About halfway through this period, we again hauled Duffy for her normal two-week annual check, service, and a quick paint job… With our newly trained eyes and the fact that we had spent so much time on her we started making a list of to-dos and things to look further into once I had graduated. Little did we know at that time, that this would be our last ‘normal’ haul out with Duffy. The next time we hauled her out I had graduated with a degree in Traditional Wooden Boat Construction, and had also acquired a diploma in Marine systems and had become certified as a marine electrician. Unbeknownst to me, that next haul-out would become my graduate-level education in boats. Duffy is still hauled out, and the education is still ongoing almost three years later. I’ll update the progress of what has become a complete structural rebuild in my next installment tomorrow…
In the last weeks of my enrollment at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Duffy moved back into the yard at Port Townsend’s Boat Haven. Since I was due to graduate and be left to my own devices, we planned on a longer than normal haul out to address issues that we had discovered in the last haul and over the course of living on board part time for two years. Of particular interest were the outer chine logs, as the rear portions were soft and suspiciously loose. These are a fairly small price of wood that runs the length of the boat at the corner near the waterline. They are considered somewhat sacrificial, they are the first part of the boat to hit something and mostly just form the corner and protect the much heavier structure underneath. So I removed the outer chine timbers… They came off suspiciously easy, and what they revealed was not something any boatbuilder wants to see: rot and iron sickness leading to more rot. Duffy like most boats of her era was fastened together with galvanized steel or iron bolts, screws, and nails. That is all well and good until the galvanizing fails for one reason or another. Then the iron fasteners fail and the iron leaches into the wood, this starts a cascading effect: the iron effectively turns seawater acidic which softens the wood, then fungal rot starts eating the compromised wood that exposes more of the fastener to corrosion, compromising more wood, and the rot spreads. There are two options when this starts happening. You slather the whole thing in epoxy, throw some new fasteners and a couple chunks of wood at it, and hide it all with a filler and paint. Or, you start cutting away rotten wood and removing bad fasteners until you stop finding it, then make new pieces and install then the same way the boat was built originally. The previous owners and “restorers” took the first option, which may buy a few years but almost always ends in the death of the boat. The second option is certainly more costly up front, but is the essential greatness of a traditionally constructed wood boat. The bad parts come off, new parts are made, and the boat is every bit as good or better than new. Since the original construction lasted seven decades, the new replacement parts should last that long too. I took door number two. And we started pulling off planks and digging out rotten wood…
Before we took on Duffy we did our due diligence and had her surveyed to keep us from inheriting a bad boat. The survey came back great, the boat from any angle was sparkling. But all that sparkle and cleanliness was a candy coating on what turned out to be a very slapdash and shoddy cosmetic restoration performed by the previous owners, or at least the shop they hired to do it. Almost every piece of wood that was previously replaced was riddled with rot or worm damage, and subsequently covered variously in putty, epoxy, and paint. Most of the original parts that hadn’t been screwed with were however largely intact and stable. The refasten (replacing the plank fasteners) which was done in the 1990s wasn’t. There were no more than a few dozen new fasteners in the planks, the original iron nails (what am was left of them anyway) and memory were all that were holding the outside of the boat together. The icing on the cake was the horn timber. This is the piece of the boat that connects the keel (the backbone of the hull) to the Transom (the rearmost vertical part of the boat). This massive piece of wood supports all the weight of the last 15 feet of the boat, including the engine, it is what all the frames and the transom attach to. A hole cut in it is what the prop shaft passes through, from gearbox to prop. It was curiously soft in the center around the stern tube (the hole for the shaft). So we cut it out… What we found was nothing short of astounding in an infuriating way. The original timber had been attacked by worms and instead of fixing it, the previous workers simply glued pieces of wood on the sides of the timber. Then when that failed, they glued pieces of wood on top of the timber. And when that failed, they just kept gluing more chunks of wood on. Here’s a cross section from when we chainsawed it out: Right then and there, we made the difficult decision: every bit of paint and putty needed to come off. Every fastener looked at. Every nook and cranny inspected. Every shoddy repair replaced. We made a new horn timber… The entire internal and external structure of the chines was exposed, removed, remade, and replaced… Every single frame, all 72 of them was inspected, and repaired or replaced. All of them were given a laminated-in-place sister (a doubler) at the chine to ensure their survival. The entire transom was pulled apart piece by piece… …and was put back together with 100% new framing and planking:
We started making new planks and putting them on to keep rain and critters out of the new work. Then we started stripping the entire hull back to bare wood: New engine beds were made and installed: Since the engine was already out, it was gone through, regasketed, repainted, and reinstalled: More planks were made and hung… Every plank on the boat got refastened with new bronze screws at every frame intersection, and the hull above the waterline got some thinned primer to seal the wood against sun and rain…
Thanks @El Hueso I had some helpers at the time that were attending to the refastening duties on the bottom and hull sides, so I took the opportunity to re-canvas the aft cabin-top which had sprung a few minor leaks in the previous few decades… Then I scored a mobile shelter to put the boat in while we attended to the rest of the work. It was a game changer… The next many months of weekends and free time were spent getting the hull above the water line fair and smooth in preparation for the first “good” paint job Duffy had had in a long time. Putty, sand, paint, sand, putty, sand, paint, sand… A few more troublesome planks were identified and replaced on the upper hull during this process… …and bottom work continued with plank replacement, refastening, and attending to seams and through-hull ports:
Finally Duffy was starting to look like herself again. The hull was fair enough to stop for now… …and I could start working on that last 10% that seems to take the longest: trim, guards, equipment installation, rewiring, etc… built a new swim step/grid for the transom: Got the (monel!) shaft back from being straightened and trued at the machine shop and re-installed it and aligned the driveline: Plumbed new exhaust…
That pretty much brings us up to date. I’m still stuck in finish and detail work purgatory, but the last plank went on the bottom in the last few weeks. That means that it can actually float now (in theory) and means that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. These pictures were taken today as I cleaned, inventoried, and reorganized the shop… it has been nearly three years since we started the project. That seems like a long time but considering that the vast majority of the work was done by yours truly in between paying jobs it is staggering (and exhausting) to think about everything I’ve done to this old tub. I hired out a few jobs here and there, and had an extra hand from the wife and friends, but man it’s been a lot of work. So far we have… Replaced 29 planks Repaired, sistered or otherwise repaired 72 frames Replaced both Inner chines Replaced both Outer chines Replaced the Engine beds Replaced the Horn timber Replaced the Shaft log Replaced the Stern tube Replaced the Shaft seal Replaced the hull rub rails Completely refastened the entire hull with bronze screws or bolts Completely reefed and re-caulked every single seam Made a new swim step Bought a New Prop Installed New Cutlass bearing Straightened and reinstalled the Shaft Realigned drive line Replaced 3 new floors Replaced 18 keel bolts Replaced all the Transom planking Replaced all the Transom framing Replaced the Transom Futtox Replaced the Transom Fashion pieces Replaced the Rim log Re gasketed engine Replaced the Carburetor Installed New exhaust Replaced the sea strainer Recovered the aft cabin top Installed an isolation transformer Replaced the AC distribution panel Replaced the AC main panel Built an electronics Cabinet Installed a new fresh water heater …and probably a million things that I’ve forgotten about I’ll try to update this thread more as we get closer to putting her back in the water, hopefully this coming spring!
Duffy will live on for many more years. You are a true craftsman. Thank You for sharing Your journey of rebuilding Duffy .
Hey, RH; Jeez... if you had more pics, n vids - this could've been a made-for-tv-doc, called "This Old Boat"... . Upside of this rebuild is that this is proof that your education was well-learned. Maybe I missed it, is this kind of work your business? Very quickly it seemed a whole lot like the original pics of the boat from Gilligans' Island of the wreak that stranded them - as in, a lot of planking missing. ;( . That is one seriously large project. Good on you for actually tackling it. Going to be at least as good as new - probably better. I thought fixing up houses/garages was hard - working upside down, & almost everything overhead in a cramped position, on what appears to be wobbly stands, is a level of work I'll never do. You're good... Couple of Q's out of curiosity: How long does the caulking last? Hull paint? & what is it? (Guessing it needs to stay flexible?). I noticed the planking edges butt together, not overlapped w/a small edge-cut(don't know the proper term, looks like 2 L s w/one inverted.) Why? To make sealing/resealing easier? I can guess that resin-soaked wood has been tried, it doesn't slow/stop rot-damage? Some of those wood/timber frame pics also look a whole lot like miniaturized timber-framing techniques. Lots of patience there. Very nice job. Marcus...
