BYYB Forums

I towed home the Weekender Barry Pyeatt was building, and finally got to have a closer look at the boat. Here's some pictures of the boat on route to Edmonton Alberta Canada. I appears to have some damage from water that I'll be looking after in the next couple of weeks, plus finishing the rigging, applying some fresh paint and finishing the rudder. I'm very happy with the boat and look forward to having a closer inspection once I get it to my garage. I will post additional pictures of the areas that will need attention and hope I can get some help from forum members. This is my first wooden boat and I will have lots of questions.

Leaving Chilliwack BC where the boat was stored for 5 weeks after purchasing it from Barry's son Brian.



Arriving in Jasper National Park




Leaving the Rocky Mountains 



Driving through rain



Arriving at my garage






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Wow, she looks a lot like Duckie.  I don't know if you noticed, but weekenders make great campers on the road. I spent three weeks on the road down south, spending most of the nights in the boat.  Weekenders are exactly  the boat you want for the kind of tripping you are contemplating.  I have considered crossing the country with mine just to get out of the house. 

Now that you have her out of the weather, let her dry out all the way.  Check for rot after that, and if there is none, Seal every little spot that isn't water tight no matter how small or hard to get at.  I am painting my canoe yawl right now so I am right in the middle of that process now.  It is fussy,  but it will pay off in the long run.

Here's an example of what I am talking about.  This is Duckie on the beach at the Gulf of Mexico. 
Al

(05-11-2018, 03:14 AM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]Wow, she looks a lot like Duckie.  I don't know if you noticed, but weekenders make great campers on the road. I spent three weeks on the road down south, spending most of the nights in the boat.  Weekenders are exactly  the boat you want for the kind of tripping you are contemplating.  I have considered crossing the country with mine just to get out of the house. 

Now that you have her out of the weather, let her dry out all the way.  Check for rot after that, and if there is none, Seal every little spot that isn't water tight no matter how small or hard to get at.  I am painting my canoe yawl right now so I am right in the middle of that process now.  It is fussy,  but it will pay off in the long run.

Here's an example of what I am talking about.  This is Duckie on the beach at the Gulf of Mexico. 
Al

They are very similar Al!
There is a film of mildew covering the interior. After cleaning it up I'll lay in the caddy and see how it fits me.

After that I'll, dry it out and check for rot as you suggest. I'd like to change from steering wheel to a rudder handle arrangement like you have on your boat. Barry was going to do this change anyway and has the rudder handle completed. Not much work for me to do the conversion I think.

When you make that change to a tiller, make sure you seal the lazarette  water tight so that all of the area around the cockpit can be made into floatation.  If you go over, all that floatation will be a big help in a knockdown.  If you are really going to travel with your weekender, and are willing to make a somewhat larger modification, I highly recommend you add a bridge deck.  You just can't have too much storage available in the cockpit.  Mine made all the difference when I was able to make my cabin  box into my pantry.  Also, it makes a wonderful recliner to sit on in the evening.

I saw from the pics that Spirit Wind is the one with the grate for crawling out on to the bow sprit.  I really don't recommend it.  Especially if you are my size.  You will find yourself just above he water with your stern up in the air, in a very unstable position to be in. And it is very unhealthy for your outboard if it is running with everything up in the air.  Try it.  I think you will see what I mean.  Don't throw it away though.  I think you are going to be well received at any boat show you care to enter, especially with everything that Barry added to his boat. 

Do as good a job of refitting and painting her as you can and you too can be bothered by everybody at the landing when you are trying to hook up. 

I'm not kidding around when I say you are getting into a fun little boat. 

Al

I am  so glad you are finishing up Spirit Wind. Barry was a friend of mine and we sailed together a number times. My wife and I visited him On Whidbey Island to see his boat under construction. We compared notes often while I was building my Weekender Island Girl. Wish you weren’t so far away, it would be fun to see his project finally completed!

Joel

(05-12-2018, 11:20 AM)Joel Sacho Wrote: [ -> ]I am  so glade you are finishing up Spirit Wind. Barry was a friend of mine and we sailed together a number times. My wife and I visited him On Whidbey Island to see his boat under construction. We compared notes often while I was building my Weekender Island Girl. Wish you weren’t so far away, it would be fun to see his project finally completed!

