Minnow is a 1930 Dodge Bros. 16.5’ runabout who is incredibly original, from her gauges to her quite unique push/pull throttle and Lycoming flathead 4 engine.
Her engine will ride Old Dominion to Robert Henkel Inc. (http://ift.tt/1w7jSRy) in Harsens Island, MI to be completely rebuilt to as close to original as is possible. Given his life-long association with antique and classic wood boats, and especially his well-deserved reputation for delivering work that meets the highest standards of craftsmanship, we are pleased that he agreed to take on this rebuild responsibility.
Our focus for now is the interior of the hull and installing a new 5200 bottom that matches the original planking pattern exactly.
Here we, well John is “tooth-picking” every fastener hole in the bottom framing. Why? Once the Gorilla glue sets, we will cut every tooth pick off flush with the framing using our Multi-master Fein tool, A quick sanding followed by coating with bilge paint fives us a surface into which the new fasteners can bite and hold.
The interior layer of Okoume plywood comes next, the templates for which John fabricated using heavy industrial paper. Once each panel is fitted, its interior face will receive three coats of CPES and two coats of Sandusky Chris-Craft Mahogany bilge paint. The exterior surface will be treated similarly once it is installed.
But all that will be covered in upcoming progress reports. For now enjoy Minnow a’ la porcupine. By the time John finishes, he will have consumed close to 5,000 toothpicks and more than a pint of Gorilla glue.
Thank youu to her Oregon-based owners for entrusting preparing Minnow for next season following languishing on the hard for the last 45+ years!
Vintage Boat Preservation
