Monday 28 November 2011

Of outboards and sailboats..sinking and otherwise!

Here's what's up at our community boatshop this week...

Lightning sailboat:
Chris and Trevor restoring trim
Kayce poping plugs for Chris
  • method of canvassing the deck is pretty much settled, real canvas laid in epoxy - just a bit of research into the best epoxy for this app to complete.
  • team has decided to retain as much of the original trim parts as possible so we have been repairing, plugging, sanding and staining all the miscellaneous coamings, corner blocks etc getting them ready for varnish, possibly this week.
Skiff:
Kayce sanding skiff
first coat of primer
  • first coat of primer on the inside on Saturday, more this week.
Shepherd Outboard:
really - it will float (next summer)
Merc 6 cyl outboard attacked by John & Anton
  • John pumped out the hull which is sunk in his pond and she floats far better than when first immersed (water level didn't change as it went in the first time - leaked literally like a sieve!) One more week in the water then a final test to see how much it tightened up - then back to the shop.
  • Mercury Marathon 700 (70 hp) has been partially disassembled on the way to a full restoration although there doesn't seem to be any serious damage. We did hook it up and get it running first.
Chris Cavalier:
  • acquisition of this 30' 1961 ChrisCraft Cruiser is complete, she has a good survey and will take very little to be ready for the water in the spring. Plan is to truck it to Manotic near Ottawa, do minor spring maintenance then cruise her to Picton.
Why not come out and join us Saturday mornings (9-1), Tues and Thus evenings (7-9) or pass this on to someone you know who might enjoy messing about in boats while helping kids learn new skills! Perfect for parents and their kids to share a learning experience over the winter then go boating with us next summer! We teach boating skills to our youth and adult volunteers which is part of the reason for the restoration of the Shepherd Outboard (the other is that it is really cool) - if you have some or even NO boating background we can take you from rowing to small outboards, big outboards, small inboards up to twin screw inboards and of course sailing!

See you soon!

Friday 18 November 2011

November in the boatshop and beyond!

Well the 27' Shepherd is covered and over at the quarry - not a perfect solution but OK. Next year hopefully we can afford a fitted cover if we still don't have indoor storage.
 
We have the materials to make a similar cover for Wings too if a team can come together to tackle it.
 
 
 
Still have 2 Peterborough's and our 1946 Lightning to go to the Norval barn from behind the boatshop.
 
The 16' Shepherd is soaking in the pond at the quarry to see if it will take up over the next couple of weeks. If not it is new bottom time - curious though because the inside of the bottom looks good with no obvious failures...
 
 
 
1960 Lightning has been the subject of research into the various ways of covering the deck - boy lots of opinions out there in the ether! We are considering a hybrid of our own creation - 1. epoxy the deck and perfect it. 2. lay 96" wide real canvas in wet epoxy. 3. apply several coats of S1 epoxy sealer to the canvas. 4. prime and paint with Epifanes yacht paint (our usual technique). Our thinking is that this will make the canvas impervious to moisture intrusion but leave the look of canvas when complete.
 
 
 
Quail, our 10' cedar dinghy has it's bottom stripped and ready for bleach which we now have. The bleach is Oxalic acid which is specifically used to remove the black water stains from the wood. Now if we just knew how to mix it and apply it....anyone? The 5 1/2 HP Johnson outboard has been somewhat torn down in the process of seeing if it will run and be restorable - needs coils, points and condensers for sure!
 
31' ChrisCraft Cavalier, a new donation. This boat was offered a few years ago but we didn't have the formula to accept it then. It was re-offered a few months ago and we have gone through the process of surveys and other due diligence and reached the conclusion that we should accept it. The boat is in very fine condition with very minor work required to put it in the water next spring near Ottawa. K&C volunteers will cruise it to it's new home in Picton where Grant will care for it and where we will be looking to create a new local K&C programme with youth in that area as well as using it for volunteer outings similar to last summer's Supertest outing in Picton.
 
Come on out to the Boatshop in the Glen on any Saturday morning between 9 and noon - see what's happening and join in by all means.