Wooden Boat Renovation WoodenBoat Renovation New Life for Old Boats Using Modern Methods Iim Trefethen Illustrated by Clint Trefethen {}i/lill/ilil1//llffiillililIililtilililIil r4frH "il'iliiii'i Air I if e ns Ltd SY39EB' England 101Longden Road' Shrewsbury {,*i-:frt.} .gtnu-tf 't 176 ,.* to Susan l0 I B 7 6 5 Copyright @ 1993International Marine, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved.The publisher takes no responsibility for the use of any materials or "lnternational methods described in this book, nor for the products thereof. The name Marine" and the International Marine logo are trademarks of rhe McGraw-Hill Companies. Printed in the United Statesof America. 20Qrt,L- - Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data fart Trefethen,lim1942 t 'trt' . Wooden boat renovation: I / 1 new life for old boats using modern methods/Jim Trefethen; illustrated I e 0 e by Clint'Irefethen. I /' ./ ) ISBN0-87742-366-0 ,'- l. Wooden boats-maintenance and repair.I. Trefethen,Clint. II.'fitle. '-'I | vM322:r'74rgg3 623.8'207-dc20 92-40572 CIP Questions regarding the content ofthis book should be addressedto: International Marine P.O.Box 220 Camden, ME 04843 207-236-4837 Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressedto: The McGraw-HillCompanies Customer ServiceDepartment P.O.Box 547 Blacklick, OH 43004 Retailcustomers: I -800-822-Bl58 Bookstores:| -BO0-7 22 - 47 26 Wooden Boat Renovatlon is printed on 60-pound Renew Opaque Vellum, which con- tains 50 percent waste paper (preconsumer) and l0 percent postconsumer waste paper. Printed by Arcata/ Fairfield. Production and Design by Faith Hague. Edited by lim Babb, Don Casey,and Pamela Benner. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: WhyWood? 1 Is FiberglassReally Easier To Maintain? FiberglassBoats Last Forever Wood Rotsand FiberglassDelaminates WoodenBoats Cost a Lot To Build PlasticBoats Have More Space UsedWooden Boats Cost Less WoodenBoats Are Real Boats WoodenBoats Are Traditional Boats Chapter TWo:Selecting the Perfect Project Boat 11 AttemptusFrttilitus \t\4ratKind of Boat Do We Want? Where Can We Work12 Let'sStop Planning and StartLooking \\rhereDo We Look? WhatTo LookFor Narrowing the Field Negotiations The OtTerTo Purchase Get a Survey FinancingYour Purchase SoLet's Buy It Already Chapter Three: Work Schedule and Budget 31 Planningwith a Computer The Work Schedule The ProjectBudget 26,9 Chapter Four: Something About Tools 41 Buy the Best-You DeserveIt UsedTools Are Good Tools Borrow if You Can,Rent if You Must KeepIt Sharp The BasicTool Kit The Tool Box Saws Chiselsand Gouges Planes Measuringand Marking Tools PowerTools CircularSaws Bandsaws Planers Jointers The Drill Press PowerSanders Hand Drills Routers Chapter Five: Boatbuilding Woods 65 Gradesof Lumber Sawingand Drying Lumber Rain-ForestWoods Oak Teak Mahogany Cedar Clpress SitkaSpruce DouglasFir Larch Plywood Marine Pllwood The Affordable Alternative Veneers Chapter Six Just for the HulI of It 79 Defining Terms Hull Repairs Carvel Planking Strip Planking LapstrakePlanking Plywood Cold-moldedHulls Chapter Seven:Hull Repairs 91 Epoxy Hull Flexibility Refastening FrameRepairs Laminating Bent Frames PlankRepairs Spiling CarvelPlanking LapstrakePlanks Strip Planking Plywood FiberglassingWooden Hulls Chapter Eight: All Hands on Deck 137 Deck Leaks The FiberglassOption Doing the Job Wooden Decksand Other Forms of Self-Flagellation Cabin Trunk and Deckhouse Sparsand Rigging Chapter Nine: Internal Spaces 169 The Tick-StickTrick The Built-up Bulkhead Interior Cabinetry Drawers LouveredDoors Sinksand Countertops Chapter Ten: Little Boats-Big Memories r99 Worksin Progress RenovatingRunabouts RenovatingCanvas-covered Boats RenovatingLapstrake Boats Chapter Eleven: The Finishing Touch 219 SurfacePreparation Sandpaper SandingNewWork SandingOId Work Varnish The EpoxyUndercoat Brushesfor Varnish Applying Varnish Maintaining Varnish Polyurethane Paint SurfacePreparation for Painting EpoxyBase Coat The PrimeCoat Brushesfor Paint Applying Paint Appendix A: SuggestedReading 241 AppendixB: Sourcesof Supply 249 Glossary 257 Index 267 Ackno\^rledgments an illustratedtechnical book is far more \/\fritinS complicatedand involves U V many more peoplethan the layman readercan everimagine. I, asauthor, get my name on the cover,my likenessgoes on the back flap, and I'm given credit for the entire effort. such is the nature of book publishing,and I have neither the power nor the inclination to changeit. But the processis inherently unfair to those who namesand photographsdo not gracedust jackets. Thus, specialthanks go to: my family, without whose support this couldn't havebeen written; my friends Dick and Kathleen,without whose encouragement this wouldn't have been written; my editors,Jim Babb,Don