boat owner

A new bung fitting in the transom improved the boat’s seaworthiness

hull came away significantly at the
top – clearly the old bulkhead had
been partially responsible for
maintaining the hull shape. To
resolve this, we ran a lashing
around the boat to pull the sides
of the hull in to the bulkhead, then
used a dummy stick to transfer
the hull form to the plywood. A
few tweaks with the jigsaw and
a block plane gave us an
adequate fit to the hull.
We put the new bulkhead in
place with the hull held to shape
with a lashing. We then bonded
the plywood in to the hull using
wide glassfibre tape wetted out
with epoxy, and left it to set.
Once cured, we trimmed the top
to shape, cut a circular aperture to
fit a standard dinghy watertight
hatch and made a drainage hole
for a bung at the bottom. We then
made a centre support for the
foredeck using a length of studding
softwood and refitted a length of
the original hardwood to support it.

New gunwales

To replace the inner and outer

gunwales, we opted to use treated

softwood. Although not as durable

as hardwood, pressure-treated

softwood is cheap, lasts

reasonably well and, in this

case, is easily replaced.

We were able to buy the timber

in 4m lengths, saving the need to

scarf two pieces, but found that it

was not quite flexible enough to

bend around the forward part of

the hull. To solve this we built a

simple steam box using a metre

length of drainpipe, insulated with

an old curtain and with a wallpaper

stripper steamer inserted into the

bottom of the pipe.

Prior to steaming, we stepped

the forward ends of the inner

gunwales by 6mm to allow for

the foredeck. We then rigged our

steamer around an inner and outer

gunwale pair, aligned with the

Budget dinghy repairs

Conclusion

using clamps to hold the inner and

outer gunwales in alignment, we

screwed the two lengths together.

Once in place, we trimmed the

ends flush at the transom and

shaped them at the bow.

Replacing the deck

We took the easiest option to gain

the shape of the foredeck, placing

the sheet of 6mm plywood over

the top and drawing around the

gunwales. Allowing a 20mm

margin for the outer gunwale,

we cut it out and offered it up to

find it fitted adequately well.

To proof the timber against rot we

gave the new bulkhead, deck and

supports a coat of unthickened

epoxy before screwing the deck

into position and filling any gaps

with thickened epoxy.

Once complete, we gave the

whole lot a coat of Sandtex

textured masonry paint, left in

stock from a non-slip paints test.

O

ur aim was to get the dinghy afloat for minimum expense

of time and money, whilst doing so well enough that we

wouldn’t need to do it again every time we use the boat.

Everything worked well, with the exception of the Sandtex paint

which started coming off when scuffed around by feet and seawater,

leaving a milky residue. We were particularly pleased with how easily

the gunwales bent into place once we had steamed them.

We now have a useful, stable and seaworthy dinghy – apart

from the seven large holes we drilled for the transducers!

New foredeck spine in CLS softwood – we coated it with epoxy to prevent
it from rotting. Note the new gunwales, steaming in the curtain (top right)

Out on the water, testing forward

sonar units (PBO March 2016)

Clamping the

freshly-steamed

gunwales in place

before screwing

through to fix them

section of maximum bend.

As a rule of thumb, timber takes

about an hour per inch thickness

in the steam box to become

flexible. We withdrew the timber

after 40 minutes and found it bent

easily around the hull. Working as

quickly as possible down the hull,