tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156241632009-11-06T04:23:48.076-08:00A Classic Racing Yacht RestorationClassic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-83962525993204195952009-05-16T13:36:00.000-07:002009-05-16T15:03:43.977-07:00

Here is the completed house on Sulaire. The light design and layout is from original Fife drawings. I poured these in bronze adding the Fife dragon and wheat sheaf designs to the bronze frames.The lights are made of a high tensile strength poly carbonate Fife's signature dragon and... ... wheat sheafNew paint for the deck and the dragons.Forward hatch with single light One of the final tasks for

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-45228948078325893042008-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:18.043-08:00

Detail of the stainless steel mast base reinstalled with tension rods attached. Mast base saddles the wooden mast step and is bedded in dolphinite. Top of tension rod attached to the chain plate.Aft facing settee for...Chart table, scotch locker (yet to be finished) and... Galley Sarboard settee and companionway ladder Looking forward. Looking aft. Left to finish: Fairing the hull, replacing the

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-19051182329593358982007-10-17T19:45:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:19.487-08:00

The original plans specified a half inch cockpit floor which seemed awfully light. After looking at Falcon's floor and seat grates I realized just how lightly built they were. No wasted weight here, anything to get more lead in the keel.The cockpit grates are 3/4 inch strips of Spanish Cedar notched and fitted using the same system I used to make the seats. Like the grates on Falcon, each

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-55754539445572517492007-09-04T11:10:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:20.737-08:00

This month we took a trip to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia to look at Falcon, aWilliam Fife 8 meter built in1930, and visit with her owner. Falcon still has much of her original interior including, among other things, cockpit grates and settees. We came home and went to work creating settees and cockpit grates that closely duplicate Fife's original work. New settees for Sulaire are made

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-23384022392674202832007-07-17T09:11:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:21.821-08:00

Following Fife's original plans sideboards are recessed into the cockpit area through the bulkhead.Patterns for the bulkheads were made using 1/4 inch plywood. Original bulkheads were constructed of 5/8" x 4" splined boards. I chose to use 1/2" plywood with a layer of 1/4" x 4" boards laminated to the cockpit side of the bulkhead. This provides a great deal more strength and stability and

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-68761846330965364312007-06-15T12:21:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:23.043-08:00

Before installing an interior, I sanded and re-varnished the entire hull interior from stem to stern. I applied "Four coats best yacht varnish" per Fife's original specifications.Sanded, looking aft.Every day, all day.Looking forward, looking good.Cabin topMahogany planks on Oak and Rock Elm frames.ForwardForwardLooking aft, rudder housing.

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-30593684609986722362007-06-15T11:42:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:23.631-08:00

I replaced all of the keel bolts... and had these nuts machined to match the originals.Pounding the bolts in.Riveting done...Plugs in place.

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-43348884028906480962007-05-04T14:45:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:25.315-08:00

Finished floors, painted planks, one happy boat.

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-29995310368376842572007-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:28.477-08:00

(Photo - Keel Removed)The larger fabricated floors together with the sawn frames were used to hold the boat together when she was built. This eliminated the need for temporary station molds which are used in the construction of bent frame boats. Because of this, each floor has 2 5/8" bolts which only go through the keelson and can only be reached by removing the keel.In order to remove the old

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-8071973172354215642007-05-04T13:31:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:30.132-08:00

Due to the size and difficulty of extracting these full size patterns from the sand I decided to cast them in three pieces and weld them together. The patterns were made using 5/8" poly-carbonate sheet. The tapers were cut into the plastic while it was flat and then with just the right amount of heat - about 250 degrees, the material becomes pliable and can be laid right on the bent frame and

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-3095540054382861262007-05-04T13:04:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:31.819-08:00

Fife used 2 different types of floors. Larger fabricated floors that carry the main keel bolts and are bolted to the larger sawn frames. The others are 5/8" strap floors fitted to the bent frames carrying smaller keel bolts to pockets on the sides of the lead.For the larger fabricated floors I used 3/16" silicon bronze sheet cut to the shape of the hull using metal cutting blades in a jig saw.

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-35052615726129538952007-05-04T12:42:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:32.420-08:00

Once I decided to do my own casting the next step was to build the furnace and tools. The furnace was built using half of a 55 gallon drum. I cut a hole in the side at the bottom of the drum and placed the jet in such a way that the flames would spiral around the crucible. The inside of the drum was lined with a 1" layer of 2100 degree fiber board and next with a layer of 2500 degree zircon fire

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-31989589057753786132007-05-03T22:46:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:33.138-08:00

For higher performance I moved the mast aft and the forestay foreword (to maintain balance) increasing the J dimension to 14'9". I had been to Toronto for the 1991 World Championships where the members of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and the Port Credit Yacht Club treated me wonderfully, got me on a spectator boat to watch the races which was by the way, a great party! I had the opportunity to

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-91080924798048746882007-05-03T08:15:00.000-07:002008-12-09T02:30:34.784-08:00

In 1991, I built a shop just the right size to house Sulaire and her mast. I originally planned to make her a fast live-a-board cruiser. After visiting the Toronto fleet and seeing what was happening there and in Europe I made the decision to restore her to as close to original as possible. I removed the engine, eliminated all the through hulls and stripped the hull to bare wood. Before replacing

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-30118112802049842172007-04-27T16:57:00.001-07:002008-12-09T02:30:36.146-08:00

In 1985 I purchased Sulaire, then named "Trouble" with a broken mast and a blown engine. According to the broker, she was taking on a fair bit of water, understandable for a 56 year old wooden boat. Upon inspection, I found her hull was in incredible shape.The first thing I did was to paint her white to help reduce shrinkage from the sun.The next step was to build a new mast. Her beautiful

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15624163.post-1124582911209371562005-08-20T16:49:00.000-07:002007-06-17T21:41:16.579-07:00

Sulaire was designed and built by William Fife III for John and Robert Aspin. She as launched in 1929 and spent only a couple of years racing in Scotland before she came to the US. This photo was taken in 1938 at Marblehead where she sailed for most of a decade.She's had many owners and almost as many names. Sulaire (Her original name) now resides in the Pacific Northwest where Bill Ford has

Classic Wooden Boat Restorationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17526732991245112455noreply@blogger.com0