A bit of a spur of the moment decision after seeing this boat in someone's front garden up for sale a couple of weeks ago, and thinking that it would not only make a good project, but also a good family activity once finished (as most of my interests involve going off alone into the middle of nowhere), and it probably puts a healthy tick in the mid-life crisis box as my expanding waistline and ebbing fitness make the likes of surfing harder work with longer recovery times.
As far as skill level is concerned. I've worked with surfboards shaping, laminating and repairing, and I'm a dab hand with a sander, and comfortable with a router and planes. I am relishing the opportunity for a steep learning curve, and already have a box to hide receipts in from the wife

This link is for an online Google album where all the photos I take will go, not just for 'before and after' but more to remind me where everything goes. For the time being I hope that it can help me explain what I'm trying to convey with my lack of dinghy knowledge
https://plus.google.com/photos/11102597 ... Kvf3tjr1QE
After finding a few paint blisters and soft spots I decided to strip all paint and varnish to see the extent of what I need to do. I have set a goal as Easter 2014 for completion but I am working to a limited budget, so I need to do the best job I can on a shoestring (ha ha!)
I am based in North Devon and will be using this boat on the Taw & Torridge which has a fairly quick tidal flow. I was wondering whether it would be worth replacing the current (loose) 9mm Transom with an 18mm transom (routed to fit inside existing framework) to give me the option of fitting a small 2-3hp outboard like a seagull, just as a precaution. Thoughts on this would be appreciated.
I have already found that the foredeck beam was rotten and the King-plank is in two pieces, I have decided to replace these for new wood (Sepele).
Because this means I'm going to have to remove the ply from the fore-deck I have accepted that the deck ply will need replacing with new, as it's unlikely to come off nicely (and is already patched in a few places). I don't mind this so much as I'm sure it will help with making the end result a bit nicer and easier to achieve. This appears, at the edges, to be 6mm marine ply, PLEASE someone correct me if that's likley to be wrong.
On the hull there are some existing repairs that are far from flush with the external surface of the hull. I intend to replace these and extend them to cover the soft / holed area that appear to have been caused by a lack of sealant around the self bailer's.
Inside there are some fairly untidy looking backing patches which I intend to remove so I can tidy the areas around them. I was considering laying thin ply the full length of the middle two sections from stern to bow, not just to reinforce the bottom from the potential heavy feet of my son, but also for aesthetics. The pictures show some nasty looking discolouring to the wood either side of the centreboard although it feels quite solid (so far), with the exception of the hole. Would this be overkill? would I be better off with using a thin veneer? Also is anyone able to tell me how the hull ply fits to the centre piece of wood (think it's called a hog)? I believe the hull has been made from 6mm Marine Ply, again, someone Please correct me if I've likely got this wrong as I can only measure edges until taking it off the boat, and I don't want to do this until I have the ply to Repair and replace bits with (catch 22)
Any help or advice is appreciated and thanks in advance, I'm sure I'll be pestering for some more as I get beyond stripping paint and varnish.