An old pond yacht

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Waiting for the paint to dry on my Ardent I needed something else to do! so the next project was brought out from the corner of the dining room.

It's my friend from Boston's pond yacht that he built when he was 12 years old, over 50 years ago, he sailed it for about 3 years both on a local pond and on the open sea, often having to have it retrieved by a local fisherman when he couldn't keep up with it in his rowing boat! At that time he was at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight

After that it laid in various sheds and garages until this year when he brought it to me to see if I could do any thing with it, so here goes.

The keel has parted from the hull along one of the joints, it is built on the bread and butter principal.

The inside of the hull was coated in a layer of cascamite glue and has gone brittle and crazed.

The bow has also split open.

After a morning spent with a chisel all the old cascamite has been removed, the fact that it had crazed allowed me to flick each piece away from the wood quite easily, it just took time.

The split at the bow can now be seen, I will fill it with epoxy glue and clamp it together again.

#

When I was removing the cascamite I uncovered this block of filler, with a corresponding mark on the outside of the hull, he must have broken through when he was carving out the inside.

The filler showing on the outside of the hull.

With the years of accumulated muck and dust sanded off and the joint line cleaned back to the wood it looks like the keel will fit back on quite nicely.

I intend to fit some frames inside the hull to help take the weight of the keel, it weighs 10lbs. I will also treat the inside with a coat of epoxy resin and glass fibre to reinforce the whole thing.

The outside of the hull I am not too sure about yet, so any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Oh I almost forgot, it is 36 inches long with a beam of 8 inches.

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Re-furbishing my friends old pond yacht

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie

West Epoxy resin is great stuff for just painting on wood for waterproofing, and with micro balloons or micro fibres mix's into a paste which would be great glue for re-attaching the keel, It sticks like **** to the blanket ! the external hull would be ideal for lightweight glass cloth normally used for skinning RC aeroplane wings, If you have a look at my album photos, I've used this technique for HMS Diamond destroyer and Cullamix tug. Graham at Bucks Composites can supply all you need, as we have said as soon as you start using fullsize boating materials the price goes up 30% !! I do buy West resins and hardeners from Axminster Tools, that being said it is the best.

Best Regards Ray

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 08/03/2018 09:18:23

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Thanks Ray, I can always rely on you to either confirm my own thoughts or to come up with some new ones, at least new to me.

We do have Nexus model supplies 10 miles down the road from me, at Northampton, and they supply both the epoxy resin and the micro balloons, I used that on the hull of the second yacht that I built, I found it much easier to apply than the polyester resin that I used on the first hull, it doesn't go off so quickly.

Many thanks for your help I now know that I am on the right lines!

Eddie

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

The joint at the bow glued and clamped together.

The next job was to make the card patterns for the formers, it was not possible to get a close fit all around the inside of the hull due to the uneven surface, the resin and glass fibre will, I hope, make up any gaps.

The cardboard formers have been drawn around onto 4mm. ply, you can see the irregular shape of the hull.

A dry fit of the formers and deck stringers, my friend wants me to fit radio control,( he is now too old to dash around the pond to stop it from crashing into the other side!) So it will need two or three hatches to access the insides when finished.

The missing extension to the top of the bow was missing, a new piece was cut from a soft wood shelf from our friends at B&Q. It has been fixed with epoxy and is now ready to shape and fair into the deck and hull.

I had better get back to the boat house now and get some of that work done!

I must point out that the magazine that the hull is on is not my usual reading, it was left by my Broadstairs friends when they last visited!

Eddie

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

The keel has now been re-united with the hull.

The keel from the inside showing 2 large coach screws and 2 brass wood screws holding the keel to its plank.

Two of the frames will span this bottom plank to spread the weight of the .keel up into the hull.

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Taking advantage of a bit of sunshine I was able to continue with my friends pond yacht, I have know strengthened the inside of the hull with glass fibre tissue and resin. fixing the frames in place at the same time, I put four layers of tissue in the bottom to firmly fix the keel to the rest of the hull.

The next job was the outside of the hull, I tried using the same glass tissue but it was not flexible enough to conform to the hull shape, so that had to come off before the resin had set.

The next attempt was with epoxy resin filled with micro balloons, and this has worked quite well, I suppose I could have used a pair of old tights but in my present circumstances I do not have access to them.

Now its on to painting, filling, rubbing down and more paint, up to maybe twelve coats of undercoat before the surface will be suitable for the top coat. I am using a water based acrylic that dries very quickly and so I can get two or maybe three coats put on in one day.

Eddie.

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

Hi Eddie
​Might be too late this time but if the glass tissue won't wrap around in one go you can always cut a few slits and overlap the material. If it really is tissue, the thickness at the overlaps can be blended out easily. Also there are plenty of lightweight glass cloths that allow the material to drape over quite tight curves. One of the classic demos was to mould a top hat with a single uncut layer.
​I am slightly concerned about your epoxy and micro balloons as it will have no strength in tension. I see that the construction is "bread and butter" and if the wood swell through moisture getting in through the tiniest of holes it is likely to crack the filler and possibly the paintwork as well.
​Sheathing is always going to give the most stable surface and the best result.
​Tim

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Tim thank you or your comments, the only tissue I could get locally was much too stiff and even though I slit it as you suggested it still popped out straight again.The first little yacht that I made last year was covered in resin and a very flexible tissue and went on with no trouble at all, the best is the fact that I worked for a company that was one of the leaders in GRP resin manufacture and I would then have had a choice glass from the R&D dept..

