our project

Any questions? We will try and help.
piquet95971
Posts: 713
Joined: 15 Oct 2009, 19:39
Location: Forest hill Melbourne

our project

Postby piquet95971 » 16 May 2010, 21:16

Now that the project is home safe and sound I will give a run down as we go along with the project.
So far I have taken heaps of photos and am trying to document what I have got, what is missing and also what needs to be replaced.

I have noticed that there are some unusual things about this boat. The hull is plywood except for the top plank each side which is Pacific Maple. All the planking is nail and roved as I would have expected. The top plank on the port side has been repaired at one stage. There has been some fairly shoddy repairs carried out at some stage. The deck beams are all solid Pacific Maple but the deck supports also of maple are only nailed with Copper nails. I would have thought that they would have been at least Screwed and more than likely glued and screwed.

I have had a good look under the boat and the line of the keel is very unusual. About 6 foot back from the bow the keel dips down and then comes up for a flat run aft. I have attached a picture of the underside of the boat but it is a bit hard to see in the photos.
Has anyone seen anything like this. The person that I bought it from says that it was only used for a one year by "Lewis" and then abandoned.
It supposedly get the boat up on the plane quicker!

A lot of the fasteners through the engine bearers and holding many of the fittings are Stainless steel. But others holding the instrument panel to the inside of the cockpit coaming are just Mild Steel Coach bolts. This seems to be strange for a bopat of such supposed classy heritage

will send updates later
cheers
peter sneddon

piquet95971
Posts: 713
Joined: 15 Oct 2009, 19:39
Location: Forest hill Melbourne

Re: our project

Postby piquet95971 » 24 May 2010, 18:51

Well now I am not only confused but a bit disappointed.
I have had it confirmed by Ron that there is every likelyhood that the boat I have bought is not a lewis. I thought that it was a bit suss from the start.

I have been pulling things of the boat and am getting a disheartened by what I am finding. Mild steel screws where there should be brass, mild steel coach screws. Oregon engine bearers when I always thougt that they should be hardwood and the bearers dont sit hard down on the ribs, especially up at the pointy end. I believe that they should and be fastened through th keel/keelson
So at least 6-8 planks , transom, all deck beams and dcking not to mention quite a few ribs, Caoming and rubbing strake and also the breast hook and quartere knees. and so goes the list.

My main concern is the strange dip in the length of the keel. I''m just concerned that it may have a broken back and if that it the case then I have bought a whole lot of firewood.

Im not sure how to put pics up here so will send one to greg and ask him to put it up on my behalf.
cheers
Peter
Sneddon family project co ordinator

Alan
Posts: 977
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 22:24

Re: our project

Postby Alan » 24 May 2010, 19:52

Peter,
don't get disheartened (to soon) some boats are special to you because they are original, but I also believe that they can be just as special because of the satisfaction of bringing something back to life. As long as it lives when the lightening hits the tower, the experiment will be a success.

Alan.

Nick

Re: our project

Postby Nick » 24 May 2010, 19:53

Hi Peter
Sorry to hear of your drama's
I think you need to put up quite a few pictures so people can see what is happening
Also a profile shot helps a lot as Lewis's , Goldbrough's etc all had distinctive profiles
Lewis's tended to have sharper more raked stems

My Goldsbrough has plywood planks except for the top plank which is solid timber and is wider than the rest
Im not sure what the engine bearers are but they are not hardwood as they are to light but they did touch along the whole length of the boat

Nick

Bob Vic
Posts: 895
Joined: 04 Mar 2009, 17:17
Location: Newlands Arm

Re: our project

Postby Bob Vic » 25 May 2010, 09:19

Peter - keep smiling, it all works out okay at the end. I have often seen hull bearers in oregon, although meranti is more common. From your description it sounds as though your hull may have warped a bit. You will be surprised how much it comes back into shape once the various timbers and planks are replaced and brought back to correct position then tightened up. The main tip that I can give you at this stage is to set the hull up true and square on a jig (not the traiuler as it6 may be out of shape and could be the cause of yor problem) before you start with the timber work. It should all flow from there - and yes pics would definitely help.

Bob

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DaveD
Posts: 866
Joined: 11 Mar 2009, 22:25

Re: our project

Postby DaveD » 25 May 2010, 09:46

I would agree with the other guys comments about looking at the pics before worrying too much.
The bearers didn't touch the ribs towards the front on Jayme II either, the ribs had been compressed & the bottom of the bearers had rib shapes worn in them by constant movement of the hull & ribs over the years. I pulled the bearers out & placed thin strips of wood on the underside of the bearers to take up the gap.
Also I have heard of the keel dip & rise, and the theory of improving planing with a pocket of trapped air.

Dave

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Greg
Creator
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Joined: 03 Mar 2009, 08:02
Location: Central Victoria
Contact:

Re: our project

Postby Greg » 25 May 2010, 15:25

I have moved this topic into this category as I think it is more appropriate.


Pete

Some pretty good words from others here. As you would know, you can pretty much change/repair anything on these things. Agree with Bob, many engine bearers are of oregon, usually clear oregon at that. As for the bearers contacting the ribs towards bow, few that I have seen do. It's like they are shaped away deliberately. Fastening of the bearers to the hull is at the transom and usually two or three bolts through the bearer intercostals. The intercostal bolts I pulled out of a V8 skiff a few years back were actually copper and still quite soft. Regarding mild steel screws and other hardware, welcome to the world of 40 year old speed boats.

As for not being a Lewis, disappointing if you were specifically after a Lewis, but there are a lot of really good boats out there that are not a Lewis.

Here are some pics:

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Greg

piquet95971
Posts: 713
Joined: 15 Oct 2009, 19:39
Location: Forest hill Melbourne

Re: our project

Postby piquet95971 » 06 Jun 2010, 16:59

busy day today
as the engine bearers were already loose/ unbolted I have removed them. Today was the day to make new mounting brackets and then bolted them all together again.
They will have to be pulled apart again as I intend to replace the longtitudinal lengths of the bearers with new/ seasoned/second hand oregon. Not that NZ stuff but old genuine USA stuff.
Next weekend being a long weekend I am hoping to ghet some decent time in so will probably put the bearers back in as they are and then lift the boat off the trailer and instal lit in a cradle a bit lower than the trailer so it will be easier to roll around and to work inside the boat
then the fun really begins!!!!!!!!

piquet95971
Posts: 713
Joined: 15 Oct 2009, 19:39
Location: Forest hill Melbourne

Re: our project

Postby piquet95971 » 07 Jun 2010, 17:44

tonight in pulling the front deck beams and associated woodwork apart I have come across an address on the underside of some plywood

The address is 59 Normanby Rd. There is no suburb written, so of course I googled it and came up with only two in australia. One in South Melbourne and the other in Caulfield. Anyone know if there were some boat builders in those streets.

Also there is a barely readable name "jenny..............." the rest is very hard to read have to get some younger eyes on to it.
So it would appear that we have a clue as to the identity of the boat or at least a starting point
cheers
peter

screwit
Posts: 1063
Joined: 09 Apr 2010, 21:29
Location: Stratford vic

Re: our project

Postby screwit » 08 Jun 2010, 19:15

Peter, state libary has copies of old phone books if no luck here.
Ross


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