In Apri1, 1999, the vessel was inspected at her berth in Santa Barbara Harbor at the request of her owner, Mr. William Allen.

Immediately observed prior to boarding was the lack of fairness in the topsides planking. Closer inspection revealed six to eight planks fractured vertically across their grain at a frame location about eight feet abaft the stem. This same condition was found in all the planks of the transom at centerline.

Other signs of trouble in the planking were noted, including proud bungs, various fillers, signs of movement at the stem and transom corners, and unfair plank seams.

Once aboard, the odor of mildew and rot was unmistakable; further inspection would uncover the sources, which included the entire weather decks’ plywood sub-deck, planking, frames, beam shelf, and many other structural members.

At this time, the decision was made to haul the vessel for further inspection at Ventura Harbor Boatyard.

“Elvica” was hauled April 26, 1999. The hull was wooded and a thorough inspection was performed.

Found:

1.       Vertical cracks through several planks about eight feet abaft the stem from the
          sheer strake to the waterline port and starboard.

2.       Every transom plank cracked vertically through at the centerline frame.

3.       Rotted plank ends right forward at the stem from sheer to waterline, port and
          starboard, and aft at the transom.

4.       Rub rails severely rotted, especially amidships, port and starboard, as well as the
          planking underneath.

5.       Nearly every frame severely rotted at deck level, some to such an extent as to be
          easily removed by hand.

6.       Foredeck line lockers’ plywood highly deteriorated due to delamination and rot.

7.       The main weatherdecks were found to be suffering from an advanced state of
          plywood rot and/or delamination, while the teak overlayment exhibited open seams,
          checking, and trouble in the bungs and fasteners. After the interior paneling was
          removed in the forecabin area, evidence of extensive deck leaks was found in the
          form of heavy streaking down the inner hull sides planking, rotted deck beams,   
          rotted beam shelves port and starboard, and stains on some bulkheads.

 8.      The inner bulwarks plank, port and starboard, was rotted from its forward end at
          the stem to about 20 feet aft. The blocking between these planks and the sheer
          planks was likewise deteriorated as well as the frames’ upper ends.

 9.      The upper 10-20 inches or so of the stem was severely softened in various places;
          since the damage was not extensive, the timber was drilled vertically in many places
          and treated with slow-cure penetrating epoxy over several days with good results. 

10.     The first two broadstrakes above the garboards port and starboard were cracked
          vertically in several places and exhibited damage to the seams, suggesting over
          caulking. Upon removal of these two planks stem to stem, the frame-to-floor timber
          bolts were found to be completely deteriorated, having been made of yellow brass.
          Being just over 1/4” diameter, they were replaced with 5/16” bronze carriage
          bolts, two per frame.

 11.    Once the topsides and transom planks’ removal began, it was discovered that the
          entire hull above waterline had been fastened with yellow brass screws, most of
          which had deteriorated to mere powdery nubs between planks and frames. The
          planking was so loose that, once started, whole sections could easily be removed
          by hand. The transom planking had been fastened in the outboard ends and at
          centerline with scores of large stainless steel screws in an effort to hold it together.

 12.    A general “looseness” was noted throughout the hull topsides planking, and, once
          the teak caprail was removed, the foredeck bulwarks could easily be moved
          inboard and outboard over an inch each way.

It was therefore decided to reinforce the entire structure prior to any further plank removal to prevent the hull from becoming misshapen. This was achieved by installing laminated oak frames fastened externally to the hull with heavy screws passing through the planking and well into the frames, thereby creating an external “mold”.

And so began the replacement of the thousands of pieces of timber that make up the hull and deck structure from just below waterline to the caprail. The repair is far beyond the scope of this report, and it should be mentioned that “Elvica” was in perhaps the worst condition I have seen in a vessel still afloat, and there is little doubt that an adventure offshore or in a heavy sea would have led to disaster. 

