Update

Its been a while since last posting. Well life certainly gets in the way sometimes (between personal life, teaching high school sailing, and work). I have acquired marine plywood for the repair to the bulkheads and stringers. Additionally I was offered a wooden c Scow mast, which i hope to pick up in the near future. I expect to get some work done on the boat later this week.

Perhaps we have a Blue Chip

A few days ago i was talking to an old friend that stopped by the shop. He said he has seen a few boats with the unique bilgeboard panels. He believes that it may be a blue chip c boat.

Oh she is so Rotten!

After a few weeks of bad (ie: four tornadoes touched down in Minneapolis last week and tons of rain) and dropping my brother off at college, i was able to get the rotten bulkheads cut out of the boat. I did notice some delamination of the stringers, which makes it all the better that i am attending to this structural work first. Here is a shot of the rot and delamination and a removed bulkhead separating the crew and skipper sides of the cockpit (which also provides support for a mid-cockpit traveller).

Also as promised, i have a picture of the polished rudder, not like the new anodized Melges rudders. Although i have a feeling that i could either anodize this one, or just keep up on the keeping the rudder clean.

Hopefully progress will pick up on the boat as i continue to remove deck hardware and complete the structural work. Although conventionally, one would do these processes one at a time, by staging multiple projects at the same time, I am able to complete tasks as my time allows and furthermore i am not hindered by waiting for part shipments. After i complete removal of hardware and the bulkhead repair, i will be focusing on other structural enhancements such as the small Megles style stringers, and fixing the sloppy nonskid repair from the previous owners.

Rudder work

So rain plagued the early part of the week along with grinding paint off an old travelift. Progress on the boat has taken a temporary break. I was able to get the tiller sanded down and is looking ready for a coat of sikkens or varnish. I was also able to grind off several layers of bottom paint on the rudder. A messy but necessary job. Now the rudder is polished up and almost has a mirror finish. I will post pictures soon.

Removal Of Deck Hardware

Over the next few days I will be removing all of the deck hardware in order to correct the repairs made to the deck. Additionally the lines and hardware will be replaced as necessary with Harken parts. Additionally I will source a used new-style mast, boom, and sail. These items should be relatively easy to find here in scow country.

Unfortunately the last few days and today have been scattered showers and thunderstorms, which limits my progress significantly.

Upon removal of the mast step, it was noted that the screws holding the mast plate came out and revealed moisture in the core... a little bit of work that can be filled with West System. Still the hull and deck is in great shape otherwise.

The plan is to gelcoat the hull a dark blue and to paint the deck a sand (creamy brownish color) and paint the cockpit a light grey. A fair bit of work, but should turn out very nice.

A New Boat and A New Project

C Scow Restoration

On Wednesday I picked up a 1983 Melges C Scow. I had found out that the boat had been sitting in the woods for about four years and served as a YMCA Camp boat for a few years prior. As you can see she was quite dirty (even when stored under a cover), however the boat seems sound except for a couple stringers and a bulkhead. Those will be among the first few items I tackle on the boat.
The boat covered in leaves and dirt from several years of storage.
I will be updating my progress on the boat. Here she is after a quick power wash.