TOPIC: '53 18' Century Resorter finally

Bob, you need to start making mistakes and screwing things up. You're making me look bad. I think you're doing fantastic work but don't quit your day job and go into restoration. I don't need competition from an obvious expert. I have mouths to feed and you'll send me to the poor house!

Thanks guys, I try to keep plugging along.

Jan, no worries, this bad boy could cure me for a while once it's finally done! lol

Bob

The picture looks like a county highway crew....three sitting down, one standing around and one doing all the work.

Good one Cal!

Well thanks Jan, you jinxed me. Looks like I'm going to have to replace the starboard chine. i may have been a little over zealous on my planing and planed too much off in a 1' section plus it looks like there's another 1 1/2' section that the chine isn't think enough so when I cut the 3/4" rabbet for the plank the chine will have a gap. I could possibly fix it by making it a 1" rabbet but I think the original calls for a 3/4" rabbet.

On another note what do you do with the left over battens pieces? Make glue jigs of course!





Gluing a scarf joint can be tricky since it's going to want to slide. i used the Resorcinol I had left. It's very slippery and I wanted to make sure the pieces stayed aligned and didn't slip.Make the clamping block longer than the scarf and clamp it at the ends and wala no movement.

Bob

Well snow melted enough to get to the shed and the weather was 58 degrees today, Woo Hoo! So got the jig fence nailed to the planks for routing and got most if the routing done. Just have to clean up the port side now.



Just have to route the chine rabbets and then cut the batten notches.

Bob

bob, looking good, real good. greg

Most excellent, almost time to start drillin' and screwin' some bottom planks. Any plans on the shaft hole yet?

I agree, put some planks on that sucker and get her back on the water. What is your time line looking like? This year or the next?

Thanks Greg!

Cal, no not yet. I'm thinking I'm going to have to clamp a block on the bottom of the keel and use a forstner bit. I think I have to use the shaft strut for the support. Not sure what I'm going to use to hold the bit. I have an old Merc shaft that's not good. Maybe I can modify it and make polyester sleeve on the lathe to fit in the strut and center the shaft.

Al, yeah I know. I was originally shooting for this September for the Century Thuroughbred Roundup in Manistee MI but it looks like we're moving back to Florida as soon as I can find a job down there so not sure when this is going to get finished. lol

Bob

Well finally got most of the house prep done so I could get back to the Resorter. I got most of the batten rabbets routed out today, hope to finish the routing in the next day or so, so I can CPES the batten rabbets, the keel and the battens, then 5200 them into place.



Yes that's the Harbor Freight $20 trim router, works great.

Bob

Great work Bob. I can almost smell the oak. CPES, 5200, Brass screw combo, those babies will never have to be replaced again. The shaft strut with a centered sleeve sounds like a working solution.

Wow, nice work!

Thanks guys!

Hey Cal, I' assuming attach the strut long enough to drill the shaft hole then remove it so the hull can be flipped?

Bob

Bob, I've been thinking about that and yes remove the strut after the hole is drilled. Put the strut away in some hiding place that you will forget, you know the safe place where you will find it?? As you advance to the point of engine and transmission installation this is what I would do to make sure everything is lined up correctly. First bolt/screw the bilge (inside) stuff box so it's lined up with the hole. then set the engine trans combo connected to the prop shaft in place but not bolted down. I would then adjust the engine/trans position (makes it sound simple right?}actually rassle the thing around until the shaft lines up straight in the hole and has plenty of clearance and then shim or whatever you need to do. The sabre 327 rubber mounts were lagged into the heavy white oak. Make sure you have the packing nut in place also when you adjust the motor position. If it's off a fraction the shaft will rub on the packing nut and get hot...don't ask how I know that. (gradually wears the brass nut)
After those are fixed permanent then lay on your sore back and line up the shaft strut, drill the holes and seal every thing up with 5200, run the brass bolts. Temporarily install the prop to get the distance away for your rudder, make sure you have room to remove your prop without removing the rudder. The sabre was god awful - could not remove the prop without disconnecting the rudder . And finally don't forget to install the protective brass plate/sheet above the prop to prevent turbulence from eating away all you new fresh mahogany. I've got pictures if you need some reference.
These pics were before I started the tear down many years ago. There was no adjustment on the front motor mount some limited up/down and sideways on the tranny end.

Thanks Cal. I'm sure I'll forget by then and ask again. LOL you said drill and bolt the prop strut afterwards, don't I have to bolt it down ahead of time so I can drill the hole or did you just try and clamp it real good when you drilled?

Bob

Two smaller lag bolts. Holes can be filled if necessary or if you're lucky it's where the brass bolts will go.

Ah got it thanks.

Bob

Ok so I haven't been totally sitting on my a$$. I got the battens cut and laid in for steaming. I steamed in the ones that needed it and they're drying. As soon as they're dry I can CPES them and 5200 them in.

I still have to redo the chines but the Amish guys haven't cut my blank yet. Could be another week or two. I have a felling they don't want to do it but won't tell me no. I hope not cuz I'm nut sure where the hell else I can get a 3"x6"x19' white oak blank from.

Also I've been removing rust from some engine parts using the ole Dollar Store "The Works" toilet bowl cleaner bath. Darn stuff works great! Let it soak over night and removes it real nice, only problem is you have to get it out, rinse it well and coat right away or it will start rusting almost immediately. Anyway, I put the flywheel in the bath yesterday and removed it today to go through the clean up process and got this when I took it out of the bath.

