Wooden Sailboat Blog

Welcome to the Wooden Sailboat Blog

On this webpage we blog the progress of our sailboat restoration. Please use the guestbook for suggestions or questions.

Launch

FINALLY. One very nice summer day in North Carolina more...

Setting up Trailer

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1st Rigging

Finally on a sunny day in my driveway... more...

Keel Rails

I mounted brass rails onto the keel for more protection more...

Hardware

Miscellaneous hardware gets mounted more...

Rudder Assembly

Assembling the rudder mounting plate to the transom more...

Splicing

Learning how to splice and prepare the lines more...

Bottom Paint

I decided to paint the bottom in navy blue. more...

White paint

3 coats of white glossy marine paint are on! more...

Surface Preparation

Final filling, sanding and cleaning more...

Sealing the Keel

The keel has seen better days. Therefor I used deep penetrating epoxy to seal it as good as possible. more...

Center Board Slot

Cleaning out the center board slot on the the keel side. more...

Finishing Interior

Richard having fun with Mahogany and preparing to finish all the interior parts. more...

Laminating the Keel

The beaching of the boat has shaved down the keel quite a bit. I decided to laminate some extra layers on there. more...

Hollow out the Mast

The mast was all done but then I started cutting the old one in pieces. That is where I discovered that is was hollow. So here it goes... more...

Finishing Teak

Now I am making progress. After mounting all the rub rails I started finishing the deck and transom. more...

Brand new Oars

Since I already have all the tools I went for the home-made product. I found very nice instructions and plans in the book "Building Catherine" from Richard Kolin. more...

Mast Hoops

After some advice from boatdesign.net I decided to give it a try... more...

Mounting Rub Rail

Mounting the rub rails with more than plenty of screws... more...

Measuring the Sail

The complete rigging for a precise measure... more...

Finishing Transom

Planing, sanding, sanding, sanding, sanding... more...

Aft Rub Rail

This piece had to be laminated. The arch of the deck is matched much more precisely than steam bending. more...

Back rest and water deflector...

There has to be a sailing term for that but I just don´t know it. Now the deck looks pretty much done. more...

Mounting Deck Board

The last piece of the deck is now mounted... more...

Oil Change on Belt Sander

It needed it badly. The noise was something between fingernails on a chalk board and shattering glass. more...

Mounting Deck #2

The bow section of the starboard side is mounted as as well! more...

Mounting Deck #1

This is an exciting part of the project. Finally the new deck is getting mounted... more...

Deck Templates

Just to avoid disasters I decided to cut deck templates before starting with the real material. more...

Forward Deck Board

This board holds all the hardware and the mast ring. more...

Oars Supports

Oak supports are mounted under deck to hold the oar adapter plates more...

Front Bench Fitting

This fitting piece sits on top of the center board box where the center board pivoting pin will slide in. It is also part of the front bench. more...

Center Board Rails

These rails will protect the center board box. more...

Floor Boards

An other piece to replace were the floor boards more...

The captains bench!

The aft bench in a U shape is in! more...

Belaying Pin Terminal

This assembly behind the centerboard box will allow me access to all the lines from the cockpit. more...

Forward Benches....

The new benches are put in place... more...

Alignment Tool

In order to measure the benches I had to make a special measuring tool. more...

Bench Locks

These locks will keep the benches in place more...

Installing the Mast Step

Finished with 4 coats of clear coat and finally mounted. more...

Installing the Ribs

After 4 coats on everything the ribs are installed. more...

Painting the Ribs

Applying the clear coat before mounting the ribs... more...

Painting the Inside...

Painting the inside of the hull white. more...

New Mast DONE!

After sanding, some finishing and a couple of clear coats the mast is done. more...

New Mast #3

Shaping the mast from the rough post to a real mast. more...

New Mast #2

More glue to create "rough" post. more...

New Mast #1

Going for a complete rebuild of the mast more...

Finishing Deck Supports

After everything is assembled the deck supports are sanded to level. more...

Finishing Ribs

After removing the ribs from the hull they get the finishing touches. more...

Back Rest

The new backrest is in place. Just temporarily until the decking is down. more...

Rims

The rim will strengthen the deck mounting to the top plank. more...

Shims

The shims will support the 1st planks on each side. more...

New Hardware

I was lucky to find some original bronze hardware more...

Steamy Tricks

2 more tricks that helped bending the ribs. more...

Tough Lesson

All new ribs... more...

Mounting Center Board Box

The new center board box is finished on the inside and mounted to the keelson more...

Mast Step

My new mast step... more...

Deck Templates

The deck templates will help cutting the "real" thing more precise. more...

Primer

Finally the inside primer is down... more...

Arched Deck Support

These pieces are bent and out of white oak. more...

Center Board Box

Due to the rot I had to rebuild the center board box. more...

Bow Support

In this little "triangle" the front stay will be anchored. more...

Mast Support

Building the replacement for the mast support more...

Inside Finish

After ordering a gallon of epoxy the finishing work of the inside has begun. more...

Rebuilding Deck Supports

Finally the deck is getting the attention. more...

Replacing top Plank

The top plank was in very bad shape and needed to be replaced. more...

New Keelson

Based on the constant exposure to water the new keelson is made out of white oak. more...

Epoxy, epoxy and epoxy...

The inside of the hull is getting claned and epoxied. more...

Removing the Keelson

Due to the intensive deterioration I decided to replace the keelson. more...

New Hull Supports

Before removing the ribs I created outside supports from keeping the hull from opening up. more...

Refinishing the Hull

The outside will need a considerable amount of work. more...

Cleaning the Hull

Before the work on the hull begins I decided to give it a serious scrub. more...

Replacing the Ribs

Due to the less than fair condition of the ribs I decided to replace them all. more...

Dolly Rotisserie Style

This dolly allows me to work on all sides of the boat. In order to save space the boat can also be stored on its side.

Thanks to the Phillips family of Monroe, MI for their creative ideas. more...

Building a Steam-Box

In order to bend the new ribs I constructed a steam box. The goal was to not spend more than $50 for this project. (That does not include the gas and the stove). more...

The Boat Arrives

From Canada to Michigan, from Michigan to North Carolina... The boat finds its way into my garage. more...