Casey,and pamela Bennerand the staff at InternationalMarine, without whom what was written would be unintelligible; and my readerswho understandwooden boats,without whom what was written would seemthe babblingsof a fool. And of coursethere were many people in the boating industry,people like Dick Welch at National Fisherman,Iim Derck at GougeonBrothers, and Ken Bassettat Onion River Boatworks,to name just a few, who were alwaysready to answermy callsno matter how busy their schedulesor how silly the questions. All thesepeople and many more laboredlong and hard to makethis book a use- ful tool to guideyou, the reader,in fixing up your old wooden boat. Despitethe best effortsof everyoneinvolved, there are bound to be typographicalerrors, confusing statements,omissions, and plain old mistakesthat sneakin and surpriseus once the book is printed and on the shelves.Ifyou discoverany ofthe above,drop us a Iine, addressedto me in care of the publisher,and let us know what you've found. Then,if fortune smileson our effortsand this book is revisedand reprinted,we can makeappropriate corrections . and you'll havebecome part of a terrific team. lx Introduction book is for doersand dreamers Tli: and world cruisersand armchair navigators. r It is dedicated to those of us who habitually searchfor an excuseto drive by marinas, piers, docks, or boatyards and, failing to find one, drive by anyway; to those for whom the crashof the surf and the screamof the gull is as essentialto life as the rhythmic thump of our own hearts;to thosewho have experiencedthe soli_ tude of a midnight passagein the dark of the moon_or would like to; to those for whom a firm hand on the tiller and a steadyeye on the compassis an allegoryfor day-to-daylife; to those of us who thrill to rhe crack of the mainsail and the gurgle ofthe wake as our tiny craft heels to a favorablebreezeand heads offacross the oceansof our mind to somewherewe've alwayswanted to go. It is written for those who can look a nor'easterstraight in the eye from a cockpit filled with saltwater spume and gale-forcewind or from an easychair filled with Melville and conrad. In general, it is a book written for those who love boats.In specific,it,s written for those who love wooden boats, believethat you need not spend a fortune to own one, and are willing to do a little work to prove it. This book was difficult to write, as how-to books about boatstend to be. some who read thesewords are likely to be highly accomplishedboatwrights with skills that could easily handle the wormshoe-to-mastheadrenovation of a 60_foot schooner. Indeed,some of you may havedone just that. If a writer presumesto tell this experiencedsegment of his audiencethat a tA-inch,four-Tpl skip-tooth ATB blade is the best bet for his bandsaw,not onlywill thesereaders know just what the writer is talking about, but some will feel compelled to composelengthy lettersto xl xll WOODEN BOAT RENOVATION the writer's editor, extollingthe virtuesof the six-Tpl chisel-toothblade and calling into question the intelligence,integrity, and geneticorigins of the misguided and misinformed writer. other readersof this book may be new to boating but are intrigued by the idea of skippering a fine-looking craft that they themselvessalvaged from an untimely demisein the local landfill. Many of thesenovices will not, in all due respect,know the differencebetween a cedar plank and a blueberrypancake. For thesereaders, the printed word is gospel,but they require and deserveinformation and instruc_ tion of a more basicnarure. Any author attemptingto write a book of advicefor this diversereadership faces a dilemma. Trying to appearto everyone,he risks boring the more tno*i- edgeablereader with basicinformation this readerneither needsnor wants while at the same time confusing the less experiencedreader with overly complicated details and difficult proceduresbeyond his or her level of .o,op"t".,.y. I have attempted to avoid the pitfalls of such generalityby directingmy wiiting to the vast middle ground of readershipthat lies betweenthese extremes. The ideal readerof this book is an aspiringboat rebuilder who has readseveral other bookson the subjectand hasperhaps even owned one or two boats.He or she doesnot need a pictureshowing the bow and the sternor the port and star_ board quarters of a boat,nor doeshe needto be shownhow to tie a bowrineor a clove hitch. Most alreadyknow the differencebetween a ketch and a yawl, but a detailed explanationof the differencebetween strip planking and carvelplanking might servea usefulpurpose, if only to refreshthe memory. In writing for this middle-groundreader, I've tried to keepthe technicalmate- rial free of jargon and clearenough for anyoneto understand.At the sametime, in an attempt not to lose the advancedreader,