Anzac Weekend

Sanded....

....and primed.

   Got a bit done this weekend, things are starting to trundle along.  Firstly, the Parsons gearbox is definitely 1:1 as I'd hoped, and looks like it will mate directly to the 100E motor.  Am waiting on an oil pump so that the engine can come off the stand then we'll see.  The input shaft is pretty flogged, I might give the whole gearbox to Moon's or somewhere, as it's obviously done many hours and will have earnt a birthday.

Split cross-floor removed



Engine beds ousted!


   Yesterday finally got a coat of primer inside the aft section planking  and the area under the foredeck.  Then spent a couple of hours notching out four more cracked ribs aft.  This morning made oak patches for five sections and those are ready to go in.  Removed the 3rd floor (from aft) as it is split quite a way across, and removed the engine beds too.  These are the wrong profile, width, are notched over floors that will be removed (non original) and are not parallel!  Have tried unbolting these before, but as there's nothing to grip under the boat the whole bolt revolves and various brainwaves had all failed to produce a result, unless the result was turning the bolt... I finally realised that as the beds were to be scrapped, why was I trying to find a tidy solution when I could just butcher them and put vice grips on the bolt - voila!

O, for a Gearbox

The search for a suitable gearbox - preferably a Parsons as per original spec - has been ongoing since the decision was made to refit a Ford sidevalve motor instead of the Kubota diesel I had purchased.  I finally found one for sale in Whangerei (Mangapai, actually) and drove up today to collect it.  Unfortunately it is bolted onto a WaterMota Sea Panther diesel (converted from a Cortina 1600, apparently), and I had to buy the whole package.  The trip went smoothly enough, thanks to the use of a truck with a tailhoist on it!  The beast is now clogging up our carport, and the motor will have to be sold pronto.  I'll remove the gearbox tomorrow and hopefully post some pics.  Hopefully it a) mates to the Ford without too much drama, b) is 1:1 ratio, haven't been able to check....

Photos from Herbert

Had a visit from Herbert on Sunday (18/4), who brought a CD of pictures he'd taken during Jado's stem and plank surgery last October.

Ribs and Floors

Jacking starboard planks into line

After the summer break work began again in mid January. In preparation for patching some damaged ribs I bought a small 230mm Ryobi bandsaw, and was devastated when it wouldn't cut the white oak I had bought for the job, at least not with any accuracy. I suspected the blade, and as fate would have it broke the factory one very early on. A saw doctor recommended a coarser, wider (8mm) blade, and it was like having a different bandsaw! I also bought a fixed disc sander and drill press to help with this phase.

Jado was now in a cradle rather than on the trailer, keeping her plumb and straight so that some reconstructive surgery could take place. We had found a series of about five ribs, near the stern on the starboard side, all cracked at the turn of the bilge. This led to the planking developing a slight chine on this side. One by one the failed sections were removed, planks jacked into line, and new oak pieces scarfed in. The aft-most floor timber was also replaced with the original type and various small repairs done before the area could be primed.

Some decisions need to be made about the aft bulkhead, as what's there now appears to be much modified. However, I have no pictures of this part of the boat before her Fishing Machine days. It looks as though there was no aft seat, only side seats with the fuel tank under the starboard one. The empty space under the aft deck was then storage space, and the bulkhead fitted with cupboard doors. What was there originally?

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back...

By this time the original master plan had been revised umpteen times, and every bit of progress had been countermanded in some way. The most frustrating issues were with the repairs made by Peter Murton, both before and after I bought Jado. I began to think of him as the Jekyll and Hyde boat builder. Here's a summary of work that he did:

- Remove, repair and replace stem. Not a job for the faint hearted, unfortunately the old stem was so past it I can't believe it was ever re-installed. This and lots of brass screws!

- Replace damaged floor timbers x 3: Peter made wonderful laminated kauri floors and fitted them. Unfortunately he used rubbishy stainless screws, and a few brass ones, to fasten them through the planking. Plus the low profile of these timbers will not support the floorboards, so they will have to come out and the correct type fabricated.

- Build and galvanise trailer. A very nice trailer it is, too, unfortunately the axle had evaded the galvanising process somehow, the trailer had to be dismantled for this.

- Install engine beds. The originals had been chopped out as can be seen in the first post, presumably to give access for some other repair. Peter's new ones were nothing like these, and will be removed and replaced.

- Replace 7 ribs. Actually I can't fault this, apart from the fact that there were many more ribs needing attention.  [As it turns out, the one-piece originals were replaced with two-piece ones, butt joined in the centre.  I have scarfed in joints over the keelson to strengthen this area, as there isn't much support from the cross floors here.]

- Seat Risers. Again the originals sucumbed to the prybar and hammer to give access for rib replacement. New ones were made, but they don't accurately follow the shape of the originals and will be replaced.

Summer Holidays

Over the Xmas and summer period work took precedence and very little progress was made. However, I was able to buy some fittings to put aside for a later date, including engine mounts.

I had been contemplating what to do about fuel tanks. The originals were twin copper ones, under the aft deck either side of the rudder post. Whether they developed problems, who knows, but possibly with the conversion to diesel in the 80's these tanks were removed and a single stainless one fitted under the starboard side seat. I was not looking forward to costing up new copper jobs, but spotted a twin pair online in November and bought them for $200.00. The size is right - Jim remembers the capacity as 12 gallons, these are about 50 litres each - and the proportions are almost perfect. I had them freighted to Auckland and took them to a metal dippers on Rosebank Rd to have them cleaned out. On completion I got the call. Good news, they didn't leak. Bad news, they are mild steel with copper plating, which is no more. Aagh! Off to an electroplaters to enquire about copper plating - maybe it would've been cheaper to make new ones after all. The guy looked at them, then pulled out a scotch pad and buffed a small patch. Underneath the grey etch finish: beautiful, shiny copper!

A New Nose

On November 6th I collected Jado, upright once more, from Herbert's shop. Essentially the first four inches of boat had been replaced - the outer stem, leading edges of all the planks, and the first few feet of both garboard planks. It made a huge difference and was definitely money well spent.