In an effort to simplify the remainder of this report, the items below shall be as brief as possible; as a general rule, timber was replaced simply because of rot, delamination, or otherwise soft or poor condition. 

Hereinafter, when the term “laminated” or “glued” is used, it will be referring to the exclusive use of Gougeon Brothers epoxy, and the method whereby the surfaces of the pieces to be “laminated” or “glued” are first wetted out by brush, then a second, thickened coat containing Gougeon Brothers’ #403 microfibers is liberally applied, and the pieces then clamped and/or fastened together. 

All of the new hull planking, inner transom planking, inner bulwarks planking, and the 3/4” thick tongue-and-groove foredeck underlayment are of quarter-sawn, (vertical grain) air-dried select Douglas fir, being entirely free of heartwood, sap wood, knots, ring or wind shake, and averaging less than 16 annual rings per inch.

All of the new 12,000+ hull and deck fasteners are of silicon bronze; the hull, transom, deck planking, caprails, blocking, and inner bulwarks planking being fastened with 2-1/2” #14 slotted bronze screws.

All of the bolts described below are likewise of silicon bronze, with the exception of the new windlass mounting bolts, which are of type 316 stainless steel, with heavy nuts. All timber was well painted with two coats of red lead substitute prior to installation, with special attention being paid to end grain. 

The term “bedded” refers to the process of the liberal application of”Dolphinite” brand bedding compound, slightly thinned with boiled linseed oil and/or red lead substitute, to all faying surfaces prior to installation of timber above waterline. All fasteners and bolts were likewise dipped in this compound for protection and, in the case of screws, for lubrication. Below waterline, timber and fasteners were similarly treated with a mix of tar and red lead substitute. Special attention was paid to the areas of the stem rabbet, transom corners, sub-deck and other blocking, bulwarks planking, and cabinhouse-to­deck corners.

“Epoxy saturated” refers to the method of treating damaged timber with continuous “floods” of “Smiths” brand penetrating epoxy until the affected timber will no longer accept further treatment. This method was also used to saturate plywood edge grain and surfaces prior to installation. All the new 1/2” marine fir plywood was first cut and fit, then pre-drilled for fasteners and saturated with “Smith’s” penetrating epoxy. Two coats of epoxy primer was then applied, then two final coats of white paint, with special attention being paid to the edges.

The three main factors contributing to “Elvica’s” deterioration were: 

a.  Sub-standard materials, i.e., the exclusive use of Philippine mahogany throughout the hull planking, transom, blocking, etc., brass fasteners, and a luan plywood sub-decking of inferior quality. 

b.  Sub-standard to poor workmanship throughout in many areas including rough, unfair plank seams, plywood installed with dry edges, lack of bedding compounds in strategic places, and generally poor fits throughout. 

c.  Design flaws, especially as regards the lack of drainage considerations wherein fresh water could stand for days on end in the frame bays throughout most of the
weatherdecks. This problem was exacerbated due to the entire bridge deck draining
onto the lower levels, especially on wet, dewey nights. A toe rail will be installed right
at the outboard edge of this upper deck and, once “Elvica” is afloat and back on her
proper lines, a single large drain will be installed at the lowest point just inboard of the
rail, thereby evacuating the majority of the upper decks’ drippings. (Please see
upgrades below)

1.  The Transom

a. With the external “skeleton” in place, work began on the transom while the hull planking material was “stickered” and the air-drying process began. The lower three planks were removed first, allowing access to the thirty or more brass bolts
that held the transom framing together; these were highly deteriorated and often
crumbled upon extraction; most were of rather smallish diameters for such large
timbers, and so were replaced with heavier, bronze carriage bolts, well dipped in
tar prior to installation. Fortunately, the entire transom frames’ structure was found
to be in an “as new” condition; being of red meranti it held the new screw fasteners
quite well.

 b.  A small pocket of rot was found in the uppermost, forward outboard starboard
 frame; material was cut back several inches past the rot and a graving piece
 installed.

