Category Archives: How To

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

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Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

One of the interesting things reviewing all the photos that have been sent in from the festival is that each person ’sees’ the festival through different eyes – so what they end up photographing is very different from someone else.
Todays collection from Fiona Driver and Rod Marler is a perfect example, it is a very different view from yesterdays and also shows the scale of the event. Worthy of its own WW story.
I could have edited the collection down, but the photographer/s are very passionate woodys so if the image appealed to them, I’m confident it will to you. Enjoy 🙂
Scroll down after todays photo gallery to view more of the festival in Part 1 of the coverage.
And remember , click on photos to enlarge.

Lady Ellen Restoration Update – December 2018

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Lady Ellen Restoration Update – December 2018

Owner Bruce Mitchinson sent in the photos above & report below:

“The focus over the last few weeks has been on the exterior and cockpit. We have gone through 65 litres of high-build surfacer, and sanded half of it off, to get the topsides and below waterline fair.
Barrier undercoat applied to the topsides and another round of sanding to take out minor blemishes.
The above photos show polyurethane undercoat going on the topsides last Friday, the wet look gives a taste of what’s to come after the finishing sand and the top coat goes on later this week.
While we are on a roll, the cockpit will be painted, the deck head will be undercoated, and the interior bulkheads finished off before interior work kicks off again.
Everything is ready for the bottom paint so we might get this on before my painter goes on holiday.”
To see/ read more on this restoration project – enter Lady Ellen in the WW search box 😉

What Does Electrochemical Deterioration In a Wooden Boat Look Like

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What Does Electrochemical Deterioration In a Wooden Boat Look Like
 
Todays story is in two parts – firstly the photos above were sent in by a concerned woody that viewed this boat, with purchase in mind. I share to highlight what electrochemical deterioration in a wooden boat looks like. This decay is the result of ignorance.  The builders of this launch would have used the best kauri and proper Aluminium bronze for the stern gear. Marine bronze does not require an anode but you can see where one has been mounted (rusty mounting) You can see the copper strap used to connect all the metals to the anode. A perfect example of what you should not do on a wooden boat. After about two years you will see discolouration of the wood around the so called protected metal , in ten years the wood will be soft and in twenty years uneconomical to repair. So woodys – read below an abridged version of Chris’s WW article. I do encourage you to take the time to review the long version as it appears on WW – link below    https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/04/28/electro-chemical-damage-in-wooden-boats/
 
 
Firstly I should point out that Chris repeatedly points out he is not a consultant and does not have a degree in chemistry. But his views are the result almost 60 years of working in boatyards. 
 
“If you connect a positive and negative metal in any electrolyte (sea water)  you will make a battery and create an anode and a cathode. The positive anode gives off Oxygen and Chlorine gas. The negative (protected) metal is the Cathode and this gives off Hydrogen gas.  That is why battery compartments have to be ventilated. Back to the Cathode. In sea water the Hydrogen from the protected Cathode mixes with the salt water and the by product is Sodium Hydroxide or Caustic Soda. Caustic Soda is used as paint remover and to pulp wood in the paper industry. Want that on your boat?
While a lot of boats may have no bonding, they do have anodes on the shaft. The shaft is in affect the bonding wire between the (+) Anode and (via the white metal bearing) the (-)bronze stuffing gland.  Zinc is at the bottom of the galvanic scale and bronze and copper could not be more dissimilar.  So there is your battery, the salt water is the electrolyte.
The Sodium Hydroxide is washed off the outside of the hull so you don’t see it but the chemical is trapped under huge pressure round the stuffing gland and slowly forces it’s way out. That is the white powder you see. Unfortunately, even if you remove the Anode the chemical will remain in the shaft log and soften the wood. 
A proper fix is to remove the gland and soak the wood in vinegar.
Cathodic protection is necessary on a steel hull but should never be used on a wooden boat. Marine surveyors round the world are now awake to this after seeing some ruined wooden boats.  Wooden Boat Magazine, Professional Boatbuilder Magazine and Classic Boat Magazine have all written on this subject. Some of the articles are thirty years ago, but few people in New Zealand seem to read this technical stuff and they fork out $ for anodes every year i.e. Loving their boat to death. Refer below re these articles”
 
For the people who doubt what I say about anodes and bonding. Please check out this article in the “ Professional Boat Builder” Magazine.  # 64 page 38 – 51 Here is the direct link https://pbbackissues.advanced-pub.com/?issueID=65&pageID=44  For any one with a wooden boat it is essential reading.
 
