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Vintage Boat Preservation

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Snake Mountain Boatworks LLC
7076 Weybridge Rd
Weybridge, VT 05753
Phone: 802.734.1019
Email: [email protected]

22 Replies to “Contact Us”

  1. Hi Snake Mountain Boatworks, I love your Youtube channel and your work. Thanks for sharing all that knowledge. I am restoring a Century Resorter 16, and I need to redo the deck. Do you put a plywood layer under the planks? If you do, what width and is it going all the way to the rub rails below the covering boards?

  2. Snake Mountain,

    I am replacing the top side, and transom, and deck planks on my 1956 CC Capri due to the previous owner’s annual sanding and are worn very thin. What thickness should the planks be for each? In addition, I’ve been told the gold deck stripe should be Luan wood which I can not locate. The replacement planks will be Sapele mahogany. Would it be acceptable to use a lighter colored African Mahogany on the deck strip? Thanks for sharing all of you knowledge.

    1. Deck and transom planking should be 7/16″ thick.

      Plywood on a Capri? OMG! Never, ever, ever, ever use plywood on any Chris-Craft planking! Not any; nowhere; none!

      Use only GENUINE MAHOGANY – Honduras is best and most genuine. FULL STOP!

      Since you WILL be bleaching the entire hull – an absolute must, the blonde deck planking is achieved post-bleaching the way Chris-Craft did at the factory. Seal the surface with Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer – NOT THE CHEAP PRETENDERS, Then apply the first three coats using an amber varnish, followed by the final 17-20 using a clear varnish.
      Here is a link to our Materials and Sources Guide: https://snakemountainboatworks.com/materials-sources-for-vintage-wooden-boat-preservation/

      1. Thanks for the info. What thickness should the topside planks be? And the minimum to see what I can salvage of the original planks?
        I was not going to use a ply Luan on the boat at all. I’ll stick with the lighter colored Mahogany from the boards.
        Thanks again.

  3. Hi Mke,
    I want to use the Smith’s CPE/THIXOflex system you suggest. The hull planking is in excellent shape but the gaps are on the larger size (approx 1/8″) and there are voids underneath the hull planking. Will the THXIOflex sag? Should I build up on the sdies 1st? Do you ever need to put on a second course of THXIO?

  4. On your finishing sequence page you have:
    Hull exterior above boot stripe – hullsides, transom, decks and covering boards
    1. Strip all surfaces to bare wood
    2. Execute repairs as needed
    3. Sand fair to 80 grit
    4. Bleach – soak for 12 hours using Daly’s A & B Bleach for 12 hours
    5. Stain using J’eld stain from
    • Lake Oswego Boat Co.
    • Wood Kote J’eld stain
    6. Seal with three to four full coats of Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES)
    7. Scuff sand using medium Scotch Brite pads
    8. Clean surface with Acetone
    9. Varnish with Pettit Z Spar Flagship Varnish – High Build
    10. Build to 20 coats sanding at appropriate intervals with ever-finer grits
    11. Pay seams with white Sikaflex 295 UV
    12. Apply 5 additional coats of Pettit Z Spar Captain’s Varnish Ultra Clear 2067
    My questions are: What would you place between the seams on the hullsides and would the instalation be different if a plank was being replaced vs. done in place? And where in the above sequence would that be done?
    Great site. I’ve learned so much. Thanks

    1. It depends.
      We never try to fill seams on a varnished, carvel-planked hull. Anything used to pay gapped seams will work its way out during the annual boating-storage cycle until you have visible ribbons of whatever you used standing proud of the planks.
      Instead, our first strategy, after stripping to absolutely bare wood, involves soaking the hull using a garden hose and wrapping it with cheap 9×12 plastic drop clothes so the wood swells. This process of wetting and wrapping is repeated every two days for two weeks, hoping that the swelling closes the seams.
      If noticeable gaps remain, you either live with them or remove all the planks and restack them starting at the gunwale and working down, which is a terrible job. You end up with a gap that will be wider than the chine plank, so that one must be replaced. (Bed the planks in Sikaflex or 5200.)
      On painted lapstrake hulls, we pay the strake overlap seams with TotalBoat Thixo Flex, leaving only the tiniest amount of material in the seams.

  5. I have I 1963 IHI craft. Built in Japan. I restored two winters ago. Beautiful but not much info available. Didn’t know if you have any info. I follow you on YouTube and what I have learned is unbelievable. I also have a 67 century Sabre I restored and have recently acquired a 1963 16 ft penn yan to save in rough shape. Penn yan info would be greatly appreciated. If I can figure out how to send pictures I will. Look forward to hearing from you. There are no other IhI crafts registered with ACBS besides mine. I can be contacted at 1781 706 3987. Or my email. Thanks. Good by for now.

    1. Thank you, Tom. I’d love to see photos, especially of the vessel built in Japan. – Michael

  6. Dear Snake Mountain,
    In regards to using Sikaflex for the bedding in your video for the deck . I went Jamestown Distributors and noticed that there are more than one Sikaflex product. Which one were you using ?
    Thanks
    Mike

  7. I have watched many of your videos thank you for making them.
    I am rebuilding my 1956 CC Utility CC-17-2484 with a 3M5200 bottom, and replacing all of the topsides and deck boards. I did not save my water line marks. Is it possible for you to give me the measurements at the front and rear?
    I see that you have just put a new bottom on the same kind of boat that I have.
    Thank you
    Bob way

  8. I’m confused. I’m redoing the bottom of my 15 foot Lyman. It needs a strake section replaced as well. My question is do you use 5200 between the strake as one of your videos shows or did you switch to thixso. You said someplace to never use 5200 as it dries hard and warps the strake. Thanks . Your website is a godsend as I’m a total amateur.

    1. We use Thixo Flex now … It was not available until 2019, so 5200 was our only option. – MC

    2. Thank you so much. Also, if my strakes have surface cracks or checking can I just coat them with the 3M filler? I’ve noticed a lot of the boats you work on seem to be almost completely coated in the filler.

      1. Sorry … I misunderstood your initial question. Yes, 3M Marine Premium Filler is correct for this application. After stripping to bare wood, sand with 80-grit, seal with three coats of Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer and reach for the 3M. Do not mix more than about a large golf ball or very small lemon at one time.

        1. Hi Mike, so you would not apply epoxy (like a THIXO) to a crack in a hull plank either before or after useing CPE?
          I was thinking 3M Premium Filler for gouges and THIXO for cracks/splits?

  9. Shrink wrapping a wood hull is like putting a plastic bag over your head and hoping you do not suffocate, or worse. The super-hot heat gun used will burn the varnish and paint, and likely the wood as well. We’ve been confronted by multiple owners with “charoalized” topsides, two were so bad we had to do wholesale plank replacements.

    Buy a good custom-built cover!

  10. TALKED TO YOU ON THE PHONE YESTERDAY REGARDING MY 1955 MERCURY BOAT AND HOW YOU MADE YELLOW CAULK. HAVING PROBLEMS SENDING YOU PHOTOS TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. PLEASE ADVISE

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