Restoration of Bonifaz

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shipshape
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Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by shipshape »

Hi all,

You must know both of us from the other thread at Boat identification and history.
Now I would like to share with you all the aspects of it´s restoration works. I am sure I´be able to learn a lot of things of your comments and experiences.

Bonifaz is a clinker built sailing dinghy, mahogany on oak(I assume but not so sure yet about the oak), eleven planks per side and copper riveted. Apparently she was built in England 60 years or more ago.
We don’t know any oher details about her history. :?:
Her dimensions are: 3,52 m (11ft 6,6in) long and 1,47m(4ft 10in) wide, and the centreboard is more a daggerboard, because the slot in the keel is only one foot long (width of the daggerboard).

For the last 40 years she has been used as a rowing boat. The daggerboard case has been removed and the slot in the keel closed with a piece of pine and lots of sika. The inside of the slot is really worn out, she seems to have done a fair bit of sailing.
The keel seemed poorly attached and would move from side to side so I have removed it. It also has a patch of rot in the outside of the scarf with the stem, so it will be replaced.

The state of the ribs is very good there are only a couple of cracks and are around the keel and due to fastenings going through, none in the curve of the hull.

The state of planking is not so good. In several places, but particularly in the 3 first planks from the waterline down and in both sides, all kinds of materials have been stuffed in the lands as the boat was leaking more and more. From caulking cotton to sika flex including other kinds of unknown glues and putties.

This, and the general use, have caused the planks in this area to split from one nail hole to another and some pieces are coming off or need to in any case.

The rest of the planking is general, in a good state.
The transom is a bit rotten at the bottom. There are also two graving pieces where the pintle/gudgeon used to be.
At some point, perhaps when they removed the centreboard case they added a number of ferrous nails in several areas of the boat: where the planks are screwed to the transom (I think there are more than enough reasons to replace it)and at the other end where they join the stem. The heads are rusted and break. :evil: I don´t know how to get them out without doing quite a big damage. Also that area is very tight and in good condition.
I have to mention another two things:
first that the owner wants to put the old rig back (that we have to re-design and build plus centreboard and case plus rudder and tiller), so the hull will be taking again the stresses of sailing.

And second that the owner also enquires about the possibility of completely sealing the boat so it doesn’t have to take up every year, and leak in the process and so on.

Now, for the general path of this restoration I see several options and I would like to hear people’s views on them.

1º Do the whole planks need to be changed or pieces could be glued in (I don’t mean gluing the lands but he piece to the plank to repair the split bits and then re-rivet)

2º Is there a way to epoxi-encapsulate the whole boat? Somebody told me about the possibility to open a 2mm X 2mm groove in the corners of the overlap and lay there uni-directional glass fibres and epoxi, so it wouldnt crack and fall. And then of course covering everything with several coats of clear epoxi.
Would this take the flexing of the hull /stop the wood taking up/ keep the boat dry?
The more I think about this the less I like it. Do you know of anyone that has done anything similar?

You can see pictures at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3 ... 686ad806cf

And I´ll try to put some more.
All views and opinions are welcome.
Pat
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Pat »

Please don't go the epoxy-all-over route. Many wooden Merlin Rockets have done this by throwing money at an old boat and it changes the boat. It's no longer a proper wood boat with natural flexibility but a wood reinforced plastic one.
Any rot, damp or just dodgy bits encased in there will continue rotting with the damp trapped in and the wood unable to breathe.
JimC
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by JimC »

Pat wrote:Any rot, damp or just dodgy bits encased in there will continue rotting with the damp trapped in and the wood unable to breathe.
Yep. enclosing an old wood boat in glass is basically a technique for getting a few more years use out of it before it falls apart, and ensures that it will fall apart irretreivably. Its a reasonably call for a tender or working fishing boat or something that you don't give a damn about.
Michael Brigg
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Michael Brigg »

I think there is a place for epoxy sealing if the boat is to be lightly used and stored ashore, especially if ashore is dry or relatively hot.

It does however need rigourous preparation, and the wood being sealed needs to be in really pristine condition. Later repairs and basic maintenance need similarly careful input. Epoxy sealing is not a substitute for taking proper care of a boat, but all too often it is seen this way.

