Boat Buzz

I find spraying inside and out with a hose a couple of times a day for a week or so will swell even the driest of boats. (note I said spray, not fill)

great work! good stewardship for a really nice boat.

John in Va.

Joanroy, thanks for the info, the mahogany I have was purchased last winter and was stickered and on a shelf next to the boat. 6 quarter and then band sawed, planned and sanded to finish at 1/2". Therefore both garboard planks are from one piece of wood. Moisture content is 8-10%. I have cleaned out all the seams. Most had seam compound which cleaned out nice. Believe me I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of the inner planking, considering the outer plank condition.

I plan to spray and humidify the hull to help swell the hull prior to painting and launching.
The reason I asked about gaps is, as a machinist, I have a hard time leaving gaps in things. I took an off cut from the same plank, and it has swelled almost 1/8" in width, in a week, soaked in water.

The port side ribs were refastened about 7 years ago and the entire starboard side about 5 years ago.
Any soft screw filler has been removed and screws checked. All topside was also refastened 5 years ago.
Although I don't have a copy of a past survey, one must have been done as a selection of screws are painted with red paint and tinted filler.

All the damage I have had to repair has been solely due to rain water with leaky windows and no cockpit covers. Transom leaks were no doubt due to a leaky exhaust pipes allowing water to leak in.

Doug P and John, thanks for the comments.

Steve

Steve, looks and sounds like you've got it figured out. Having that original mahogany inner planking in good condition is HUGE. Congratulations. I'm sure you can see what's involved in replacing that. I know what you mean about having problems with gaps being a machinist. Your used to working to close tolerances but that mahogany will puff up pretty good. I think a 1/8 gap should be safe. You probably already know this, but make sure you prime inside your plank seams with a 50/50 thinned coat of bottom paint before you wet it and swell it. I don't recommend using a water based bottom paint. Use a good old fashioned oil based ablative paint so when she's on the hard it'll release moisture and you won't get a lot of build up. I pay my seams with Pettit under water seam compound applied with a putty knife just before bottom painting and launch. It squeezes out nice as the planks continue to take up. Don't use 5200 or anything like that on the bottom. Too tight.

Progress has been good over the last months. Could not understand why the starboard engine would run 300-400 revs better than the port engine, only to find that the starboard engine is a MCL with a single carb fitted. When we purchased the boat 2 sets of MCL manifolds and carbs were included. Thanks to Dave Vanness we now have a pair of MCL engines to make the boat run well. Could not depower the boat.

Next question, looking at the attached picture, does anyone have any ideas or recommendations on a good fix for a roof repair following the repair of the window frame. Ideally I do not wish to replace the entire roof

That looks like original canvas on the roof and overall appears to be in fairly good condition and well adhered. I'd cut back the damaged section square to a clean edge and fit and glue a cavas as original patch. Seal the seams with a skim of Sikaflex or 5200 and repaint the whole top. Should blend pretty well.

Your boat and motor are looking fantastic. How did you make out with bottom repairs and what kind of paint did you use on the hull sides? Very,very nice craftsmanship.

Thanks for the ideas on the roof repairs, that is the same idea that I had, but I wanted to see if anyone had experience with that type of repair.
As to paint, I have used Interlux primer,4 coats sanded between each, and 2 coats of brightside white at full strength and then 2 coats with 50/50 brightside white and flattener. This has taken that hard shine from the finish.
Bottom repairs have gone well. Both garboard planks are now refitted and this week I plan to loosen the keel and allow access to re bed it fitting new bolts. Easy to do at this stage. At least 3 of the keel thru bolts are striped and loose.

Steve

A couple of months have passed and we now have the engines installed, boat rewired, and finally have the floor finished.
Launch planned for the weekend

Steve

Excellent job, you are to be commended

An absolutely beautiful boat. Congratulations

I just went back to your first photos on this site back in 2014. She's come a long way and the results are impressive. Love the color you chose for the cabin top. Best of luck with the launch. Happy Boating!

Thanks for the comments. As you all know these are not easy boats to maintain and take a lot of time to repair correctly. It has been a solid 18 months of work.
Pulled the boat outside for a test of the engines and bilge pumps. Now with the sprinkler on the outside to start some swelling.
Joanroy, as to roof color, the original specification sheets listed roof color as Aquamarine. Upon removing a piece from the front of the helm station, I found a piece of canvas with the original color. Color match was made to this.Ended up with Giidden, Soft Schooner Green. We like it.

Steve

What is Wanderlust's home port?

Seeing the quality and high level of workmanship done on the CC leads me to believe you're the right folks to take on the Wanderlust restoration. She is a truly amazing and important historic yacht. I hope you'll continue to document your work as it progesses and share it with us. Thanks.

Great job the boat looks awesome. What is the floor wood that you used on the aft deck and what was the stain? I'm doing mine now and like the look. Thanks

Doug, Wanderlust was last registered in Detroit in 1978. I am currently working thru the paperwork to keep the Documented Ship number, as some Coast Guard records conflict the information.

Mike, as per the Decorative Styling Specifications dated 7-19-56 for the 30' Constelation, Aft Cockpit Floor, Natural varnished fir, we tried this but found the Douglas Fir to be very yellow/ white. I experimented with various stains, and ended up back with the interlux Chris craft stain, reduced 50% to lighten it up and rubbed out quickly to avoid it being to dark. 3 coats of interlux sealer and 3 coats of interlux 96 varnish the last coat with 50% flattener.
I feel this gives a good difference from the sides and deck varnish. Trying to find good close grain Douglas Fir was a challenge.

Joanroy, we certainly will be keeping up to date on the Wanderlust restoration, hasn't started yet, but just trying to get all the pieces in place. Have to do this one right.

Steve

Launched Friday afternoon with a short run up the Grand River to the dock with a renaming ceremony yesterday.
A 2 hour run out on Lake Erie was successful as it was flat calm

Boating after 18 months
Steve

This past weekend was the 41st Annual North East Ohio ACBS Boat Show at Portage Lakes, Ohio. We decided to put Miss Conduct on the trailer and make a showing for two days to support the local Chapter.
Amongst 50 or so runabouts a Constellation stands out above the rest. So much so that the Judges voted her Best Chris Craft in Show.
She also must of impressed the visitors to the show as well, as Miss Conduct was also voted People's Choice with over 300 votes more than the second placed boat.

Glad to see that there is interest in the Cruiser Class of boats.

When I see these pictures of your beautiful boat and the immense work and dedication to restoring it, I am inspired and motivated to keep up with my 1955 42' CC Corvette.

yes Keith....get re inspiried.....it has been some time since that haul out....time to go boating!

John in Va.

Thanks to all for the comments and replies over the last 18 months. I got inspiration from the others posting on here as well as to be brave to undertake the repairs needed. Looking at the work done by Joanroy, and Troy on A B. was the help I needed to undertake this, plus others.
To all, keep the posts coming and keep these boats alive.

Thanks
Steve

Gone boating
Lake Erie sunset last night

Steve

Picture test.