Marcus, Theres a lot to unpack in that post, but I'll try as best as I can. I'll be a little out of order with the questions because it'll make more sense, I think. There are two primary planking methods in traditional boat construction. One is called "lapstrake" where a plank laps over the one below it and they are fastened together at this lap. This creates something of a longitudinal stiffener at each lap since there are two thicknesses of plank at that joint so lapstrake boats tend to be built lighter. The downsides are that it is extremely time consuming, the laps have to be beveled and fit together EXACTLY because there is no way to seal the joint after the fact, and that it is not really scaleable to boats larger than about 35 ft (of course there are exceptions). The other method, which is how Duffy was built, is called "Carvel" planking where the planks butt up to one another with very slight (about 4-6º) bevel open to the outside of the boat. This bevel is there to accept caulking, but "caulking" in boat-speak isn't what most people think of when they hear the word. Caulking is actually raw cotton fiber teased out into a strip and driven into the plank with a special iron, compressing it between the planks into a nearly solid wedge in the closed bevel of the seam. This is covered by a non-drying putty (traditionally lead and cement or talc mixed with linseed oil or tar, but now mostly replaced by modern equivalents). When the boat hits the water, the planks swell, further closing the bevel and further compressing the caulking in the bevel. This makes the boat water tight and puts the whole hull in tension. Carvel boats are very strong, if heavy, there are still 120 year old carvel-built commercial fishing boats working the salmon fisheries in Alaska. The whole notion of the wood expanding to seal and tension the hull is why you can't soak the wood in epoxy/resin/magic-modern-goo because the wood will and in fact needs to move and for those things to work, the part (and every part around it) needs to be made immobile. It also comes down to scalability, its one thing to fully saturate a 1/4" piece of cedar for making a canoe, but its an entirely different thing to fully stature a 6" thick piece of Douglas Fir framing. The biggest reason is that the whole notion of a traditionally constructed vessel (lap or carvel) is that every individual piece is an individual piece and can be redly and effectively replaced. Ive gotten down to about three hours to replace a plank from making the pattern to having it on the boat, fastened and caulked. Such a repair should last at least 30 years which is far longer than most people will own such a vessel and negates much of the work in saturating the wood in the first place. Before this project, Duffy had at least 90% original planking that was hung in 1947-49. About 25% of that has since been replaced, mostly on the bottom. Caulking, the cotton specifically, should last 30 years. With any big wood boat, you should haul it it out every 1-3 years and inspect the bottom. You might remove the seam compound to get a look at the cotton and "spot recaulk" here and there every once and a while but this is just considered regular maintenance. Boat paint, particularly for wood boats, is still largely good old fashioned oil-based high-solids enamel. The stuff I use is made by the Kirby Paint Company, a 175 year old one-family business in New England. Their paint is Turpentine and Castor Oil based, it soaks in good and remains somewhat flexible. It smells good too. Bottom paint, below the waterline, is oil based enamel but with up to 50% granulated copper or copper sulfate (the green stuff you flush down the toilet to clean out your sewer line) in it to keep the critters from eating your boat. Bottom paint does not smell good.
As originally built Duffy had White Oak Frames, the other structural framing/blocking was Douglas Fir and the planking was Alaskan Yellow Cedar below and Port Orford Cedar above the waterline. Boat wood is selected primarily in regards to rot resistance and Yellow Cedar is at the top of the heap. It is not as strong as Douglas Fir, or as bendable as Oak, or as light as Port Orford Cedar, but it is extremely rot-resistant. Most of the parts I've replaced on Duffy as a result of rot have been done in Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The garboards (the lowest planks, touching the keel) were replaced with Western Larch because it is a bit stronger for this high-stress area, and a smattering of P.O. Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Mahogany here and there where it makes sense.
Wow!I know that red cedar is used for it's weather resistance on lawn furniture but was not aware of Alaskan Yellow Cedar.Well it is an outstanding overhaul and it is rare for an owner to understand the proper method to keep it in tip top shape!
Hey, RH; Thanks for the info. Makes sense. I knew it was done in a particular way, just didn't know exactly why or how - other than eons ago it's what "they" had & used to make things work. Old tech actually is facinating... I did forget to ask, how do you get the boards to bend & twist? By force when bolted/screwed down? Steamed? I'm assuming they have to be properly kiln-dried to use?(thinking aircraft-quality-spruce for the WW1 aircraft, etc). I (should?) assume that after at least one time soaking/swelling session, it then takes the shape & "de-stresses"? I probably missed it, what is the length & width of Duffy? Is that going to be your "retirement" home? Couple of friends from work plan on just that when they retire, following a "Loop" around the east coast then down thru the Mississippi, then repeat following the seasons. I'm trying to relate size to the buses I used to work on for visuals. A favorite boat is a PT-40, followed by PT60. Which is the same length as the buses I worked on. & those things are fast & capable of some wild maneuvers - which I am sure can be very fun. But to go out on the ocean & stay there, esp in a storm would not be good for my mind. & the cost of fuel... ;( ... Too many interests in life to get good at a lot(most?) of things. I don't know much about the old-style wood frame/hulled boats(did a lot of reading on them ~25-30 yrs ago, forgot most of it by now), but am both curious & interested enough to spend time asking Q's. & learning. Seems to me that the old-world-style of wood-structured things tech kinda blended everywhere. From log-houses & timber-framed-houses to sailing & then powered ships(Phoenician -> Viking -> Portugese -> frigates -> civilwar era steamships -> 30s/40s leisure boats -> etc). Quite interesting, if not downright complicated(mind-bending?), is how different woods can be used in different applications. Amazing to me, anyways. Like for bearings in waterwheels, or spokes in wheels. Working w/wood gives me fits & frustrations, as many decades ago, I discovered I wasn't good enough to weld wood together after a mistake, & I hate splinters. Still some of the most beautiful things to look at, calming at times. Like say, qtr-sawn hard maple finished correctly = "tiger-striped" maple. In gunstocks, or furniture, etc. Thanks again for the answers & posting all the pics, esp of the repair-process(es). From memory, didn't you have a stude truck from your dad? How did that ever turn out? I'm thinking that was a nice truck to start with. Marcus...