Although the boat will be finished for sailing I doubt if it will see much water, I think it is more nostalgia than anything else.

Eddie.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie,

The lightweight glass cloth for model aircraft wings is brilliant stuff, it will lay over compound curves as used on my recent Cullamix tug build, which I'm just in the process of ballasting with 20 lbs of lead & old CI castings to get her in the water

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I agree with Ray here, that very light cloth wraps around curves like a bodice on Mae West…

​Ashley

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Blimey Eddie, that Workmate has seen some action!

I've got one of the earlier very heavy ones and a more recent lighter one that I use for model building. Have had them for years and seen a lot of use as regards DiY but they are in very good nick still with only a few errant saw cuts etc.

Brother-in-law has one but he has left it outside and the top has delaminated. Could be replaced though.

Chris

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

I now realise I should have come to you before I attempted this particular job, hey ho.

I have had that workmate for over twenty years now and it wasn't new then!

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Ardent is nearly finished, I am just waiting for a few more fittings to arrive then I can finish rigging her.

In the meantime I put the old pond yacht on the water to check the water line and found there was only 1 1/2" of freeboard, so after some discussion with my friend we decided to try and reduce the weight of the keel, it weighed 10 ibs. After attacking it with a 1 /1/2" tank cutter I found that it was solid lead from about 3/4 of the way down and 1" thick in the centre, the nine holes cut out resulted in a reduction of around 3 lbs.

The holes have now been filled with a polyester based wood filler and is now ready for painting and the final filling of any small holes etc.The freeboard is now 2" and she sits much better in the water.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

The hull has now had several cots of primer/ undercoat and three coats of craftmaster paints top coat, now I can get on with fitting it out with the radio gear before I fit the deck.

All the deck beams, ready for the coming to fit the hatches to and the support for the mast have been fitted.

I now only have to fit the tube to take the sail sheeting above deck and then the deck can go on.

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

The radio gear has all been fitted and the tube for the sail winch line, which will be bent over to take the sheet forwards above deck attached to an elastic thread to maintain tension.

The deck has now been added, fixed with epoxy glue and held down with whatever I had available!

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

No, not my new Christmas decorations, just a handy place to hang the mast and booms whilst the varnish drys.

Eddie

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

You are all too late in suggesting my new project, my friend with the old pond yacht has acquired another for me to re-ferb.. Can anyone throw any light on how old it might be or the design? the hull looks in good order and well made, but it might have had some work done on the deck as there are some X head screws in there.

Not holding my breath.

Eddie.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie

You are certainly steaming through the projects, maybe your friends latest hull is really old with only really a trim tab on that small skeg, should be a free runner or vane steering ?

Regards Ray

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi Ray Yes I do need to slow down, I'm running out of space in the dining room! Thanks for your thoughts on this boat, I think the rudder may have had a rubber band or some such to hold it central and then a couple of lines off one of the sails to correct any deviation from the set course?

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Nearly finished, the hatches need painting and the sail sheets need to be fixed and cut to length, as the radio gear has to be returned because there is a fault on channel 3 on the transmitter, I will finish setting the sails when I get the new radio.

Eddie.

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

The re-furb is now finished I have added a couple of 'go faster' stripes to the hull, when the new radio gear arrives she is ready for the water.

I hope my friend approves of the name, Wendy was a dear friend and Ventnor was where the boat was built and first sailed over 50 years ago.

Eddie

Edited By Eddie Lancaster on 12/05/2018 13:48:31

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Just got back from a days yachting, took the pond yacht for it's first sea trials, rather mixed results, with a stiff breeze blowing straight up the lake I found it difficult to control, the sails were taking over all the time,bringing it up into wind, after playing around with the mast position, the mast step is 3" long, I found that with the mast right at the front of the step and with a bit more rudder throw I had more control.

Perhaps with a larger rudder to overcome the long keel of a pond yacht, I might get even better control? any thoughts from anyone would be gratefully received.

Sorry Richard there are no photo's yet, I couldn't take my hands off the transmitter for long enough to take any!

Eddie

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Eddie,

You have brought her back to life but as a vane controlled yacht that very long keel is great for going straight, but I suspect not made for turning corners ! Maybe just over powered ?

Regards Ray

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 24/05/2018 22:26:11

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ray, I can always rely on you to come come up with ideas, suggestions etc. all gratefully received.

When I said a stiff breeze it was 20 mph! I will try her again when the winds are lighter, and you could be right about being over powered in those conditions as I have put the same size sails on as the Ardent as I had nothing else to go on.

Regards

Eddie.

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