 c.   The inboard transom bulwark plank, located just beneath the teak caprail, was 
 rotted at both outboard ends and exhibited many small past repairs, i.e., graving
 pieces, epoxy fillets, etc. It was replaced with a new plank of fine, air-dried
 Douglas fir.

 d.   Planking now proceeded by installing a Douglas fir inner plank 3/4” thick and well
 bedded on the frames followed by the outer teak planking, 7/8” thick, bronze
 fastened and well glued to the fir with Gougeon Brothers epoxy and cotton fibers.
 The seams lap by over one inch and the outer seams are tight and glued to accept
 a bright finish. This process continued upwards, removing old planking one at a
 time while installing a glued “pair” as described above each day over a period of
 perhaps two weeks while other work proceeded elsewhere, thereby allowing each
 new pair of glued planks to cure for a day before proceeding further.

 e.  The transom was then sanded fair, and five coats of marine varnish applied. Further coats will be applied by the owner.  

2.  The Frames

As stated above, every frame, port and starboard, stem to stern, was rotted at and below deck level. Believed to be of yacal, they measure two inches wide, sided 1-3/4” and are on approximate 12” centers. They were all replaced and/or “sistered” from the sheer down into the hull; timber was removed several inches beyond the damage and to reach logical joint locations, i.e., plank centers, longitudinals, or merely to avoid stopping at a sharp curving section. With the temporary outer frames in place, hull movement was no longer a concern, and framing proceeded as follows:

a.     Short sections of every third plank or so was removed, thereby allowing access for clamping, etc.

b.    A laminated white ash sister frame was installed using the old planking as a mold, and extending down into the hull as far as needed for frame continuity. Most were extended downward to and/or beyond the lower longitudinals and well fastened there. Temporary fasteners were installed one per plank to tighten things up, then the shorter upper section replacing the damaged original frame, was installed similarly. After cure, each pair was dressed off, then bolted to each other fore-and-aft with 1/4” carriage bolts at appropriate locations. They were then painted with red lead substitute. The blocking to carry the six bronze ports was also replaced during this process. 

c.    As work progressed aft, it was noted that the frames in the quarters, down around the sharpest turn of the bilge, had been deeply scored at the plank seams, such as one would expect from a thin kerfed saw, and cracks had started there. A small plank in this area was removed port and starboard, and 9-foot long sisters were installed from the sheer, down around the turn of the bilge, and beneath the bilge longitudinals, and well fastened there, five per side, or about every third frame. 

d.    As framing proceeded in the quarters, planking was begun in the bows, start­ing with the sheer strake.  

3.  The Hull Topsides Planking:

To retain the proper sheer lines, the heights and top bevels of the frames forward were copied exactly one by one during removal for fmal reference when planing the sheer. The exception to this was an area about 16 feet long on the starboard side, for it was found to be rather flattish and not matching the more lively “powderhorn” of the port side. The frames here were therefore extended by eye about 1/4” with later good results.

a.   Experience has shown that on this type of hull, wherein the first three upper planks fall on frames exposed to the sky and are unsupported by any timbers other than the planking, it is unwise to attempt bending planks cold or even steamed, for the forces exerted inward can cause the frames’ upper ends to move slightly inboard, causing a “pinched” look at the sheer rather than a fme flair. 

Also, these first several upper planks, when cut to shape and laid flat describe a rather extreme “5” curve and, if one desired to have these planks extend from the stem to the bulwarks gate area aft in a single piece to avoid a butt joint in the sharp curve, the plank stock would need to be some thirty feet long and over thirty inches wide. This, of course, would cause these upper planks to have extreme grain run-off at the bows.

Lastly, in the area of the large bronze opening ports, two planks above and below one another are cut nearly through their widths to receive the ports, leaving several areas just under one inch in width. Since the planks here have quite a lot of bend and twist, the fear of a fracture is quite real and did occur in the original planking.