 
On a wooden boat it is extremely difficult to recommended bonding of any sort, due to the extreme problems created for any wooden structures in proximity to the noble fittings. Consider the following: In the galvanic couple created by bonding, the protected fittings are the cathodes and the remotely placed sacrificial zincs are the anodes. The water-soaked wood below the waterline is electrically conductive. In the area around each of the noble metal fittings (the cathodes) highly alkaline sodium hydroxide is formed, and the wood is destroyed. A white fluff is formed that looks like small ice crystals or snow, and is very caustic. The lignin is stripped out of the cellular matrix of the wood leaving only soft spongy cellulose behind. Sodium hydroxide, where found, can on the surface be neutralized with vinegar, but the problem is not cured. On a wooden boat, the system put aboard to protect the underwater metals eats the boat instead! 
 
Cathodically Protected Metal The formation of alkaline conditions at the cathode and the resulting wood degradation describe the phenomenon that occurs in wooden vessels around embedded metal that is being protected cathodically against sea water corrosion. It is common to protect the immersed metal on ships from corroding by cathodic protection. This is accomplished by attaching zinc or magnesium anodes to the vessel, and connecting these either directly or by a conducting wire to the immersed metal. The anode is a sacrificial metal, and it corrodes preferentially to the immersed metal. For a wooden vessel, the metal to be protected is purposely made the cathode. However, it is often overlooked that the alkaline reaction product at the cathode, in time, can result in loss of strength of the adjacent wood. The end result is that, although the metal does not corrode, the wood surrounding the fastener may fail. The vessel can literally “stew in its own juices.” It probably requires more than 10 years to produce conditions that can cause some loss in strength to the wood, and severe strength loss has been noted in wood vessels after 20 years’ service. Figure 2 shows some planking removed from a 20-year-old vessel. The wet hull planking was fastened to internal silicon bronze structural straps that were protected cathodically. Salts with a pH of 11 were found in the wood in contact with the bronze where the wood deteriorated. 
 
 
“You may be wondering why I say not to bond and others say to bond. Why should you believe me? It turns out my boat is very old. The things I am saying have been tested in real conditions on my boat for 50 years. For example, last year I replaced two bronze through hull fittings just because they were over 50 years old and happened to be the last two old fittings, the others having been replaced or removed for other reasons. As I said, bronze has a shelf life in salt water of about 100 years so I was giving myself a 2:1 safety factor. These through hulls had never been bonded in over 50 years. They have been in salt water the entire time and near the shaft and other metals I might add. We cut them in half in the process of getting them out. They were pristine. I could have left them in there another 50 years.”

I need some help / advice

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I need some help / advice

Does anyone know a gas fitter that does repairs to marine stoves?
The ‘gap’ that the oven on Raindance fits into is – rather narrow. I have been unable to find a new replacement that would fit, other than the Force 10 Euro 2 burner  – but they are off the planet in terms of price.
I picked up on trademe a 2nd hand unit that will fit, but only one of the burners works & the grill also doesn’t work. Its made by Marine Stainless Fittings Ltd, Auckland – who sadly are no longer in business. Its built like a Sherman tank & in great condition (post my clean-up). There is a little bit of work involved in fitting it so while I could attack it myself & try to get it working, I would rather pay someone in the know to have a look at it & advised if it was a able to be (& worth) fixed. The model is – ‘Mariner Prince’ – photos below.
So woodys – any recommendations?, I can drop it off, so anywhere in Auckland would be ok.
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A Woody Workshop

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Now Here Is A Very Cool Idea – A Woody Workshop
There are a few woody hidden treasures in & around Auckland – some we keep under the radar & some deserve to be hauled up the mast so everyone knows. One of the coolest is the New Zealand Traditional Boatbuilding School. A lot of you will have rubbed up against the NZTBS when it was housed at the old Hobsonville Air Base, but with the redevelopment of the base, NZTBS was moved to a new home & these days has a tighter focus on its reason for being.
 
Now to some of you the word School breaks you out in a cold sweat, if I ran the place I’d change the name to NZ Wooden Boat Workshop, because these days thats what it is – a workshop where you can get hands-on experience in some of the skills that a true woody needs to know. I encourage you to visit their weblog to check out the new courses (see below) that have just been announced  http://nztbs.org.nz 
  • Veneering, Inlay & Marquetry
  • Ribbing, Steam bending and replacing Ribs.
  • Clinker planking. fitting new or replacing old planks.
  • Tuesday Workshop days
But woodys, what I really wanted to draw your attention to was what the NZTBS call the ‘Tuesday Workshop’. 
Not all of us are blessed with a workshop or the tools to undertake simple maintenance on our craft – the NZTBS have a solution – they have opened the workshop up on Tuesdays (from 10am > 2pm) & will have a couple of serious woodys on-site – Allan Hooper and Kere Kemp. So come along and either help them with the latest project they are working on or if you have a little job of your own or perhaps need a piece of timber sized or just some advice, pop along for a chat.
 
I dropped in on Tuesday, with a project under my arm & walked away a happy chappie. While there I spoke with the Allan Hooper & Colin Pawson about Allan’s latest project. Some of you may be aware that in a past life Allan created a male mould of the Townson 2.4 dinghy, & from this approx. 10 cold moulded / laminated dinghies were built. On top of this an additional approx. 250 fibreglass dinghies were built – so without a doubt Allan holds the record for the most Townson’s built 🙂
A little while ago, Allan crawled under the house & dragged out the original mould, pictured below being repaired at the NZTBS.
The next step is that Allan will be using the mould to build himself a light-weight (frame less) clinker (ply) dinghy, I’m sure his arm could be twisted to allow a woody or woodys to build another or several, maybe there are enough people interested in a forming a class.  
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Heads Up On A New Book From Robert Brooke
Talking with Robert mid-week & I’m stoked to be able to announce on WW that Robert is days away from the release of his new book on the memoirs and drawings of his late father Jack (John) Brooke. More details soon.
 
Now I couldn’t let the day go by without a woody photo – the photo below has appeared b4 on WW but in a much poorer reproduction. Dated c1930s, it shows Colin Wild’s yard at Stanley Point, Devonport – a very impressive line up of woodys. (photo ex Keith Humphrey)
1930s approx. Stanley Point Devonport Colin Wild Boat Yard

A Spot of Koha – Seafood or Vension for Boatbuilding Guidance

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A Spot of Koha – Seafood or Vension for Boatbuilding Guidance

The owner of Cobweb, Matt Debono has sent me an unusal request, I get a lot of  WW emails but this one was a first. I have included it below, just as I received it.

“This is probably not a usual e-mail for you. I send you this because of the passion you have for wooden boats. In saying this my yacht Cobweb isn’t even a classic wooden boat. She is a 35ft Laurie Davidson design launched in 1975 with a 3 skin kauri construction under glass… modern classic?

I have recently purchased Cobweb as a bit of a project as I wanted to learn how these wooden boats were constructed and learn some skills myself as the craftsmanship that goes into them astonish me. I saw her potential as a good yacht and got her for a good price. What I am asking for is if you know anybody in the South Auckland region that may share the same passion who has some experience in boat building of this nature who may want to pass some of their skills and experience on to a younger guy like me.

As you can see I have Cobweb sitting on my front lawn, I have opened her up and I’m not too far away from scarfing the inner 2 skins after I let the timber dry a bit. I have all the tools and machinery required however a bit of guidance would go a long way. Whoever comes to help could obviously expect a reward, I can fill freezers up with Venison or seafood fairly easily… or pay cash.”

So woodys, if you have the skills & an empty freezer – drop Matta note mpdebono@hotmail.co.nz

Lots of photos (50) on Monday from the Lees Boatbuilders shed visit 😉

Restoring & Installing a Gardner in Arethusa – Revisited

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Restoring & Installing a Gardner in Arethusa

story & photos ex Dean Wright

It not often I get sent info on a boat & it jumps the queue & appears on ww the next day. If you have been following on ww the rolling restoration Dean has been doing on Arethusa over the last few years you would know two things, Arethusa is in very good hands & Deans a very talented commercial photographer. So the links below to Deans latest project – the restoration of a Gardner 4LW & subsequent installation in Arethusa are well worth check out.

Restoration     http://deanwright.co.nz/arethusa/log-arethusa/152-gardner-4lw-diesel-restoration.html

Installation      http://deanwright.co.nz/arethusa/log-arethusa/154-installing-the-gardner.html

Some history below

Arethusa ticked over 96 this year. She started life as a gaff rigged cutter, built by Bob Brown (designer of the Z class) at Sulphur Beach, Northcote. She’s carvel planked kauri, 33′ 4″ LOA with a 12′ Beam. With the aid of a fair bit of ballast she weighs 10 tonnes. She’s had an interesting life, more details here http://deanwright.co.nz/history.html