​Shane removed the brace from the forward seat of the Pelican and replaced it with two braces in order to accommodate the new (up to code) battery box. When we restore these old boats, we often have to reconfigure elements of their structure so we can bring things up to current marine standards. We love making things beautiful and shiny, but your safety is our priority. Shane also built mounts for the battery boxes and sealed them with priming paint. He ran the wiring for the batteries and battery charger and installed the steering cable. He then finished hanging the wires, replaced two wires on the battery charger where the insulation had worn through, and installed the battery box mounts. A few more tweaks, and the Pelican will be ready for re-assembly!

​The 18’ 1956 Continental made a lot of progress this week. Jack installed the wire harness to hold the engine wires, installed the fuel tank, and mounted all the wiring that runs throughout the boat. He filled the old engine mounting holes, since they needed to be positioned slightly differently to accommodate the new through-hull for the prop shaft. Then he was able to mount the engine, which is a big job. He also installed and wired the blower. Shane sanded, prepped, and varnished a few more of the interior planks. Gary dry-fit the floorboards, which he covered with marine vinyl, as well as the seat bases.​

​Shane sanded, prepped, and applied the fourth, fifth and sixth coats of varnish to the knees, breasthook, and floorboards of the International 12. Nicolas made the remaining bungs and installed them, then used a chisel and sandpaper to make them flush with the boards. He sanded and applied primer to sections of the interior of the boat to prep for frame installation. He then reinstalled the frames with temporary screws. Eight frames are ready to rivet in permanently. This is a slow, section by section process that ensures a sure and steady vessel.

Shane sanded, prepped, and applied the third and fourth coats of varnish to the seats, bullheads, bilge, and hull interior of the Skerry. ​

Jack drilled out all the excess 5200 from all the screw holes on the new bottom of the 1955 Continental so they can be filled with epoxy. Gary has been ordering engine parts and the upholstery is currently in the shop being remade. No photos this week for this one, but stay tuned! 



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​A lot of team work in the shop this week to install a new bottom on the 1955 Continental. During this process, Nicolas’s job was to apply the caulk evenly to the back of the bottom planks prior to installation. Shane drilled holes, which Jack filled with new screws. Then Nicolas crawled underneath the boat to hold the intermediates to provide a non-structural frame while Jack and Shane permanently affixed the new bottom boards. In addition to taking the lead on this process, Jack also bunged the transom, applied penetrating epoxy to the underside of every bottom plank, and made minor repairs on bottom planks that were able to be reused but had small cracks. This was all part of the preparation for installing the new bottom. He also began heat gunning and scraping the varnish off the side planks to get those ready for refinishing. 

​Nicolas continued epoxy fixes and minor repairs on the International 12 and started drilling bungs. He made the large ones and started on the small ones, so they will total forty bungs on each side when complete and installed. Shane scraped and began varnishing the knees and breast hook. 

​Nicolas installed the last piece of covering board on the transom of the 18’ Continental. The towel you see is moistened and placed over the water-curing caulk to hasten cure time. Gary worked on the seating boards, fixing them up and giving them a fresh coat of paint.

​Shane continued varnishing the interior of the Skerry, as well as the spars, the tiller, the rudder, and the centerboard.

​Shane installed the throttle box onto the Pelican and completed all the wiring, so it’s ready to be connected to the batteries. He also continued varnish and paint touch-ups for the Piglet and the Budsin.

​(Please see last post for photos)

On the 18 Continental, Gary and Nicolas fully installed the new deck. Then they trimmed all the bungs once the glue cured and installed the covering boards. Shane rounded out the steering column, removed dents, and primed it. Gary then took over and began sanding the deck with decreasing grits of sandpaper. He’s also been filling and fairing, shaping, and working on the fuel system and running gear. He also fired up the engine and performed a break-in cycle and recalibrated the flux capacitor.

On the ’55 Continental, Jack shaped and dry-fit new plywood under-planking for the bottom and installed it with 5200. Then he milled the wood for both aft garboard planks and the wood for the transom, which needed to be replaced. Replicated and dry-fit the transom pieces, which are book-matched (they mirror each other). He installed the new planks with life caulk. He shaped and dry-fit both new garboard planks and is currently working on replacing the outer bottom planks. Shane continued scraping old paint from the hull planks in preparation for refinishing.

The International 12 was flipped last week to address the plank situation and begin epoxy repairs. Nicolas has spent most of his time working on these plank repairs, in order to avoid replacing boards. This work includes removing the knots from the pine and replacing them with bungs since the dryness of the wood has caused many of the knots to come loose or crack. This prevents water infiltration in this kind of wood. In the repairs process, he’s also had to come up with creative clamping methods to allow the repairs to set properly. Shane sanded, prepped, and applied a sealing coat of varnish to the seats, knees, floorboards and other small parts.

Nicolas made four new boards the replace the rotted ones for the Lyman. Each new board was constructed from two pieces of scarfed planks. These boards are now ready to install. He and Gary are currently working on affixing the clench nails and screws onto the first six boards before installing the last remaining planks needed to close up the boat.
Shane sanded, prepped, and applied the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth coats of varnish to the new throttle box for the Pelican. He then fitted its electrical components, cut out slots for wires, and cleaned up the wired cutouts before applying the seventh coat of varnish.

Shane sanded, prepped, and applied the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth (final) coats of varnish to the transom of the Budsin.

Shane sanded, prepped, and applied the first coat of varnish to the interior hull of the Skerry. He sanded and prepped the spars, daggerboard, and rudder and applied varnish to the gunwhale. He then sanded, prepped, and applied the first, second, and third coats of varnish to the seats, bulkheads, knees, spars, daggerboard, and rudder and sanded and prepped the seats for varnish.
Shane replaced the rusted screws in the engine of the 18’ Sea Skiff with fresh screws.

Shane collected appropriate brass screws for the Piglet and attached shaft log plates with 5200. He cleaned up the shaft log holes and fitted to ensure shaft log tubes fit smoothly in preparation for caulk and installation, which he then proceeded to carry out. 

I've been having a rough two weeks with scattered sick days, but I'm happy to announce I've update all client photos. Also, I will do a mini-blog of those photos here so everyone can keep up with progress. Back to our regular updates this week! Thanks for your patience. ~ Linda

The 18 ft '55 Continental: (It has a bottom again!)

The International 12: (Yes, we flipped it!)

The Skerry Sailing Dinghy: (our latest fresh off the waitlist)

The Lyman: (Previously dry-fit boards are permanently affixed)

The Pelican: (Nearly done! Just some wiring to finish up)