How to Address Vintage Boat Structural Issues

Vintage Boat Preservation How-To

No matter how diligent we might be, at least some part of the wood in your boat will rot at some time. Fabricating a new bottom typically means replacing both the inner skin and external planks. Working on your boat’s bottom means first flipping her. Just dropping your inboard engine onto its mounts and bolting it down does not align it with the drive line.

Preservation often means releasing the keel, gripe, stem, planking and frames.

These are but some of the topics this section covers.

Sadly, Don Danenberg, North America’s foremost wooden boat restorer, has retired. Happily, however he is still writing and has just published what I consider is the seminal article on repairing antique and classic wooden boats’ bottom frames. The piece, entitled simply, “Bottom Frame Repair,” appears in the new issue of Classic Boating, November / December 2021, and is a must read for novices and experts alike (click here to read the article).

1947 Higgins Speedster Bottom Transom Framing & Toothpicking

I know. I know. She looks even worse, but she is not. Indeed, with Joe ...
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1948 18-foot Century Seamaid Preservation

We’ve continued focusing on Songbird’s bottom planking, all of which is no released and none ...
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1948 Century Seamaid Preservation Bondo Gone

The mystery gets curiouser and curiouser! Why in God’s name would anyone choose to slather ...
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1948 Century Sea Maid Replacing Bottom Frames & Bow

Songbird is on her way back. Rick has roughed in what will become a solid ...
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1948 Century Seamaid Bottom Frames & Bow

Our 1948 18-foot Century Seamaid is well on her way to having a virtually all-new ...
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1948 Century Sea Maid Bottom Time To Skin

It is time to apply the inner skin and outer planks on our 1948 18-Ft ...
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1950 Chris Craft Riviera 5200 Bottom Update

Our 1950 18’ Chris-Craft Riviera’s new True 5200 bottom has passed a major milestone with ...
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1948 Century Seamaid Bottom Disaster Update

Oh my lord! Some weeks back I shared our first two-boat intake video – two ...
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1956 Chris Craft Capri Bullnose & The Art of Toothpicking

As is so often the case with antique and classic wooden boat preservation, vessels tend ...
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1956 Chris Craft Capri 19′ – How We Do Bottom Work

Here is what is involved when we do bottom work to repair or replace a ...
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1956 Chris Craft Capri Foredeck Repair

Shoddy butchers is the nicest thing I can say about the crew who raped the ...
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1947 Chris Craft U22 Bottom Damage Quandry

This video is prompted by a comment from Mike Erstad on our last video, the ...
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1947 Chris Craft U22 Chine Frame Damage

With her bottom completely stripped and cleaned, we gained a clearer view of the frame ...
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1947 Chris Craft Cedar Plank U22 Hull Damage

As introduced in her last video, this 1947 cedar-planked U22 ran hard aground last fall ...
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1954 Penn Yan Captivator Aristocrat: How to replace the Transom

We are almost there. Beginning with two raw boards yesterday morning, Joe and RJ have ...
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1954 Penn Yan Captivator Aristocrat: How to Fabricate a new Transom

Happily for her and her owner, we have been saving the last Pattern Grade Honduran ...
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1954 Penn Yan Captivator Aristocrat Releasing the Transom (pt 2)

Part II continues chronicling our woeful discoveries. Not only were our worst fears, implicitly expressed ...
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1954 Penn Yan Captivator Aristocrat: How to Release the Transom

With the keel, outer stem and splash rails released, and having cleaned all of the ...
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1957 Lyman Runabout Decking Time

We’ve just begun, but even laying the ribbon-cut mahogany foredeck panels in place foreshadows just ...
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1957 Lyman Runabout How to Mock Up Helm Station Seating

Our 1957 23’ Lyman Runabout’s owners asked us to replace the unworkable, basic helm station ...
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1957 Lyman Runabout: How to Fabricate and Install Ceilings

Ceilings – hull-side mahogany planking – and helm seating with a center pass-through and storage ...
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1959 Chris Craft 17′ Sportsman Engine Install Alignment is Cricital!!!

Frustration dominates the shop this afternoon. Why? Whoever last stuffed this 283 into her bilge ...
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1957 Lyman Runabout Paint & Stain Update

What a difference a bit of attention makes! She is sporting her red boot stripe.Her ...
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1957 Lyman Runabout Foredeck Off!

With only applying SANPACO Lyman Copper Bronze Antifouling paint to the jack stand paddle areas ...
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1940 16′ Lyman Yacht Tender Bottom Priming!

Susan, our 1940 16’, Cypress Lyman Yacht Tender’s bottom has reached a critical milestone. Reconstruction ...
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1940 Lyman 16′ Yacht Tender Keelson, Keel, Gripe & Knee Update

Our 1940 16’ Lyman Yacht Tender’s spine transplant is complete, and the patient is doing ...
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1940 16′ Lyman Yacht Tender Bottom Work & Keelson Replacement

John has fabricated and is now focused on installing the 1940 Lyman Yacht Tender’s new ...
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1940 Lyman Yacht Tender Gets a New Keelson

That we learn every day and with every boat we lays hands on makes wood ...
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1946 Chris Craft Brightside U22 Installing Her Splash Rails

Thank you for the several requests that we record how we install the splash rails ...
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1946 Chris Craft Mahogany U22 Bottom Planking Fabrication

Our 1946 Chris-Craft Mahogany (Brightside) U22 project enters the bottom planking fabrication stage today.We will ...
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1946 Chris Craft Brightside U22 Bottom Framing Update

By this time next week we should be fabricating and installing the inner layer of ...
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1959 Chris Craft 17′ Sportsman Transom Planking & Framing Update

Given the evidence that it has shrunk – a very wide seam between it and ...
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How To Replace a pre-1950 Lyman Plank Transom – Correctly

Ninnyfish, a 1949 13.5-foot Lyman Leader, came to us for a complete preservation. In the ...
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1946 Chris Craft U22 – How To Release the Keel

Fifteen bilge frames with one ¼” x 6” brass carriage bolt securing the keel to ...
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1946 Chris Craft U22 – How to Release the Gripe

And now to the gripe. As we released the keel from the gripe, we could ...
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How to Flip a 1946 Chris Craft Mahogany U22

If you remember the challenges we faced flipping my 22’ Shepherd runabout, you will understand ...
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1953 Shepherd Sportsman 110 S Fabricating a Stem Dutchman

The survey completed immediately after she was flipped made clear that the 1953 Shepherd Sportsman ...
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1953 Shepherd: How to Repair a Stem with a Dutchman (update II)

John continued fabricating two Dutchmen blanks for his stem repair, so here is an update ...
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1953 Shepherd: How to Repair a Stem with a Dutchman (update)

What a nice way to end the week! John has continued working on the Dutchman ...
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1953 Shepherd: How to use a Dutchman to Repair a Stem

Our January 24, 2015 workshop included a clinic led by John La Fountain on using ...
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How to Rout the Windshield Seal Dado Into a ’55 Lyman Windshield

Our attention turns to a task on the 1955 20' Lyman runabout that, in truth, ...
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How to Bore a New Prop Shaft Hole – 1946 Gar Wood Ensign

The original keel in this 1946 16' Gar Wood Ensign had failed completely as we ...
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1958 Cadillac Seville – Rub Rail Steam Bending

The forward section of the port rubrail just could not be saved. Here you will ...
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Excerpted from “Bottom Frame Repair,” Classic Boating, November / December 2021: