Any Old " WOOD BOATERS" Left out there ?

WHAT A WEEKEND !!
We got her all planked up on Saturday ! Just gotta knock off the plugs, pound in the cotton lay in seam compound & paint her up ! WOO HOO !!
Then we left the marina at 6 this morning to the other marina to get more of the "68" parts boat, left there at noon and got home at 4:30 this afternoon, A great weekend I think. Here are some more pictures for you. Enjoy.

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Well Y'all We got back from the boat on Monday night but I didn't have the time to post the pictures of this weekend until now but here they are for you. We got A lot accomplished with just the two of us, we got going to the point that I almost forgot to take pictures so I only got A few. We got there on Friday night at around 1:45 AM and went to bed so we got nothing done on the first day. We got up early on Saturday to cloudy skies and A slightly cool breeze and got to work fast as to get as much done as we could so, I got right on the cotton. I pounded cotton for about 2 hours in the long seams and oakum in the buts in A light to moderate rain ( which didn't really bother me being I was under the boat where it was still dry). But just as I started on the oakum in the 4 seams that I felt needed it here came the down pour with the lightning and I packed up and bailed inside. Once I was inside we got to stretching in the soaker hose along the stbd side and ty-rapped it up nice, about 6 inches above the waterline. By the time we got that done the storm moved on and I was able to finish the oakum. Then I topped that off , and left it to set over night, Sunday I got up early and painted the new planks and caulk job I did and the plugs on port, then moved back to the transom where I had to seal up and re attach my swim platform that was ripped off in A storm last year when my spring line stretched and it got hung up under the dock, and WELL wouldn't you know we found yet another rig job from the previous owner, "THANKS TODD YOU IDIOT", someone could have been hurt walking on this thing,,,,,,,IT WAS ONLY ATTACHED WITH ONE GALVANIZED 1/4" X 3" LAG BOLT ON EITHER END AT THE TOP AND THE REST OF THE FASTENERS WERE,,,,, ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?,,,,, RUSTED OUT 3" DRYWALL SCREWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It took longer then we thought to drill all new thru bolts, but we got it done and now they are "actually through the studs this time", and it is more sturdy then ever so then we moved back in and finished the soaker hose on the port side. It was getting late so we fired up the water went to bed and left it run all night with the drain plug still out. Got up this morning to A mostly sealed up hull, cleaned the boat from stem to stern shut the water off and that was the end of the weekend. Here are the pictures I hope you enjoy them.

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Well the story continues, I came home to A photo album that was made for me by special friends I made while on this journey by the names of Bruce and Marge Franklin. They were previous owners of the previous owners of my boat. Her name was "OUR MARGARITAVILLE" then and she was absolutely beautiful then so I thought I would share the photos of their hard work and dedication. These pictures give me more incentive to bring her back to where she should be. Thank you Bruce and Marge from the bottom of our hearts. Here they are for your enjoyment.

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Jimmy invest in a few real cauking irons and a real caulking mallet. You need to hear the ring when when the cotton is driven home. I hope you looped and tucked that cotton as you drove it in. You can ruin a wood boat real fast with improper caulking tools and technique.
 
I never understood the caulking mallet. That has to be the most unwieldy hammer in the world.

With all the modern sealants why aren’t they used instead of cotton and putty?
 
Thanks for all the positive encouragement guys I appreciate it, it keeps me movin on. Bruce and Marge bought her on June 26th 2000 and sold her in 2006 to the butchers that let her go. They had her for 4 years and sold her to someone else I do not know their names and the unknown owners tried to halfheartedly did minimal patch rigging to get by. As for the mallet and the irons, I have been ordering them for two years now but they are mysteriously on back order every time I place the order. I know my technique is A bit strange but it is fine I did A bunch of seams last year the same way and they were fine she didn't need much just enough to back up the compound she just needed A touch. I will get them in the long run, I always get what I am looking for so I am confident I will have them soon. We are just going to enjoy her this summer and leave her out next summer. I need to do to get her back to where she was years ago, I will be pulling planks everywhere to expose all the ribs at the turn of the bilge and the tails. I will be replacing the transom and anything rotten or broken from stem to stern top to bottom then putting her all back together stripping her back down to bare wood cotton oakum seam compound bottom paint hull paint, I found A few soft spots in the decks that will be addressed, new cabin sides, windows the works. I just cant do what I need to in the winter I need warm weather to do her up right and there is no building big enough to do it in over winter.
 
There is an interesting thread in the wooden boat forum about building your own mallet. A guy did it himself and it turned out really well.It is in the build/repair section. It was interesting as it is a well engineered tool not just a odd shaped hammer.
 
I will have to look for that, Using A regular hammer is not only incorrect but that little 16 oz trim hammer gets heavy as heck when your working overhead for hours on end constantly tapping without stopping. Thanks for the info I'm on there all the time but I must have missed it.
 
