A rotten day(litteraly)

brian62 · Post by **brian62** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:38 pm

Well as i was happily working on my 1960 cortland built sea lancer i was probing the transom area searching for soft spots and my little screwdriver went all the way thru the bottom of the transom where the garboard is connected.Then it went thru the first plank above the garboard and it went thru the transom in that area as well.There is no rot on the garboard.This was the port side.Ditto for the starboard side!!Ive read the posts of proper restoration and agree on doing it the right way however i'll ask anyway... I just bought this lemon (ERR boat)and i've already got 100 hours of work to be done on the keel,replacing forward deck,one side of the rub rail area(don't know what its called) is rotted,new flooring and floor frames,recaulking the whole bottom,varnishing the bilge area and finally scrape and paint( if there's no other surprises).I was so looking forward to doing all that until this unpleasant surprise.. SO If 2 inches of planking is rotted through where it connects to the transom does the whole plank have to be replaced?? Can the bottom frame piece of the transom that has a few inches of rot be replaced without taking the whole transom off?I still have the outboard motor on this boat and its in my garage on jackstands and there is 2 inches between the outboard and the back wall and the boat came without a trailer.Sorry for the hard luck novel and when anyones done laughing I'll beleive any thing at this point(humor me )I"d hate to give up on this old girl but money is a bit tight and the work area is most cramped..WHEW i feel better now ..thanks guys Brian J.

LancerBoy · Post by **LancerBoy** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 5:17 am

Welcome to the world of old boats. You willalways find "surprises" once you start digging into the project.

First of, take the motor off of the boat. That will make working on the boat much simpler.

Restore it properly. Boats and boating is a very expensive hobby, no matter what kind of boat, her age, and her material. Restoring an old wooden boat can be very frustrating, expensive, a trigger of divorce, but it is extremely rewarding. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a former basket case turned into a beautiful, safe and sea worthy boat.

You can most likely replace a partial plank. Scarf new wood to the old or use a butt block and butt joints. Do not make all the joints in the same general area. Stagger them.

Don Danenberg's "Runabout Restoration" book has some information about lapstrake planking repair.

You might be able to remove and replace portions of the transom without taking the entire transom apart. Sorta depends upon how it is constructed. You have to do some detective work and figure out how it was built and then see if it can be disassembled in reverse order from how it was assembled.

Andreas

Big Ray · Post by **Big Ray** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 6:55 am

I can appreciate what you are going thru. I had every intention of just making repairs to the transom on my Grady White and then using it as a "Fun Boat" while I worked on my other restorations. That was two years ago. The boat now has a new transom, sister keelsons, Misc. framing and ribs, it's being fitted for new decks... I think the bottom line here, espically with wooden boats, is you can pay now or pay later, but eventually you need to pay. You can make a repair and enjoy the boat for a while, or with todays technology and support, you can take the time to fix it right and not worry about it again. This probably isn't what you were hoping for, but this scenario is typical of many wooden boat owners.
Good Luck

Ray

brian62 · Post by **brian62** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:43 pm

Thanks for the encouragement guys.Yea i need to remember this old boat is 50 years old and that's 4 years older than me.I only paid 200.00 bucks for it and when i bought it the previous owner told me only the forward deck was in need of repair and i did not inspect the boat before buying it.I got it off craigs list I saw pictures and asked a few questions and the guy delivered it to me.He told me he got it from someone else and that he has only owned it a few months and took it out for a ride and it seemed ok.I believe the guy didn't know the rot was there.All the paint was still covering it.I need to just get a little confidence together and fix it .Its just such a major structure area where 3 parts of the boat come together.I'll repair it the best i can for the 2011 season and then do the proper repair next fall.Next year ill flip the boat over before i put it in the garage.Im going to use some mahogany wood that i happen to have and some epoxy and see how it comes out.It may not be pretty but it will be safe.I'll git'er done......Thanks again for the advice...Brian J

JoeCB · Post by **JoeCB** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 2:22 pm

Brian, I second what the others have said.... There is good news however, the wonderful thing about wooden boats is that they are completely repairable, just a matter of how much effort and $'s one cares to invest. In the worst of cases the boat comes apart and the bad pieces are used as patterns for cutting new wood. To a great degree the effort (elbow grease) is interchangable with the dollars. If you are handy and a good wood worker you may be just talking about the cost of wood, paint etc. Be patient, proceed with care and you will have a thing of beauty that will last another 50 years.

Joe B

john · Post by **john** » Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:30 pm

Wood boats are simple to work on, once you get going.

Mine came apart and went back together very easily. Some may disagree!

http://www.aerialimaging.net/johnpics30

http://www.aerialimaging.net/johnpics31

PeterZ · Post by **PeterZ** » Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:18 pm

Hey Brian

Out of curiosity, was this guy named Sean from Lake George NY that you bought the boat from? I recall the boat if so. I actually looked at it. However convinced myself I needed a bigger boat like an offshore. I think I would have taken it if the size wasn't the issue. Glad to hear it found a home, can't beat the price! Good luck!!

Regards
Peter

brian62 · Post by **brian62** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:47 pm

yes it was from a man named sean from lake george.I have fixed about 90% of the transom and have now started on fixing about two feet of the planks that connect to the transom.after that i'll get working on the forward deck.Im quite pleased with the boat and i'll do all i can to get her in shape to last a bunch more years.Its actually a lot of fun and im learning a lot.You wouldn't happen to have any info on the 60 horse evinrude motor that came with it?Ive never heard it run did you...Thanks for the inquiry and i'll try to post all my progress on my work on the old girl ...Brian J

Bill E · Post by **Bill E** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 8:45 am

JoeCB wrote:In the worst of cases the boat comes apart and the bad pieces are used as patterns for cutting new wood. Joe B

Hey Joe,

I have to respectfully disagree. I think mine was an even worse case than that. The boat came apart, and the bad pieces were nearly useless as patterns for new wood! That's largely why I'm 3 years into this project, but the end is finally in sight! We'll be ON THE WATER this summer. (Or not)