With all these considerations, it was therefore decided to scarf and double-plank the entire bow area from the sheer down to one plank below the ports, laminating the doubled planks right in place upon installation, using the screw fasteners and various clamps overnight to achieve a good lamination.

Further, as each full-length plank was installed, it was edge-glued with epoxy and fibers to its neighbor. 

The inner planks are 5/8” thick, the outers being 3/4” thick to achieve the original hull thickness of 1-3/8”. 

The scarves were angled to create the rough shape or profile of the planks, and are of the “spar” type, being at about a 20 to 1 length-to-thickness ratio.

Lumber for this process was ordered well in advance, milled to proper thickness, and air-dried for about 3 months while the other work described above proceeded. 

b.  The bulwarks planking aft in the quarters was installed full thickness (1-3/8”) but  
similarly edge-glued to avoid the usual cracking seams associated with planks
exposed to the elements on both faces. Several scuppers were let into the plank at
deck level here to evacuate water between the frames.

c.  The ninth plank down from the sheer at the bows, which runs just below the  
planking at the ports, aft beneath the gate and further aft still to the stem, was also of
full thickness and its top edge glued to the planks above. From this plank down, the
seams are not glued but caulked in the traditional manner with a single strand of cotton
and seam compound.

d.  Planking now proceeded upwards from just at the waterline to one plank away
from this ninth plank, where work stopped briefly in order to clamp and laminate the
new rubbing strakes in place. They were left to cure here for three days, then
pre-drilled for the 6” #24 bronze wood screws, which pass through the rub rails, the
hull planking, and well into the new framing. They were then taken down for final
shaping and sealing, and a 1-1/2” x 1/4” type 316 stainless steel strap was welded
into two 32-foot sections for chafe guards, pre-drilled and fit to the rub rails, then
polished, both for appearance and to prevent surface rust, prior to installation.

e.  While all this was going on, part of the crew was kept busy removing and replacing fasteners throughout the entire bottom, as well as the frame-to-floor bolts mentioned above. We were able to extract nearly 100% of the #12 x 2-1/4” screws which were replaced with over 3,000 #14 x 2-1/2” silicon bronze wood screws, well dipped in tar.

f.   Finally the shutter planks were installed, seams caulked, and the topsides sanded fair. The seams were routed into 1/4” “coves”, then the entire topsides sealed with several “floods” of penetrating epoxy to stabilize the timber and create a good base for paint and primer. This required 10 gallons of Smith’s penetrating epoxy.

g.  The caulked seams were filled with “Sika-flex” 241 compound, and the hull then primed with Proline 4069 primer by Dale Morris and crew of Exotic Coatings, Ventura. 

h.  The rub rails were similarly sealed and primed while off the boat to get good coverage beneath them, then were well bedded and installed.

i.  It should be noted here that all the topsides butts were located well beyond any areas of severe bend or twist, and no single piank contains more than one butt. All plank ends were well saturated, then glued to the fir butt blocks, and fastened. The choice of fir for butt blocks was based on its excellent gluing properties and resistance to rot, problems often associated with some hardwoods. All butts are located a minimum of two planks and four frame bays from one another, and some of the topsides planks are nearly 40 feet long.

 j.   Once the usual glazing, sanding, and re-priming was completed, three fmal finish coats of Stirling 1001 white linear polyurethane were applied “wet-on­wet” by John Burman of Exotic Coatings.  

