A small repair...

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Tue May 29, 2012 6:04 pm

Vanora is a 1964 Challenger. This little project has been coming for a few years, and this summer it's getting done. The port side transom frame is rotten, and of course, it rotted the end of some planks and some battens on the frame lands.

We are taking out anything questionable, no short planks, new transom, new chine planks and a short bit of the chine log. Vanora is a freshwater boat, so fasteners are good, no broken chine log bolts, and even the plywood on the bottom is in astonishingly good condition. When you start taking things apart, you never know.

I am also doing AC wiring, battery charger, negative and positive buses, interior upholstery and and entire repaint of the engine room area. I will also ultrasound the fuel tanks, although they appear excellent.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Tue May 29, 2012 6:06 pm

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Tue May 29, 2012 6:10 pm

A little bit of mahogany.... the inside pile is Honduras I have picked up here and there, the pile in my truck is furniture grade Khaya, no sapwood. Once we put the CPES to the Khaya it will be fine topsides.

You buy very valuable lumber like the above and turn it into this....

Parishdc · Post by **Parishdc** » Tue May 29, 2012 7:54 pm

Amazing, makes my little Sportsman 17 look like simplicity itself.
The big CCs are truly awesome.
Dave

jfrprops · Post by **jfrprops** » Tue May 29, 2012 8:36 pm

The guys that WORK on the big CC are truly awesome!

Carry on my man!

Great job.

John in Va.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Tue May 29, 2012 9:12 pm

I find the big boats to be relatively easy to work on, but the real issue is the size of every project. If you look among the "On the Hard" there is the thread on the 66 footer. EVERY job on that boat is just plain big... a lot of 'systems'... electrical, engines, plumbing, refrigeration, AC, DC, paint, vinyl, chrome...it goes on and on. I can buzz through my smaller boats fairly quickly every spring, but the cruiser is the one that tires me on occasion.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:27 pm

Down to it now... the floor at the bottom of the transom, which was white oak, was dodgy, so out it comes. The wood in behind was surprisingly good, even the ply is in good shape.

Some people talk about Chris Craft boats being a 'production' boat, and not designed to last more than twenty years. Here is a boat that is nearly 50 years old, and a lot of the material is in great shape. It does speak to the quality of material that was readily available 50 years ago.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:33 pm

Shipwright Bob Falber has already made the replacement transom frame. The lands for the battens have been routed through for convenience. We have to scarf 50 feet of battens back due to rot at the extreme ends.

Bob is working on the skeg bolts here, it is just about ready to drop. Originally CC skegs were white oak, but I couldn't find any suitable 8/4 white oak so I am replacing it in mahogany. I have an 8/4 board that is 13 inch wide X 16 foot long, and some narrower two inch stock that I will scarf together to make up the 25 foot length on the skeg. Fortunately,
most of the bolts are accessible to drill down from inside the boat...

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:02 pm

Battens in, planking off, all the structure on the transom dry fitted. Skeg is off, and at my shop.

Port side engine had an oil leak, not anymore, ready for electrical and hose hookups, then it can go back in... in the meantime, there is more room to do electrical and paint in the bilge

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 7:04 pm

Yes, I know this is not vintage correct for the boat, but this is the front hatch I built a few years back. It had a crack in the veneer, so I repaired it and put some fresh varnish on it.

Rugger8 · Post by **Rugger8** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:18 am

Peter,

It looks great! keep up the good work.

Jeff

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:19 pm

Thanks, we seem to be making progress...

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:03 pm

On we go...a temporary cover over Vanora to keep rain and sun off of her..

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:08 pm

The planking has been drilled and countersunk for the batten screws, and Bob is starting to fair all the planks. With replacement of some structure on a boat of this size, it's important to spend some time looking carefully at how the hull shape is being reconstructed. The planks are temporarily fastened. They will be removed and the planking seam so typical of 60's CC cruisers has to be beveled into the edge of the planks.

CC used a jig with a router to put this small relief for the plank lines. We will be using a bevel... it is simpler to do, and will look the same.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 8:12 pm

The interior work has started. Everything has been packed up, and all of the easily removed trim and doors are off, and in the truck. This load will be refinished back at my shop.

jfrprops · Post by **jfrprops** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:04 pm

what a great project!!! keep pics coming...inspiring...

John in Va.

RRGadow · Post by **RRGadow** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:14 am

Nice job....im sure glad those days are over for me for awhile

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:42 pm

I figure I will be all done all my boat projects by the time I die

Oh well, I could be chasing women with all this money.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 8:58 pm

We're making progess....

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:01 pm

On the cruisers, there are a couple of issues... making sure that the hull is fair when you replace structure, and that may include a couple of dimensions... in this case the curve on the transom as well as the hull.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:06 pm

While I am aware you can steam bend two inch white oak, in this case we laminated the transom floor out of three layers of white oak. Epoxy thickened with mineral wool was the adhesive, and the lamination was screwed together with bronze screws and clamped.

In addition, a 'tenon' was added to the lamination to the corner to anchor the transom corner frame more substantively than the original construction

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:12 pm

The headliner is out, so is most of the interior that can be removed for refinishing. We have stripped most of the varnish from interior panelling, and a first coat of paint is on the ceiling... all the DC wiring is going to replaced on the way by, so I will tear it all out, second coat the ceiling then rewire.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 9:15 pm

This is what 50 year old garboard planks look like after all the scum and oil soaks through them.

boat_art · Post by **boat_art** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:11 pm

Love seeing the CC cruisers being restored. I will be starting a similar scale rework on my 47' Connie soon.

jfrprops · Post by **jfrprops** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:31 pm

I am listening to a bood on CD about the building of the Panama Canal.....this project belongs in that category...UNBELIEVABLE!

Keep up the good work....imspires the rest of us!

John in Va.

doubleboater · Post by **doubleboater** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:50 am

Your boat is coming along VERY NICE keep up the good work in one of your posts you said you could be spending all that money chasing women....you finish that boat and all the women will be chasing you... : -)

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:45 pm

Naah, what will happen is my wife will say: Okay, super craftsman, this is what I want you to do in the house... blah blah blah...

She is good with the boat... she supports this job, because we love Vanora...

There is a lot going on with this rebuild, but we are starting to ramp up the effort..Bob Falber, the shipwright on this job, has done most of the heavy lifting on planking. I cannot claim any part of this except milling and dimensioning lumber, searching out material and keeping track of fasteners and adhesives. After Bob is done, which is only a couple of weeks away, we will doing a LOT of finishing, and we only have a limited time window to do it in.. by the time the end of September hits here, we are just about done with paint and varnish outside.

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:44 pm

More pics tomorrow, but we are ready to prime the port side planking. It is installed, and the carvelling lines put in. I have got the interior just about sanded out, and I have used 5 quarts of bilgekoe gray so far just painting parts of the hull that were exposed when interior pieces were removed.

Most of the DC wiring has been dealt with, and the AC wire gets run tomorrow.

cmeke0870 · Post by **cmeke0870** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:46 am

Here you are! This is ChuckT form the woodenboat forum. I saw that I need to come over here to keep up with your progress. Looking good!

Peter M Jardine · Post by **Peter M Jardine** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:08 pm

So on we go... the planking on the port side is installed, and Bob Felber did a superb job of putting in the carvelling lines... a fussy job.

Fastener holes were filled with 410 microlight, a final fairing, then a coat of CPES, followed by the first coat of Interlux 404 Primekote. I would like to mention that I applied the 404 while the CPES was still curing. The theory here is that the CPES will bond together with the primer, making the best possible foundation for paint.

A small repair...

A small repair...

Large project progress

Hey Peter

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