Generally speaking, with boats (and aircraft structure too) you want to avoid kiln dried wood at all costs. The Kiln drying process, since it uses heat, damages the lignin which is the protein in wood fiber and heat makes it loose it’s elasticity. Also it unevenly builds tension into the dried wood, when it touches water again, that tension releases. This is why cheap studs at Home Depot turn into bananas when they’ve been outside for more than a moment. It’s especially important if you are intending to steam the wood to avoid kiln dried wood, because you are again heating it, but for a controlled short period of time specifically to avoid damaging the lignin in the wood. Carefully air-dried wood is what you want. My local mill sells air dried yellow cedar, I then take it home and carefully stack it with “stickers” to keep the pieces from touching each other and keep everything flat. They will continue to slowly dry, and this will ensure that the wood dries evenly and is “trained” to be flat. If the wood air dries too much, you can always immerse it in saltwater and it’ll quickly take it up. Often if we know we are going to to be steaming the piece, we will buy it green and try to use it within a few days. As for bending planks and timbers on, it is always a judgement call as to do them hot, aka with steam, or cold, just shoving them into place and holding them with clamps/supports until you can get fasteners in. Generally you don’t want to suck them into place with the fasteners as this can break the fastener or the wood. You can blast a screw strait through a red cedar plank without even batting an eye. Most of the time you can get a plank to bend or twist, but not both really well. If it has to take a lot of shape you'll have to steam the plank. For how long is always a judgement call; the dryer or thicker the wood, the longer it will take as you need to bring the whole piece up to a consistent 180-200ºF. Too long or too hot, and you start destroying the lignin and you run the risk of the plank splitting as it dries. Too short, and it won't bend enough. The general rule of thumb is 1 hour in the steam box for each inch of thickness plus or minus depending on the wood species, moisture-content, the weather between the box and the boat, etc, etc, etc... Generally once the wood has be on there a while (a while depends) it relaxes and will stay there and in that shape for good unless it is a particularly shapely piece. Its an awful lot to learn and keep in your head. Im so thankful that I went to school for a full emersion in the field. I am more thankful for the people in the yard that are more than happy to pass along their knowledge and their trade. The man I rent my shop space from turns 80 next week and has been a boat builder, shipwright, caulker, and all around wood boat guy since he got out of the navy in 1963. I can't help but be appreciative for him not letting me do anything stupid. He works in the boatyard at least 4 hours a day, five days a week. He'll outlive us all. Oh, and Duffy is 36' Long 10' 6" wide, with a 5' draft (waterline to the bottom of the keel). She isn't perhaps big enough for a family to live on full time, but is comfortable enough for four people for a few weeks. With her current power plant, she carries enough fuel for about 200 miles between fill-ups. Once it is back in the water, the plan is to return to exploring the Puget Sound and Coastal British Columbia. She has made the run from Seattle to Ketchikan Alaska twice in her existence, I'd like to make that trip happen again. I'm self employed, I have a boat repair business and I work as an independent at a hot rod shop in town, and I collect a retirement from the Army, so I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule as long as I don't totally neglect my customers.
Hey, RH; Again, thanks for the info. I do like learning. Preferably something each day. . Remembering it long, well - maybe... Marcus...
I grew up in a boating family. My parents lived on a 28' Chris Craft when they were first married and upgraded to a 33' Chris not long after I came along. I've been on boats since I was 2 weeks old. My parents upgraded to a 42' Grand Banks in 2010 in preparation for my fathers retirement. He retired on a Thursday in 2015 and on Sunday, they departed the marina in Meaford (Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada). They travelled through the Trent Severn lock system, out the St. Lawrence seaway to the Atlantic. Months around the Canadian east coast (Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland) before heading south. Over the course of 6 years, they island hopped from Florida to the Bahamas, through the Turks, DR and down to Grenada. Living aboard for 6-7 months at a time. I've followed along with the rebuild of Duffy on IG, but was happy to come across this thread and read through in more detail once again. Owning a boat is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. Your life often depends on it. As you well know, if something breaks, it's not as simple as pulling over to the side of the road and calling AAA. Best of luck on the continued restoration. You clearly have the vision to see it through, and many happy days on the water await. Phenomenal work thus far!
The Jalopy Journal