4.  The Foredeck:

a.   When walked upon, a “squishiness” could be felt throughout most of the foredeck, indicating trouble beneath. Several teak planks were removed, and the 1/2” plywood underlayment was found to be severely rotted and delaminated to such an extent that one could separate the plies as easily as a deck of cards. The entire deck was hauled off, and the damage was found to have spread to the deck beams, blocking, breast hook, and the forward most sections of the beam shelves.

 b.  A quick mold was made using an area of the deck right over a bulkhead, and, as  work proceeded elsewhere, several five-laminate fir deck beams were molded in place there and allowed to cure for two or three days. Since a certain “flatness” was noted in the foredeck, (perhaps due to sag in the sawn Philippine mahogany deck beams) a slightly enhanced crown was built into the new beams, with later good results.

c.  New sections of the beam shelves, port and starboard, were installed, bolted to each frame and extending aft for about 14 feet from the stem to good timber, and scarfed there.

d.  The new deck beams were first fitted and drilled for bolts, then taken down and painted, saving hours of labor and getting a more thorough job. The beams were then bolted in place, and temporary shoring was installed at there their centerline underneath for support while the deck was being laid.

e.  The breasthook too, was rotted and of rather smallish dimensions. Since “Elvica” is to be used for extensive cruising and carries a heavy windlass, it was decided to extend the breasthook right back to the chain locker bulkhead. It is built of clear fir sawn to the deck crown, bolted to the beam shelf, stem and bulkhead. It is laminated together and fastened fore-and-aft through the laminates with 3/8” x 6” bronze lag screws.

f.   The foredeck line locker and hatch assembly was unsalvageable and so it too was hauled off and discarded. 

g.  The original plywood underlayment landed on a deck beam right forward of this hatch and was fastened there. However, a 2” wide teak margin board running athwartships caused the plank ends to land only on the ply where they were fastened, with the screws poking down through the ply. Also, the plywood sub-deck was obviously built before the house superstructure, which sat atop it. These and other construction techniques caused hours of tedious labor hand cutting the ply back to sound timber. The remaining ply beneath the house’s forward ends was then well saturated with epoxy. A short section of deck beam was added centerline at the hatch to accept fasteners, and strong cleats were installed down along the house forward perimeters to accept the planking.

h. Before closing everything up, existing timbers and paneling was saturated with wood preservative to ward off mildew and rot. The exposed top edges of the various bulkheads were similarly treated, then painted with two thick coats of red lead substitute. 

i.   Now the fir blocking was installed outboard of the beam shelf, to which each was fastened with two 2-1/2” #14 silicon bronze wood screws and well bedded. Two more screws coming in through the hull planking fmished the job, and now the deck would have an improved, strong perimeter to fasten to.

j.  New “sub-marginboards” of 1” thick fir were sawn into shape and let into the deck beams. They extend from the breast-hook to the aft end of the foredeck. 

k.  While this and other work continued, Glen Scotland of Exotic Coatings was kept busy sealing, priming and painting the many nooks and crannies created by all these timbers that would later be difficult or impossible to reach once everything was closed up.

l.  During this period, much old wiring and windlass cables, etc. was removed, the mounting holes and such being filled with thickened epoxy and faired prior to painting. 

m.        m.  Next came the sub-deck. It was built of air-dried vertical grain clear Douglas fir 3/4” thick. A “king plank” about 6” wide with tongues outboard was installed at the centerline, the remainder of the tongue-and-groove planking being about 3” wide. All the planks are full length and edge glued to their neighbors. They are fastened at each deck beam, blocking, breasthook, cleats and sub-margin boards with 1-3/4” #14 silicon bronze wood screws. Prior to installation they were lain flat with their lower faces to the sky and sealed, primed and painted.

At the perimeters in way of the breasthook, blocking and cleats, they were heavily bedded, and once in place, epoxy was literally poured into the seams, creating a strong sub-deck which was itself watertight. After cure, it was sanded fair and several “floods” of penetrating epoxy applied.

n. Finally, the teak decking was laid. It is of 3/4” thick, clear Burmese teak, with fine vertical grain throughout, having been carefully selected and milled on site. A 5” wide “king plank” was installed centerline, the remainder of the planking being 2” wide. All run full length with no butts. These planks were fastened to each deck beam, breasthook and carlins with 2-1/2” #14 silicon bronze wood screws so that fasteners pass through the sub-deck and well into the timbers beneath.