I hasn't been dropped so apparently there was a crack there that wasn't obvious and the rust holding it on is gone so....... I guess it's a good thing this happened instead of it flying off while the engine was running. It's Flagship flywheel forward and could have gotten ugly coming out around the housing mount and into the front seat or through it!

The crack was not where it was originally welded when made. So do I get this welded and fit back on or just buy a new one? The crank and pistons have been balanced.

Bob

I have confidence in you Bob, I knew you weren't sitting on your xss Keep up good work Bill

Check this out for your ring gear Bob. They are replaceable. Don't know if I would want to have it welded, the teeth could bet misaligned.

Thanks bill.

Great stuff thanks Cal. I talked to the guy who did my engine block and stuff and he said he can order me a new ring gear and help put it on. He has an oven he uses to straighten heads so I don't have to use the Admiral's oven.

Bob

She's coming along nicely Bob, keep at it buddy!

Hey I actually was able to CPES the battens with one coat today, Woo Hoo!!!!!! Hopefully I'll be able to bed them in next weekend.




Bob

Lookin' better every day Bob. You're getting closer to putting on those planks and making it look like a boat again. That is one crowded work area, I'd be tripping over everything and using words not yet invented.

Thanks Cal, yeah it's pretty tight in there sometimes. That's why I have to wait until it's not raining for certain jobs because I have to move things outside, while I work inside.

My uncle was right when I was building that shed. "as soon as you think you have the right size, make it bigger because you'll need the room." Yeah he was right but I was worried about getting the permit. I'm within a 1000' of the water and there's an impervious surface size that you can't go over, including, house, driveway, deck etc. Load of crap but what ever.

Bob

Ok all the battens that aren't touching the Chines are bedded in the 5200. Now I have to wait until I can get the chine blank to make the new chines. It's been so rainy and wet here I don't think the Amish mills are cutting.




Bob

Quality work as usual Bob. Git 'er done.

I'm thinking of making my interior the Seafoam Green and white vice the red and white that it probably came with. When I removed parts from the interior I saw a small piece of old red vinyl. I'm not a big red and white so..........


So those who know Centuries know that isn't the correct floor but pretty darn nice. I'll be sticking with the original rubber/vinyl ribbed matting, but after chatting Wednesday Jan (Nautilus)inspired me. Since I can't seem to find the original Flagship green color for the motor and don't want to lift the velvet drive into the truck, I thought why not use the sea foam green and white on the engine to match?!?!?!

Thoughts?

Bob

Bump up.

Your thoughts guys?

Bob

I like it! Shows you're not standing in the same long line of red/white. A couple of removable seat cushions same color.

Well Bob,
Here is my take on it ? If you are looking for trophies at judged shows ? you are stuck with red and white. But at the cost of you not be being totally satisfied with your boat ?
This means you’d be more likely to sell it rather than keep it ?
Also you have to think of show goers . They walk down the dock at a show, and say in their mind, as they walk past each boat, red and white century, red and white century. red and white century.
OOOOOOO Sea foam green century, that’s nice ! I think the only people that would ever call you on the color are obsessed purists or judges ?

I can tell you’re not the kind of guy that is going to radically change the style of the boat, with an over powered engine with side pipes and stacks, with fart can mufflers, a wooden wing with monster speakers hanging off it,
A set of hi intensity LED digital gauges, Or a spinner hubcap for a steering wheel ?

You just want to put a little flare on YOUR boat, and for the fact that this boat is not the last of it’s breed, and does not have the historical legacy of wiping out the entire enemy fleet during the war.
I say make your boat with the subtle flare upgrades that you want ! I highly doubt you’d have any resale value loss because of your choice of color that makes you happier ?

Lastly, your entire family will know that is your boat, no matter where it ends up, not, "My relative had one that looks just like that"

Just my opinion ?

What Chuck said!

Chuck said it all. It's your boat.

What Mark and Gene said X2.

Thanks guys. Sorry should have been more clear, actually the Seafoam Green and white were one of the color combo choices that that year so it would still be fine just not what was probably ordered on this particular boat.

That seat is actually wrong it should have a full cushioned bench bottom, I just used that pick because it was the color I'm thinking of.

The big question is what do you think about painting the engine the Seafoam green and White to match the interior. I'm already going to take a hit for the engine since it's not one of the original 4 cyl or 6 cyl, it's the Owens Flagship V-8 with 350 block. Sorry Chuck, just a little more power than original. The boat already had that motor when I bought it.

I can't match the original Flagship Blue without draggin the velvet drive to the paint shop to get it matched so I thought why not go with a Nautilus inspired engine color combo? Ideas?

Bob

Well then, that seals the deal !
not the original size engine, you get dinged by judge for that.
So color doesn't matter now ?
right ?
I'd match it to the interior color. It'll look sweet !

I agree with the other guys; it's your boat, do whatever you like!

I like the idea of matching the engine with the upholstery. Especially if you are going to have it open to view. It should look as fantastic as the rest of the project.

Thanks guys, that's the route I'm going to go. I just need to decide what parts get green and what gets white. I'll have to play with photoshop and see what I can come up with.

Bob

Well the Amish mill finally came through and I have the new chine blank, Woo Hoo!!!


I knew that old trailer would be good for something! lol I'm actually going to keep the board on it while it dries this time. The trailer is flat and level, even if the tongue is bent a little. Put a nice 50/50 coat of tongue oil/mineral spirits on the whole thing and laid it on the old oak blanks with a tarp over the top. There's spacers between the old blanks and the new one and a tarp over the top so it should dry fairly evenly with only slight checking, we'll see.

Bob