Too many people, after epoxy sealing forget that the boat is at the end of the day made from an organic material, and if treated like a plastic boat it will eventually fall apart irretrievably. If managed appropriately however, it can put new life into a fragile wooden shell.

And of course the most effective way to preserve a boat is to make it useable...

Another problem with a boat containing metallic fastenings is that any ongoing chemical or oxidative process may continue underneath the epoxy, and undo all your careful preparation after a few years. I am not certain, but you may find that all those copper fastenings that are so important to the boats characture may be incompatible with the process if there is even a trace of corrosion present. I would check this out with an engineer.

The biggest source of trouble is moisture. The wood must be bone dry before sealing, and any damage where moiture can enter must be repaired without delay. This boat is to have a new keel/centre plate by the sound of things, as well as a new transom so alot of the trouble will have been sorted at the outset.

We havn't talked much about stripping off the old stuff and alot has been said on this forum, (but so far not done) about shot blasting techniques using a soft medium such as "Walnut Shells." I think the modern equivalent of this is used in the aircraft industry to clean the fragile rotor blades of a turbo jet engine. The walnut shells are replaced with a nylon granule with similar properties.

This can give an almost perfect bare-wood finish to the difficult fiddly bits of the interior, and is probably essential if you go for epoxy.

It may even sort out the difficulty of removing all the hard material tat has been stuffed in between the strakes, which if not removed will prevent the strakes closing up when the boat is first put in, and as you say, will even worse, force the strakes apart, and break the copper rivets. The old fashioned way I think is with a hack saw blade, (think of flossing your teeth.)

I am told that if a "traditional," (ie natural) varnish finish is to be done, the stripped hull should first be allowed to take up, by sinking her in Sea-water for about 2 weeks. That to me is a bit of a leap of faith. I'm not sure how, or how much you dry the boat out afterwards befor varnishing, and I suspect it works better for boats that are to be primed before application of paint.

I have toyed with the idea of applying a clear wood preservative before varnishing. Especially to rot sensitive areas. Cuprinol make one, and if going natural I have often wondered about linseed oil.

And that is where I am at with my own project. Still thinking about it.

http://s225.photobucket.com/albums/dd31 ... 20Project/
Michael Brigg
ent228
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by ent228 »

This is a small boat and it's worn out. When owners starty sticking stuff in the seams it's a sure sign the planking needs replacing. On old boats the planking moves and wears and the whole lot starts to leak. Using epoxy is a waste of time and effort. If the owner wants a boat that's easier to live with, use the one you've got as a model and build him another. You will have more fun and he'll end up with a better boat.. Win win. He can then recycle the original as furniture.
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Ed
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Ed »

@ent228

You may well be right.....

but this is the CVRDA....

and to be honest, we are really all about keeping them on the water....and not turning them into furniture.

Will any re-built boat be as 'strong', 'fast', 'cheap' as a new boat....most probably not.

But yet, over and again we take great time, effort, money and a lot of pride to put old small worn-out boats back on the water, where we enjoy and love them for what they are - 'old worn-out boats'.

This boat looks like a little cracker and I look forwards to it being given an extended life on the water.

FWIW, may I echo the advice of using epoxy as a 'glue' but not a 'coating'.

Good luck, I look forwards to seeing more photos

cheers

eib
Ed Bremner
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Ed
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Ed »

Incidentally....

just had another good look at the images.

My Tideway looked a whole lot worse than this when I was given it (as a wreck - considered not worth of restoration).

It has done 5 maybe 6 years now since restoration....living on the mud on the river outside my house and is on the whole in fine condition.

Although this early bad weather had really taken it's toll - I normally take her out at xmas.

I had planks that had cracks/shakes running for over half the length of the hull....and edges/lands that were rotted right through in many places, especially around the transom.

I did - just what I always do.....cut back to good wood and epoxy in new wood (always the best I can buy/beg/steel/borrow).

With an old boat like this, I personally tend to avoid taking out a whole plank or rib if I can avoid it and will only do so if it is truly all knackered. Others I know will prefer to replace whole planks.....but if there is a lot of damage, you can really risk the whole hull falling apart if you are not careful.

