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Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Framing, planking and fairing. Repair, or reconstruction. If it's hull related, you'll find it here.

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Moosemeat
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Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by Moosemeat » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:17 am

I finally decided to fix some proud bungs on my vessel. I was disgusted to see that whoever refastened the topside planks years ago, supposedly a "reputable" shop in the Lake Tahoe area, used some stainless steel fasteners, but mostly bugle head sheetrock screws! These things are the lowest form of life on the fastener food chain, cheap crap for $8.00 a ten pound box. They are a battle to remove and leave behind a nasty black stain. They are throughly rusted, and I'm doing more extraction drilling jobs than the average dentist.
What sort of moron would use these things on a boat? Was the attitude, "Oh , it's only a utility"? Was it done out of ignorance in the pre-Danenberg era?
Are boat shops still using these things? I've heard rumors that some still do.
Now I'm looking at new topside planks down the road thanks to some %$#@& whould thought he'd save a few beans on fasteners.
Does anyone know anything that will remove the black rust marks?
Time for a Schaffer beer, 'cause I'm having more than one. Remember that Troy?

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Captain Nemo
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by Captain Nemo » Tue Jun 27, 2017 3:39 pm

When I hear about stuff like this, I just feel sick. The $%^%#@$%%^& who did that needs to be dealt with harshly. Bleaching will make it less noticeable, that's about it.
"The one beer to have when you're having more than one". It's been awhile since I've heard that one :lol: . Do they still brew that stuff?
Last edited by Captain Nemo on Wed Jun 28, 2017 3:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Boats are to be made of wood, otherwise, God would have grown fiberglass trees.

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robertpaul
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by robertpaul » Tue Jun 27, 2017 5:02 pm

Would it be possible for you to provide a few pictures of this sacrilege and the resulting stain problem? I wonder if the invoice for the job included the cost of sb fasteners?
1937 35' Double Stateroom Enclosed Cruiser

Moosemeat
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by Moosemeat » Tue Jun 27, 2017 9:54 pm

The topsides were done long before I bought the boat. I don't think the folks who sold it to me had any idea about these fasteners. The corrosion shows up as either a pround bung or a blackening of the wood around the bung, like a miniature solar eclipse.
Shaeaffer Beer is now a division of Stroh's, but I never see it in stores here in PA where we have weird Soviet style liquor stores and Prohibition leftover rules.
I'll try the bleach thing. Thanks.

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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by jim g » Tue Jun 27, 2017 11:40 pm

A lot of boats were done like this until the economy crashed. Which is why a lot of restoration shops went under. They were charging about half to three quarters of what a quality restoration shop charged. I lost a lot of jobs to them. Which in the long run I was happy I did. As those owners were basing the whole job on just what it was going to cost and not the other factors like the materials going in it and the quality of the work.

The mention of drywall screws reminds of when I was living in Maine going to the Landing School. I went up to Brooklin Boat Yard with a couple of the other guys in my class who were looking for a job after we graduated. Steve White was showing us around and there was this big custom tugboat looking hull they had built. We all climbed up in it and he was showing us different parts that had challenged them when they were building it. I looked down in the hull and found several drywall screws. I jokingly asked him if they had used them in the construction of the hull. He looked at us and said we did on this hull. One of the other guys said but they will rust out in no time. Steve grinned and said the clint who commissioned hull was in the titanium business and that every nut, bolt, brace plates and even the drywall screws were made out of titanium. He said those were the best drywall screws ever made.

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Brian Robinson
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by Brian Robinson » Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:10 am

Pretty much everything you can think of has been tried on these boats in the past 80+ years of restoring them. Motor oil poured in the bilge to "preserve" the wood. Original bottoms skim coated in 5200 for a "5200 bottom". A friend in Minnesota removed a bottom on a 26' Hacker where a blue tarp was used as the water barrier between layers. Last year I removed a 35 year old epoxy bottom (one of the first that I know of) that was held on entirely with 16 penny steel construction nails, about a thousand of them. I have mixed feelings on that one, after all, it did last 35 years of continuous use!
-Brian
1923 Hackercraft 23' Dolphin #03
1938 Gar Wood 22' Streamliner #6256 Empress
1952 Chris~Craft 19' Racing Runabout #363 Thunderstruck
Robinson Restoration, LLC (760) 468-1009

jfrprops
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by jfrprops » Wed Jun 28, 2017 10:32 am

I can beat those:

I had a Century...which we ALL know needs a bottom from day two....that had the bottom clad in those FRP panels used for bathroom partitions....screwed on with a thousand tine brass screws and bedded and covered in west system goop.

The kicker:

That worked! added a bunch of weight ....not like the 16b nails...but some.....and that boat is still around and doing ok last I heard. whatever works is not a bad thing...if you just want to Go Boating and no Show boating.

John in Va.
1980 Fairchild Scout 30
19?? custom Argentine Runabout 16'
1954 Whirlwind deluxe dual ckpt 16'
1921 Old Town Charles River 17' (founding Captain, James River Batteau Festival)

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steve bunda
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Re: Awful Discovery, a Crappy 90's Restoration Job

Post by steve bunda » Wed Jun 28, 2017 7:11 pm

I can beat that crappy job, had a 19 foot barrel come in for a bottom. Boat had dry wall screws added next to the original brass screws . All fasteners were disintegrated and the frames were cracked, stretched, and full of rust. A absolute mess, the boat must have glowed in the lake.

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