The deck was glued down with 3M 5200 black adhesive and plugged. After cure, the plugs were ground off, followed by a thorough vacuuming of all the weatherdecks. The seams were first washed with acetone, then primed with two coats of “Detco” primer, and fmally filled with “Detco” deck caulk, which required 5-1/2 gallons.

o.  Next came the margin boards, but before proceeding further, I must say that I have always disliked the look of nibbed margin boards on broad foredecks wherein the deck planks are laid dead straight to the centerline, as is the case with “Elvica’s”, for to prevent shrinking and/or “cupping”, etc., the planks need to be quite narrow, and therefore numerous to cover such a broad deck (nearly 60 planks in the case). The resulting myriad of nibs in the marginboards are very time consuming and can look very busy. Secondly, experience has shown that the seam compound can tend to shrink or pull around the numerous turns and corners of the nibs, resulting in deck leaks as the caulking ages. Also, that little corner where one nib ends and another begins, is quite fragile and can come adrift if exposed to long periods of hot, dry weather. Since one of the major contributing factors to “Elvica’s” near demise was deck leaks, I had decided far in advance to re-design the deck perimeters, using methods previously applied to similar vessels: 

1.  The margin boards of the sub-deck, being of fir, extend inboard from the hull about 9”, allowing the hood ends of the sub-deck planking to fall about 1-1/2” onto the sub-marginboards, which are of 1” thick fir and let into the deckbeams. 

2.  The teak deck plankings’ hood ends overlap the fir sub-decks’ hood ends by about 2” and are cut along a fair curve sprung with a batten. 

3.   The teak marginboards are 1-1/4” thick and are rabbetted 1/2” over the planking’s ends, swimming in adhesive and well fastened with 2-1/2” #14 silicon bronze wood screws to the deck beams, sub-marginboards and blocking. They are of fine, vertical grain teak and have a single butt joint in their foot lengths, which is splined. The inboard edge is 20+ builnosed for appearance and wear. 

4.   Filler blocks of teak were installed outboard against the hull planking and     between the frames. 

                 5.   Finally, teak blocking was installed above, extending out to the frames’ inner faces from the hull, and having a slight slope inboard to prevent water standing in the frame bays.

5.  The Aft and Side Decks:

 a.  Same sad story here, with the exception of the deck beams and beam shelves, which were found to be in excellent condition, though four beams’ outboard upper ends, right at the gate portside, were somewhat softened. They were cropped back to good timber, and wedge shaped graving pieces installed. 

b.  Under the portside deck was found some ancient sound insulation, which was immediately hauled off and replaced with new high density foam. 

c.  One maddening discovery was the 1/4” and 1/8” luan ply shims used in faiing the outboard deck line and located between the beam ends and the shelf. These were highly deteriorated and so were replaced with new ones of white ash one at a time, and were well painted and bedded.

d.  The outboard blocking was just rotted away, and in any case seemed rather withy and haphazard, being of many varied sizes and shapes that suggested a whimsical carpenter, high on opiates and having a grand time installing blocking under a full moon. Some were mere 1” x 1” cleats screwed to the hull planking, while others just rolled around in there, supporting little or nothing. 

Never can enough be said about the importance of good sound methods being employed in this area, for good blocking is a first and last defense against deck leaks, and creates a strong perimeter to carry the decking.

 The new blocking, which runs from the air intakes forward on the portside to the transom and from the transom starboard side to about 15 feet forward, was installed as follows:

1.   An outer block which lands between each frame and extends down the outboard face of the beam shelf, and is fastened there. Its upper end picks up the correct height and bevel of the deck beams. 

2.   An inner block, which sits atop the beam shelf, fit snug between the beams and fastened to the outer blocks and to the frames. They, too are beveled along their top edges to accept the decking. 

