Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

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Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

Progress too Date:
Well it's been a while since I have made any contribution to this site regarding questions or progress reports, so apologies for being out of touch and Thanks again to all who have offered advice so far.
I have added some more pictures to my collection that give some idea of how I've got on which can be viewed with the original pictures at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1110259702 ... directlink

So, I think at the time of my last contribution I was still stripping paint and varnish, and that process is to be continued when when I get the boat the right way up again.
After making a start on the transom, it became clear how few screws were actually holding the boat together, in fact, a lot of the wood was clearly very loose, so after cleaning all of this back and sanding it I decided to screw and glue the framework to which the transom fitted. This was made in three pieces and without the transom in place it made it too easy for the whole back end of the boat to twist and change shape.

The hog, transom,centre board and inside panels have all been stripped with a heat gun, sanded, and chemically stripped with 'Stripaway Pro', (something that I should not have been able to get my hands on so easily and resembles the nitromors of old). Having seen people asking about effective paint strippers in other areas of the forum, my suggestion would be to search eBay, there's quite a few products that shouldn't be there crop up from time to time, and the 'Stripaway Pro' is indeed very effective at burning skin and removing varnish.
The inside of the boat is now stripped up to the foredeck beam but will still require another sand before varnishing in order to get the best finish I can.
Whilst stripping the varnish I have found a few small areas that require attention, and as of yet I haven't decided what to do with them (epoxy glass or glued veneer), I hate to say that my decision will inevitable be governed by cost, and therefore, as I've exceeded the budget for this already, epoxy glass is more likely; but I will be waiting until I've got the deck of and the remaining varnish stripped before making that final decision.

I think I'd finished stripping the outside of the boat when I last contributed, and there were some suspect areas around the bow and the bottom of the boat. Well after weighing up my options and reading through all of the advise given on here I eventually decided to replace the bottom with new ply. I had tried to source 8mm ply from an alternative supplier, but it seems that Robbins have cornered the market for this stuff, and at £100 for one sheet delivered it left my missus moaning and me realising that my initial estimate for the restoration was going to be way off. However, the service from Robbins was superb and the wood delivered the next day (although it was stood upright in the driveway without me knowing they'd been, that could have been a disaster if we'd got some wind!)

Removing the original bottom was mostly easy, and some very minor damage was done to the surface of the hog trying to lift well glued old ply, this was easy to fill and dress ready for the glueing. I used a circular saw to make the initial cut across the ply, but left a couple of inches to remove so it didn't matter if the remaining ply received a knock whilst I worked inside doing all the stripping.
The ply over the chines was mostly removed with a router and again this was quite simple and any marks left were easily dressed with epoxy filler before the new ply was fitted.

I went for the scarfing option, something I'd never done before, and I was glad for a second pair of hands to help prevent roll in the tools (router and circular saw) whilst cutting. All cuts were marked and a fence screwed to help keep the cuts straight.

The damage on the bow is only partly sorted, although what is complete is quite tidy on the outside (no verdict on the inside until I've finished sanding and stripping under the bow). for this I relied on careful use of a chisel for the preparation work on the hull. I started by removing all the naff wood and ended up with a couple of holes. I then used good sections of the old ply that I removed from the floor to cut the replacement section, before routing this bit to reach the correct thickness, leaving at full thickness a the bits to fill the holes (I think some of the images in the new pictures show better what I am trying to explain here).
Once glued and screwed, I was able to revert to using epoxy & glass to finish off and tidy this to match the shape and curve that was needed.

That's about my progress so far, and I have to have a couple of weeks off after having some treatment to my shoulder, which fits in nicely for Christmas.
The next stage is to finish repairs to the bow and get the keel back on so I can turn the boat. I have some careful sanding and filling to do on the keel first and I still have to plane the joins in the new floor and cut out the centreboard hole (nothing too difficult).

I'll do my best to update my progress as I go along, but time spent on the computer is time away from the boat (or the sea, as it's now cod season).

So again, thanks to everyone for the help and advice so far, especially Paul for the bits you sent me, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Jimmy
Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!
I am getting closer to having to reattach the keel on my Enterprise after replacing two full length bottom pannels.
I will be epoxy coating all the exterior of the hull, laminating the two bottom panels with fibreglass and taping all lateral joins between pannels to give some extra strength and protection if beached.

My next question is a simple one for many. Do I re-glue the keel with epoxy or is there a better glue for the job given that the keel would possibly need removing to carry out any future repairs?
Thanks
Jimmy
Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

So the keel is now attached to the hull, and I have learnt how to steam bend so that I could shape the two bilge keels. Was quite interesting and a little scrap heap challenge, as the photos show (have added them to the same album).

The boat has now been turned over and I have removed the deck, stripped the remaining varnish with a heat gun and replaced the Kingplank. I have been flitting between the boat and the trailers I'm fixing up depending on the weather, and in the process I've had a near miss with a halogen light that fell over on one of the seats and burnt a hole through it.....VERY LUCKY it didn't end up being far worse; although it now adds to the overall cost, and I can't help but reflect on the fact that I could have bought a small yacht for what this project is going to end up costing me.

So may next stage is to replace the rotten foredeck beam (which I have removed) and remove the seat slats for sanding and tidying while I replace the two supporting brace bits the seat slats go between.