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing the right thing to start with.

Take lots and lots of photos and give a close inspection to find out just how much rot/softness/damage there is.

So.....lets see the photos!

eib
Ed Bremner
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Jollyboat J3
Firefly F2942
IC GBR314 ex S51 - 1970 Slurp
MR 638 - Please come and take it away
Phelps Scull
Bathurst Whiff - looking for someone to love it
ent228
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by ent228 »

Ed's right about the cvrda purpose to be keeping old boats on the water. I'm a veteran of several starting with Enterprise 228 with its cotton sails and spinnaker to an old Gull, Nat 12, Mirror, ICs and Finns. If this boat was Shipshape's I would not have offered the advice above.

This case is different. He is not doing it for himself but for another and hopefully is being rewarded. To me, the owner seems to be asking for something that is not possible with this boat.
jonathan
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by jonathan »

E228 has a spinnaker????????????????? I think the class as one would shoot you out of the water as soon as it appeared!
Meryl
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Meryl »

I am pretty sure there was a spiniker trial on ents, mine has all sorts of bits & bobs that would indicate one being fitted at some time.
jonathan
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by jonathan »

Well I am prepared to stand corrected on this point though I suspect it may be a case of someone having a go an an unoffcial basis. There was afterall a Merlin Rocket on a Suffolk resevoir fitted with a trapeze. I never saw it sail and needless to say it was out of class for racing and had become a cruiser!
shipshape
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by shipshape »

Thanks to all for their help,

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3 ... 686ad806cf

I have added a few more pictures also of today´s work: lifted putty paste over nail heads, and cleaned lots of stuff in betwen planks. also removed a few copper nails and some ferrous ones. This last ones are everywhere, even more than I thought. They are all along the garboards into the keelson and stem and even by some copper ones in the planking and clenched inside.
The copper nail heads are really sunk, I don´t know if they were re-tightened or only putting so much stuff and then letting the boat take up each year made them go like this. In any case I think the wood should be plugged and the whole thing re-done. All of this may get a bit silly.

About the coating/gluing business: what I was thinking was coating the boat, not sheathing it with glass. The epoxi brands I am considering (a couple of online ones here in spain) sell different products for coating and gluing. They even have an UV filter although they advise you to use paint or 2 part varnish on them because with the years it would go yelow anyway.
American people always talk about CPES for hardening rotted wood: http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html

What I thought of doing of clearing half of the land (lengthwise) and stuffing epoxi and unidirectional glass fibres on them, I am almost completely discarding now, the hull is really flexible and at some point it would crack and it would probably worse the remedy than the disease, as we say. Different thing would be to glue everything as one builds the boat, I think that would be ok. In fact I am also building an international 12 foot dinghy by the side as a personal project, and one is allowed to glue everything in the class rules.

Talking about humidity, that´s another concern I have, these days is like 80 to 84% inside my workshop. I think that´s pushing a bit the conditions for epoxi. I have a dehumidifier but the workshop is over 100 sq m, I don´t know wether it will do anything.


Ent228: You are probably right about a new boat except for the fact that this little boat belonged to his dad for a very long time and is a big part of the family. They own other boats and are part of a sailing/canoeing/boating in general community in Santander that has been going on for ages. Bonifaz will never be furniture for them. I´ll propose though, he may want to take the lines now and build it in the future. Also: he was enquiring wether it was possible but I think he will take the most reasonable path.


I think I agree with Michael about sealing the rest of the boat. Also about the stripping. They sell small sandblasters in which you can regulate the pressure. Unfortunately my compressor is not big enough, so I´will do everything with scraper and sandpaper. The most difficult areas are under the ribs. I try to get paint out with small scrapers made with scrap bandsaw pieces I get from the sharpening guy.

Also I agree with Michael that if the planks are epoxi sealed, a close inspection at the end of evey season followed by the neccessary repairs would be as important as doing a good job in the first place.
About what you say about the metals, I am quite concerned about all the ferrous nails all over the boat; I don´t know if I´ll be able to remove all of them and I don´t want to leave them in.