3.   All the blocking, including those in the foredeck, are of clear, air-dried Douglas fir, 1-3/4” thick. The double blocking aft therefore creates a continuous 3-1/2” wide perimeter for the decks to land on. They were first cut and fit, then pre-driuled and numbered, then made to stand end-grain down overnight in wood preservative, then next day turned over to stand another night on their other ends.

 4.   They were then installed, well painted and bedded.

e.  The aftermost deck beam, which is a large sawn timber right aft at the transom, was found to be in an “as new” condition, and at the request of the owner, blocking was installed between this and the next two beams forward and extending inboard from the hull about three feet in order to support a small windlass or turning block at some later date.

f.   The deck beam which supports the aft end of the house was not of sufficient width to accept fasteners for the teak decking, (similar to the problem on the foredeck) and so a full length, full size laminated beam was added and well fastened to its after face.

g.  The lazarette hatch was a poor affair, and besides it was quite small, being only about 18” x 22” and was located about a foot off centerline. Since the carlins were somewhat softened anyway, the entire assembly here was hauled off and a new, larger hatch with an improved drainage and dogging system, was installed.

h.  The house perimeters were ground along their lower edges and sealed with “Smith’s” penetrating epoxy. 

i.   The 1/2” fir marine plywood sub-deck came next, but not before the fittings and tops of the tanks were treated with “Ospho” phosphoric acid, then brushed with cold applications tar to prevent further rust. The sides and bottoms appeared to be in a nearly “as new” condition. The fuel tanks received new copper tubing vents, and the iron filler necks were replaced with stainless steel. New bronze deck caps were installed. 

j.   3” fiberglass tape, saturated with Gougeon Brothers epoxy, was installed all around where the plywood sub-deck meets the house sides. 

k.  Finally, the 5/8” teak decking was installed, similar to that on the foredeck, with the exception of the marginboards, which here are flush with the planking, for between nearly every frame from the gates aft, scuppers had been let into the hull planking, and sloped blocks installed in those frame bays without scuppers.

l.  Just aft of the steps leading to the foredeck, port and starboard, three frame bays were employed to act as air intakes, such as one sees on seiners and other commercial vessels.

6.  The Bottom: 

a.   When sounding the bottom with a heavy rubber mallet, one is supposed to listen for the “bonk” from sound timber, or the “thud” of softened planking or frames. Sometimes, as in “Elvica’s” case, a distinct “clack” can be heard, the unmistakable sound of the mallet hitting a plank, then the plank hitting a frame, indicating problems with fasteners.

b.   Several 2-1/2” #12 silicon bronze wood screws were pulled, and most were found to be in fair condition, exhibiting the usual greenish patina, with some leaning more towards that pinkish state they turn when nearing life’s end. 

c.   Since most backed out quite readily, it was decided to re-fasten the entire bottom, using 2-1/2” #14 silicon bronze wood screws into the original holes, with the exception of perhaps the 150 or so that snapped off; these were re-drilled at a slight angle and re-screwed.

d.   Upon installation of each and every fastener, it was noted that the planking moved inboard slightly, from a minimum ofjust being perceived to a maximum of nearly 1/4”, indicating a re-fastening in the not-too-distant past wherein the installer simply failed to tighten the screws properly.

e.   While installing fasteners, several things were noticed in the original bottom planking:

1.   Many areas of softness in the planking, in some places to such a degree that one had to be careful when fastening not to drive the screw right through. “Widespread” is not quite the right description, though the condition exists in many seemingly isolated places such as the area near the stem above and below water and for several feet aft, around zincs, near waterline aft, and the third plank, or broadstrake up from the garboard.

2.   Cross-grain fractures in the planking near the bow. Hard to see and depth unknown. 

3.  The oakum driven into the seams, probably during construction, was very dry, hard and loose. The whitish, now powdery seam compound was easily sloughed away with the lightest tools. Since time and financial considerations did not permit complete reefmg and re-caulking nor a new bottom, the caulking was re-set and soaked with red lead substitute, then the seams filled with tar.