I looked at the thread on the mallet again. It was in the misc. boat section not the section i mentioned.
 
Well Y'all,
Here we are again, the plan was to put her in this year and enjoy her one more year then take her to Point Breeze Marina 9 miles down the shore line where they have A travel lift, haul her out and keep her out next summer for bottom work to be done in decent weather. Please keep that in mind as I go on with the series of events for this summer's re-set. We got to the marina on Friday July 1st at around noon and I met with Jim the marina owner and paid in full for the year, we discussed when we were going to set and decided on Mon the 4th, last in for the summer. We commenced partying till that time and had an awesome weekend of A bit of last minute ready work, fireworks, food, drink, hanging out on the docks with friends ETC till Monday morning when I heard the truck fire up and head my way. He backed under her as I pulled stands and backed him up. THIS TIME I WAS GOING TO BE SETTING THE PADS WHERE I WANTED THEM. I told him he can drive but I was setting the trailer up how I wanted it. We got set and brought the trailer up to make contact with the pads, it was A perfect set I hit the lift points dead on, with that I went to the building to get the cords for my pumps plugged in and stretched out to meet the cords I had coiled and ready on the boat so all I had to do is throw the coil to shore to be plugged in. As I was walking back to the boat to lift I saw she was sitting crooked on the trailer slightly to stbd and slightly listing to port. I felt myself start to get sick and walking slightly faster and asked WHY SHE WAS SITTING LIKE THAT !? I got my answer as I walked down the port side to the aft corner,,,, She shifted on the trailer and all the weight of her was resting on the jack stand and the stand blasted through the aft port corner of the hull. It opened up A hole I could stick my head up into, so I did, and what I saw was disturbing, ROT, ROT AND MORE ROT. every rib was either rotted or broken right behind the port side fuel tank where I could not see till she broke. We decided right away to put her up behind the building where I have full power and water, and switched the plan to out for the year. I decided to keep her out and do an extensive bottom over haul this year rather then next, no more patch work just rip it out and redo it right I now have all summer to take my time and do the entire bottom. I will be taking out all the sistering and cutting out all the ribs that are or are looking like they are starting to rot or are broke. No more steaming it will all be bent lamination. New transom, planks where I need them the works. I also have A few soft spots in the decks I want to address, cabin sides and window issues. I MEAN EVERYTHING that needs to be done. OH AND I AM ALREADY ON THE PHONE LOOKING FOR A CRANE SERVICE THAT SETS BOATS WITH STRAPS. No more trailer. The FUNNY part is she broke the trailer, as if to say you broke me enough now it's my turn to break you, the 2 front pad worm bolt adjusters flattened right out she sat right down on that trailer as if to say NO MORE your done, you fix something now.

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Jimmy
We had a 1965 Wooden pacemaker, 32 ft Sport fisherman for 17 years. Lots of work but great boat. I have lot to tell you but don't have the time now. I've refastened, rebuilt etc. When we sold her to go larger; if she was in the slip for 1-1/2 weeks the inside bottom would dry out. No leaking except when worked in a sea. She was out of the water 5 years before we bought her. She was carvel planked. This means on caulking, just a compound which can squeeze out od the seams as she swells. If you caulk a boat dried out for a long time you have to be careful or the swelling will jack the planks off the frames. Carvel planked hulls are not meant to be caulked. I don't know if yours is carvel planked but be careful to find out. If you want to talk sometime e-mail me and I'll send a phone number. Two days in the slings and the 4 days with extra pumps when launched after 5 years. After the initial work she was always wet stored for the wintere. In 17 years she was out of the water about 25 weeks total. 1-2 weeks in spring that was all.

Good luck. By the way I'm old and used to be a wooden boater; is that what you meant??
 
OUCH! I feel for ya! Just be thankful the failure happened on the trailer and not on a cruise with the family.
 
A lot of wood boat years behind me too. I get emotionally tired just looking at a job like that!
 
Dave,
Yes she is carvel, and your right you must be very careful with the cotton. I only use it in 2 or 3 seams on the whole bottom only slightly tapped in as A backer for the compound, not counting the seams in the planks I just re-planked. Last year when I finally did get her in, like you mentioned within A week she was bone dry in the bilge, I only needed 2 extra pumps for the first night and she slammed right shut, the pumps slowed down to about 4 gallons A week throughout the rest of the summer she's A good old girl and we love her.I was talking to Doug Bennett who owns Lake Breeze Marina where I want to take and winter her said when he took care of her for the previous owner she was only ever in the travel lift over night she always closed right up and never gave him A problem.
 
rot behind tanks was a common problem. I guess it never gets enough air flow to dry. Good luck. Is there anyway that the marina with slings could move the boat there over land?
 
We tried that route last year it is A strait shot to the other marina except the first road out of my marina there is A block of low hanging power lines. other then that its wide open, so were screwed there.
 
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