Take a seat

Marvellous! a day without rain - the perfect opportunity to get the rest of the major 'carpentry' out of the way. A decision was made to have all four seats facing forward, so a 'podium' for the rear seats was constructed.

This will take a pair of the readily available 'Plastimo' seats in white vinyl. They fold forward allowing easy access to fuel etc.

Front seating has yet to be finalised - so it's down to keeping an eye on ebay and trawling round a few boat-jumbles for inspiration. The old moulded supports for the front seating were also enclosed, providing a solid platform on which to mount the seats - all looking a lot tidier now.

One thing that has caused some head scratching is the way all these seats seem to be mounted. Typically, they are bolted through from the underneath, so if I fix all the top surfaces in place there's no way to get the seat attached - hmmm...

A thing of beauty...

Well, sometimes it's good to plan ahead and when this 6" Cleat turned up on ebay how could I resist?

From a classic sixties Chris-Craft, it has now found it's way from Florida to Sussex - just a little more work to do before the final fitting!

Bilge, buoyancy and the back end...

The Broom has a sealed floor, the void between that and the hull acting as a buoyancy tank. On my example this had a large hole hacked into it allowing water into the void.

I'm not sure why this was done, but I imagine if the boat was subject to a lot of 'incoming' the occupants might end up with wet feet. I decided to re-instate the buoyancy tank and filled the hole with epoxied marine ply, which was then faired in and finally sealed with glass tape. Various other holes in this area were also given the same treatment.

Whilst rummaging around under here it was time to inspect the transom more closely. Having restored two boats of similar age and construction, I'm very aware that transoms are always the weak area, replacement being a major job. Plenty of stabbing and probing with a screwdriver revealed the wood seemed to be quite sound - apart from a little 'softening' around the engine-well drain. There were no signs of flexing or cracking so I made a decision to 'go with it'. I did take the opportunity to strengthen the inside of the transom with 12mm marine ply, epoxied, screwed and glassed in place. The screws bit hard and deep - which was a good sign! I'll be fabricating a new stainless transom plate for the outside of the hull and an additional plate for the engine-well to provide even greater strength. Half a pot of Danboline bilge paint was discovered amongst the rusty paint tins in the shed, so after a quick clean and degrease this was duly applied.

This compartment (containing fuel, battery, bilge pump etc.) will ultimately be enclosed. I think the reason the transom was in fair condition is that this boat seems to have lived most of its life covered, on a trailer.

Rain Stops Play

Well, the wonderful British summer continues, so one of the 'indoor' jobs...

The original supports for the Bow Rails were found - again, looking a little the worst for wear. They'll soon be back to their original shape after a spot of dentistry:

Getting there...