Refurbishing the
skiff
(^1)
This was the brutal
part: slicing the old
thwart into flapjack-width
chunks with a circular saw,
and then chipping out the
mushy timber with a mallet
and chisel.
4
The outboard well glued and clamped in place
using WEST System epoxy thickened with 403
microfibres for the glue (white in colour) and 405
powder for the fillets (red). No mechanical fastenings
were used.
7
The new plank sections were glued
with thickened epoxy. Not having
any deep-throated clamps, I used screws
and washers to hold the new sections in
place. The screw holes were filled later.
8
Once the epoxy had cured, I
removed the screws and washers,
then planed off the edges of the new
planking and sanded it all smooth with a
belt sander. Ruthless but effective.
2
After establishing the
centreline, I cut a hole
on the starboard side of the
line so the outboard would
clear the keel. The width of
the hole in the buoyancy
box was determined by the
diameter of the propeller,
and the length by the
size of the outboard’s
anti-cavitation plate – plus
some room for error!
(^5)
I next drilled a couple of pilot holes
from above and then cut out the
hole in the hull from underneath. The
cut-out made a blanking plate to close the
hole when the outboard was not in use.
(^3)
The plywood well,
loose-fitted through
the hole before glueing up.
Note the set square to
keep it all vertical, and the
rope used to establish the
centreline. The front end of
the well box was doubled
and a third layer added
after the thwart was fitted
to provide strength for the
outboard clamps.
(^6)
Rot in the ends of the thwarts had
spread to the adjoining planks, so
after chiselling out the rotten section I cut
a rectangular piece of planking (using the
scrap ply from the outboard well), marked
its outline on the hull then bevelled the
edges of the ply.
Note the end of
the thwart and
the lower plank
land visible
through the hole.
PRACTICAL
Step
by
step