I still have a little chemical stripping to do, and a few minor repairs around the top outside edge of the hull before starting to sand in preparation for varnish. But as always, I'm trying to prepare myself before I get there (hence thread on varnishing).
Hotspur
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 7:38 pm

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Hotspur »

Wow, so much work! Definitely looking good compared with the forlorn state it started in.

Any chance of a detailed description of the steamer set-up?
Visit my blog Naval Air History at navalairhistory.com
Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

Thanks Hotspur.
The steam tube was easy really. A piece of drain pipe long enough to accommodate the wood and capped each end by two plywood bungs. I made these with two different diameter hole sawn pieces of ply glued together with a bit of left over epoxy (a raw plug fitted nicely in the holes in the ply to keep everything centred.

I then drilled some drain holes in what would be the underside of the tube before using silicon to seal one bung on one end of the pipe with some tape to make sure, and with the other bung I fitted a connector that fitted the wall paper steamer pipe, I bought this from a plumbing supplier for less than £3.00 (hole drilled in wood and connector screwed straight into the wood, nothing fancy).

After my first attempt I realised that the pipe became very soft and supple, so I taped it to a couple of bits of batten to keep it straight, this wouldn't have worked without it.

DO NOT TRY AND MAKE EVERYTHING AIR TIGHT AS THE STEAM PRESSURE WILL CAUSE SOME UNWANTED ENTERTAINMENT ;-)

The pictures pretty much tell the rest of the story, although I did tape the wood to be steamed to a couple of small pieces of plastic that kept it from sitting in any condensation.

I insulated the pipe as best I could with a fleece blanket, don't use cotton as it doesn't hold warmth when wet.

After a few attempts I got acceptable results after steaming the wood continuously for 45 minutes to an hour.

I made up the shape that I wanted for the wood to bend to from 3/4" Chipboard cut to the outline of the hull where it was going to fit.

Result wise I was happy as it made Glueing and tacking the wood possible without it twisting, however it did not take the perfect shape of the curve. This was far easier than it would have been without doing it without a doubt, I'm by no means suggesting that it wouldn't have been possible without doing it, but with limited tools and hands it seemed to relax the natural tension in the wood enough for my incapable hands to do it alone.

If I was to do it again, and I had the resources I would have made a wooden box to steam it in. There are plenty examples of these on you tube.

The whole process was very satisfying having never steamed wood before, and it only cost me the £3.00 for the plumbing fitting only, I got the pipe from the fella's at the recycling centre who were helpful and interested in what it was I was doing.

I hope this helps, or at least provokes a little home make do engineering ;-)
kfz
Posts: 384
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 2:38 pm
Location: Liverpool SC
Contact:

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by kfz »

Jimmylovescake wrote:Thanks Hotspur.
The steam tube was easy really. A piece of drain pipe long enough to accommodate the wood and capped each end by two plywood bungs. I made these with two different diameter hole sawn pieces of ply glued together with a bit of left over epoxy (a raw plug fitted nicely in the holes in the ply to keep everything centred.

I then drilled some drain holes in what would be the underside of the tube before using silicon to seal one bung on one end of the pipe with some tape to make sure, and with the other bung I fitted a connector that fitted the wall paper steamer pipe, I bought this from a plumbing supplier for less than £3.00 (hole drilled in wood and connector screwed straight into the wood, nothing fancy).

After my first attempt I realised that the pipe became very soft and supple, so I taped it to a couple of bits of batten to keep it straight, this wouldn't have worked without it.

DO NOT TRY AND MAKE EVERYTHING AIR TIGHT AS THE STEAM PRESSURE WILL CAUSE SOME UNWANTED ENTERTAINMENT ;-)

The pictures pretty much tell the rest of the story, although I did tape the wood to be steamed to a couple of small pieces of plastic that kept it from sitting in any condensation.

I insulated the pipe as best I could with a fleece blanket, don't use cotton as it doesn't hold warmth when wet.

After a few attempts I got acceptable results after steaming the wood continuously for 45 minutes to an hour.

I made up the shape that I wanted for the wood to bend to from 3/4" Chipboard cut to the outline of the hull where it was going to fit.

Result wise I was happy as it made Glueing and tacking the wood possible without it twisting, however it did not take the perfect shape of the curve. This was far easier than it would have been without doing it without a doubt, I'm by no means suggesting that it wouldn't have been possible without doing it, but with limited tools and hands it seemed to relax the natural tension in the wood enough for my incapable hands to do it alone.

If I was to do it again, and I had the resources I would have made a wooden box to steam it in. There are plenty examples of these on you tube.

The whole process was very satisfying having never steamed wood before, and it only cost me the £3.00 for the plumbing fitting only, I got the pipe from the fella's at the recycling centre who were helpful and interested in what it was I was doing.

I hope this helps, or at least provokes a little home make do engineering ;-)

JLC,
some pics would be good. Considered it myself, just for decorative stuff mind. doesnt look hard to do

Kev
Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

I'd added the pics with all the others, all available to the photo album on the links within this thread...
Try this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/1110259702 ... directlink
Jimmylovescake
Posts: 61
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:34 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: Another Enterprise Restoration of boat number 1734

Post by Jimmylovescake »

I've been thinking about what to do with the previous holes left on the stringers from the air bag straps and on the keel from the foot straps.
Has anyone used threaded inserts so the issues behind screwing ans unscrewing through the same holes are reduced? and could I get away with brass (I know I'd have to use brass bolts as well)

Can anyone foresee any problems relating to this?

Thanks
Jimmy
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