Joel

Joel, I'll do my best to get Spirit Wind sailing this summer, but I have to preface that with a learning curve that I see is going to slow me down. My plan for this summer is to repair the areas that need repair then get the boat in the water and learn how it behaves. This winter I'll do more in-depth detailing.

I noticed there are lots of cracks in the fibreglass where it is used to join plywood panels. Some have let in water  and have penetrated the plywood. Nothing that required replacement that I can see. Here's some pictures of the roof over the cabin. It looks like the plywood has swollen enough times to cause the fibreglass (or some type of matting) to crack. I was going to use a syringe to shoot some epoxy into the cracks to penetrate the wood then use epoxy with some faring compound to fill in the larger gaps. Is this a good practice or should I just use a marine grade polyurethane sealer like Sikaflex 5200? 









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If you want to sail her this summer, dry her out and keep her dry by keeping her indoors unless in the water.  Patch any suspicious places that could sink below the waterline with whatever will keep water out just temporarily. I don't know what that would be, but there must be something.  Any more water exposure will be bad.  It looks like the end grain wasn't sealed well enough for continuous  weather exposure.  That  may not have gotten too deep, but I wouldn't push it. 

If it were me, when I got serious I would take all the stuff that is attached to the roof off and sand all the paint, but not the fiberglass off of it.  That will expose any hiding problems.  You are going to repaint the roof judging from the pics, so it won't slow you down, and you will get a better overall idea of what kind of shape the wood is in.  You will also get a feeling for if there might be any de-laminations. 

I'm rigging Duckie today and in the process, I am making up a list of things that need attention and putting them in order of importance.  You could do the same, while you get familiar with the rig.  Use all new rope.  It isn't that expensive, so I do most of mine new every spring.  This year I re-rigged my jib with a Gerr downhaul.  I don't use the clubfoot so it works like a charm. 

Take you time and don't be afraid to get a little aggressive, but be careful.

Al

That looks like something I haven't seen in a long time. Since moving to Florida in the 80's I've avoided this issue, but it looks like freeze/thaw cycling. If there's a little bit of moisture in something and it freezes, it expands, then it thaws out and it contracts. Eventually, glue lines and joints can't tolerate this movement and things pop open.

Dry it out (good) and try to squirt some epoxy into the cracks and gaps. Be neat about it, as it'll drip and run on vertical surfaces. Use some temporary nails or screws to hold things in proper alignment, while the goo is curing. When it's cured, pack with putty, sand and paint as usual, after filling temporary fastener holes.

Lastly just fix what you have to fix, don't make more work for yourself. By this I mean you don't have to remove all the paint on a cabin top, just to fix a bad edge. Feather the paint back and make the repair. You can repaint the whole area or just do some touch ups, until you're ready to do some wholesale areas for refinishing.

(05-14-2018, 12:55 PM)Al Stead Wrote: [ -> ]If you want to sail her this summer, dry her out and keep her dry by keeping her indoors unless in the water.  Patch any suspicious places that could sink below the waterline with whatever will keep water out just temporarily. I don't know what that would be, but there must be something.  Any more water exposure will be bad.  It looks like the end grain wasn't sealed well enough for continuous  weather exposure.  That  may not have gotten too deep, but I wouldn't push it. 

If it were me, when I got serious I would take all the stuff that is attached to the roof off and sand all the paint, but not the fiberglass off of it.  That will expose any hiding problems.  You are going to repaint the roof judging from the pics, so it won't slow you down, and you will get a better overall idea of what kind of shape the wood is in.  You will also get a feeling for if there might be any de-laminations. 

I'm rigging Duckie today and in the process, I am making up a list of things that need attention and putting them in order of importance.  You could do the same, while you get familiar with the rig.  Use all new rope.  It isn't that expensive, so I do most of mine new every spring.  This year I re-rigged my jib with a Gerr downhaul.  I don't use the clubfoot so it works like a charm. 

Take you time and don't be afraid to get a little aggressive, but be careful.

Al

I intend to paint the cabin top and seal the edges both top and botton (where it joins the deck). Looks like there was some cracking and seepage there too. Nothing major. The ropes look new. They don't seem to be exposed to UV and they have never been used. As per your suggestion I will start making my list tomorrow. 

Thanks Al