And then Ed: I was quite happy to read about your approach of adding pieces instead of changing full planks, which I have never done and always been told is one of the most difficult jobs of the trade.
However, after this morning inspection, some of the planks looked quite bad. And not only the outside of the overlap but the inside as well (please look at the new pictures). I was thinking to do pieces shaped as I taped in the planks in the pictures. Is this how you did it? Does it still look better than your tideway? Is ther a thread of this restoration or anywhere to see some pictures?

Another thing I found today: she is riveted with round copper nails. Anyone knows of round nails used in England? I thought it was only in the continent. Maybe she wasn´t built in England after all and she is from north France or something.

Anyway tell me everything that goes through your minds. I would kike to hear as much as possible before I choose one road and then stick to it.

These are the main subjects for me:
- epoxi/ 2 part varnish/ traditional varnish
- ferrous fastenings
- Changing/ repairing garboards/ other planks.
- Re-fasten everything/ only as needed.

Thanks very much.

Enrique.
Keith66
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Keith66 »

If the planks are really shot you will have little option but to replace them, on clinker boats it is not as difficult as it seems. unlike a carvel boat where the plank is hollowed to fit the frames & has to fit both edges to very close tolerance clinker planks are flat with one bevel or land on them. the sideways tolerance can be much bigger as long as it looks ok!
To remove a plank use something like a black & decker power file to take the riveted over head of the nail on the inside, the rove can then be picked of & punch the nail outwards. The hardest bit is deciding whether to scarf a section of plan in or fit a full length one in, be warned that at the bow the bottom planks will have a lot of twist & this makes it more difficult. A plank can be cut through with small saw & the land portion cutwith a hacksaw blade with a handle.
Scarphs in planks should always trail aft from the inside and a short paring chisel with cranked handlle is good for cutting these.
Once you have eased the old plank out sideways you have a pattern, tread it flat onto your new planking stock & draw round it, add the scarphs on if necessary. If it is so bad that it threatens to fall apart glue it back together enough to keep your pattern or make a new pattern from thin ply.
Take your time. Once you have done the first plank the next will be quicker!
As for epoxy its ok for gluing the scarphs but is the kiss of death for a traditional clinker boat.
Michael Brigg
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by Michael Brigg »

Keith66 wrote:...As for epoxy its ok for gluing the scarphs but is the kiss of death for a traditional clinker boat.
Kieths comment made me start thinking. He clearly has some experience of this problem in the past, and I was just wondering why this process should be so disastrous for a clinker boat.

Turning Blue Moon, a well preserved clinker 14 with no significant damage, it struck me how in spite of this there seemed to be a worrying amount of movement in the hull. There are no broken timbers, the strakes are all sound and the rivets are in good condition. Really all she needs is a good strip and varnish, so should I be worried by this.

I think not.

I am relying on that most well known feature of a clinker boat. The process of taking up...

All the clinker experts seem to advise a period of total immersion of the boat at the start of a season. Curiously the enemy of a clinker is dryness. So what actually happens?

Well of course the wood takes up and swells. As it does so it doesnt just close the gaps between the planks, it also causes all the rivets to tighten up, and combines compression of the swelling wood, with tensile strength in the ribs and other structures.

The ingenious combination of different physical properties of the building materials predates the engineering physics of Rigid Inflatable Boats by several centuries.

Coated in Epoxy these properties are stopped in their tracks and the sealed boat will have only the (brittle) strength of its epoxy coating to rely on. This has a much shorter shelf life than the original, structure. One might even suggest that increasing porosity with age if anything improves a clinker structure.

So I am now fully resolved to go with Natural varnish
Michael Brigg
JimC
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Re: Restoration of Bonifaz

Post by JimC »

Michael Brigg wrote:I am relying on that most well known feature of a clinker boat. The process of taking up...
I'm not quite so convinced of the taking up part of it, but without doubt a traditionally built clinker boat is a flexible and mobile structure in which movement occurs between the various components. If you try and epoxy coat that then for sure, as you say, when movement occurs the epoxy is going to crack and if nmothing else you are creating innumerable little water and rot traps.

A modern glued clinker/ply boat like a Merlin is potentially a different creature, but that's not through fastened and doesn't move. Once the glue fails with age I should think things get very ugly indeed!
Last edited by JimC on Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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