Where's the restoration at?

Been so hectic busy with work and arranging events that I have neglected the blog a bit.  New Sailing on Elbow Grease episode is being edited...but till then I can say that the boat does not look like a half eaten fish anymore, but actually resembles a boat...

...aft panels are on, now time to sand and then turn the boat over.

Let's frame it

Some progress at last...

 the aft frame, transom back bone and hog has been replaced...now we are getting somewhere

Progress or Regress?

After almost 6 hours and ZAR818 ($70) later one needs to ask the question - am I making progress?

Pre Party Progress Report

It's New Year's eve and taking stock of time spent restoring Extra 688 left me a bit ashamed that the tally is standing on a mere 4 hours of work done so far. New Years Resolution Guideline, speed up the restoration and get on the water.

Here is a brief progress report before the the first festive cork is pulled from the bottle and wine is poured and glasses clinked.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Merry Xmas

Merry Xmas to all.

Here is the next episode of Sailing on Elbow Grease

Work in progress

started removing the aft hull panels that was rotten

Or should I actually say, very slow progress due to still working this time of year...hope to pick up speed between Xmas and New Years

Now on youtube

I have started a youtube channel to give some more insight into the restoration process.

Here is the first episode in the series

 

Rotten, Forgotten or Rubish

What do you look for in buying a boat for a restoration project? Well it all depends on how extensive you want the restore project to be...


 Is it just to get on the water on a budget

• look for a boat where you do not have to glass or replace entire panels

Is it for the pure joy of rebuilding a boat

• The sky is the limit, get any boat

Do you have a deadline for when the boat should be in the water, eg Mirror World

• Look for a boat with mainly cosmetic damage

Depending on these questions, here is what I do:

1.  Inspect the wood on the boat to see if there is any rotten areas

• Generally poking you car key into the wood (when the current owner ain't looking) will give you an idea if the wood is hard and firm or soft and squishy.
• If there are rot present, will you be able to replace the panel or if it is so small enough patch, do an invisible patch.
• if the bulkheads or Hog is rotten, I would not go there, since you will have to rebuild almost the entire boat.
• Be sure to look inside the watertight chambers, the inside can sometimes give you great insight into the wood condition (Take a torch along)

There was a 30cm x 20cm hole in the boat,
Patched it using marine ply, step joint and
epoxy.  The seems were later taped with
firbre glass tape for additional strength

Holes in hull plus some rot in the stringers.
 Luckily it ends just before the bulkhead,
so only a small panel needs replacement

2.  Are most of the fittings present and in working condition

• One of the most expensive items, except the sails, are the various pieces of hardware.  Even if it is old, but still in working conditions, it will save you a lot of money.
• eg a small block can cost on avg R200 ($20)

3.  Sails

• Another expensive part to sailing is the actual Sails.  Like the engine of a car, they are your main propulsion.
• Look for crisp clean sails that still have some stiffness to them...if they look like an old handkerchief, walk past
• eg.  New sails for a 12ft boat would come in, depending on material, between R2500 and R5000 ($250 - $500)

Even thou the hull was in a state of neglect,
all the fittings were present and in good working conditions,
so well worth restoring on a budget

4 .  Hull Number/Measurement Certificate

• First prize would be if the boat comes with a measurement certificate, but in the older boats, this seldom happens, since somewhere during the last decade or two the owner lost it.
• Second prize would be a hull number. With this you can determine when it was built and have some insurance that it was built from the class plans.  This is however not an indication that the boat is class legal and will measure.

This boat had so much potential.  Only cosmetic damage to the hull that could be
 fixed over a weekend or two. BUT, no hull number, fittings and very old sails.

Next step - Where do I find a boat???

Now Hiring

The Extra dinghy is in the garage, most of the hardware stripped and ready for sanding.  Now I must just follow my own advice...Get Someone Else to Sand

Hired help? YES PLEASE

As I grew older and "wiser", I have learned that sanding can break ones enthusiasm , the momentum of a restoration and even worse ,your back.

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New Projects

I have done quite a few refurb projects over the years, learnt a lot, messed up even more , but in general I grew my skill set.

The last two was in 2013/14, a Fireball and a Mirror

1973 Fireball 7747 - Sold

1972 Mirror 40819 - Sold

Recently I acquired a Flamenca 25 (South African Design) and an Extra Dinghy (South Africa Single Handed Class) for refurb projects for the rest of 2014 and 2015.

Rather than go back and recap on all my previous refurbs, I will try and keep an detailed on to date blog-log of the refurbing/restoration process.

Will keep you posted...


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New Chapter

Been a while since I last wrote a blog...well life sort of changed in a big way two weeks back

World...Meet Jordan

I became a dad and boy do I like it.  I am truly blessed with an amazing wife and awesome little boy.

Catching up on some necessary sleep

For the time being, sanding will replaced by snoring

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The power of ADD

I have been writing a lot about boats and canoes, but not anything related to the blog title: Sailing on Elbow Grease.

But without further delay…

I soon got tired of power boats…well you can’t blame me, a guy with slight ADD.  

With my dad not being a water addict / floating soul like myself, it was hard convincing him that I need a Laser to blast around in.  So what was a guy to do?

Refurb, Restore, Re-Sail - my new motto and only option. The search was on and soon I found a forgotten Sonnet Dinghy and started with an adventure of a different note.

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Out Grew

It was not long before I out grew the confines of the local river and wanted more, bigger bodies of water to explore. 

My dad, who hates water, bought a small 16ft power boat after a younger; very convincing I nagged and nagged for weeks on end.  Soon our annual family holiday moved from inland to near a river mouth in Plett. 

There I could go up river and explore the small coves and surrounds or venture to the mouth and snorkel in the shallow water.

And so the obsession love for water and boats slowly grew.

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First Adventure

In the school holidays I would call one of my fishing friends early in the morning and hear if he was up for a little “expedition” down the Olifants River, our only river in the area. 

Armed with our fishing rods, a sandwich (just in case) and a few bottles of water, we would set off in our canoes down the river for a day of fun and adventure.

By no means was the river like the great Mississippi in the book Tom Sawyer, but it was the only body of water we had and boy did we enjoy our little river adventures.

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For the love of...

This love (or some will say obsession) for water and boats, where did it all start?

My wife would love to know the answer to that.

It all started with a young boy lying on his back day dreaming in a canoe…in the middle of a small swimming pool in a semi dessert area in South Africa. 

While drifting off to imagined adventures on the water a seed was sown and a floating soul was born.

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