We’ve made good progress on this 1968 20’ Lyman runabout. As of the end of work today, we will have completely stripped the bottom, removed the fuel tank in preparation for repairing the transom, and, most surprising perhaps, is that what we thought was a major stem problem is not.
As with the forward lifting rod that was removed when the king plank was replaced and never re-installed, someone had extracted the carriage bolt that had secured the stem to the knee at the point of maximum curvature. We could actually pass a screw driver between the stem and the knee, which led us to suspect we were dealing with a major through-and-through break at the point of that ugly gouge that was apparent in our initial project clip.
Not so. RJ climbed inside and found the bolt hole passing through the knee had been filled with some sort of silicone material. A similar glob issued from the stem when he drilled all the garbage out of the hole.
After packing the space between the stem and knee, and those on both starboard and port between the stem and forward ends of the strakes with TotalBoat Thixo Thickened Epoxy, we inserted a new bolt. Tightening the nut against the knee drew the stem back until it was hard against the knee. That ugly sagging is gone and has been replaced by the gracefully curving stem that Lymans are known for.
Dutchmen patches need not apply….
Vintage Boat Preservation
