Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Deep Infected Wounds

My new little project seems to have the same problem my shin did earlier this summer: Some little bugs got into the wound and set up shop. I kinda thought that might be the case, but it's a little worse than I kinda thought. I have pulled the end decks off, as the decking was pretty well shot. At first glance, it doesn't look too bad down below. This is the stern. The gunwales, ribs, and chines are fine, walls and floor look good. This can work.


But then we look under the bow. Again, walls, floors and ribs look okay. But check out that green circle where the decks met the splashboard.


Let's look a little closer. A is the outer gunwale. B is the inner one. Both are rotted clear through. Damn it. C was once the deck support between the hatch and the splashboard. The other side is not much better.


Close up of the splashboard support. Heh heh.


Here is what, back in the 1980s, was the front passenger footwell floor. Note the peculiar arrangement of the footwell with the rib running through it, leaving a three-inch space between the rib and the front bulkhead. 


So I had this thought that maybe I could save or splice in that one bad piece of floor. Then I dug around in the side hatch. Up against the bulkhead, the floor had gone to powder. I can't quite see air through there, but prit near.


Sooooooo, I upped today's marine plywood order by one more boat floor. Current guesstimate on replacement: All decks and bulkheads, full floor, front 1/3 of the gunwales, and some of the deck supports. Hey, I've seen worse. I think I've rowed worse.

1 comment:

  1. Is this the "Betty Boop" with all the trimmings of a very old and neglected age? Was she covered up as she sat idle for a quarter century, or was she left out in the elements for all those years? Looks like the latter. Only a highly motivated and deeply skilled craftsman could undertake this job. Though I helped build the decking when she was new, there is no way I could do justice to the conservation effort needed to return her to the water, and -again- I thank you for taking on the job. I'm in the Salt Lake City, Utah, Phone directory, so give us a call some time. Peter Hayes

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