but I think I might try the grinder route next time.

I'm taking Mr. Small's advice and kicking it up so I'm ready for the season. Hit Home Depot for some cheap lights and I have the driveway lit up like a Christmas Tree lot. On to sanding and the first coat of epoxy, then some work with filler to get rid of all the gouges in the cedar.
 
Jeff,

Plenty of sweating you are doing, nice job and it is coming along. The suggestion of a long board is a good one, go to a shop that deals in auto body supplies if you do not want to order one.


Matt
 
I've got a long board for sanding. The orbital sander was great for taking down the remaining high spots of epoxy, but now it's time to get more precise.

Sanded the topsides last night.

My wife says if the neighbors don't call the cops, she will, if I ever work with power tools after 11 pm again. :)

Thanks again for help, advice and encouragement.
 
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