Active Active   Unanswered Unanswered

1970 Topside Plank Seams

Although not a Division, this area is for information unique to Chris-Craft Constellations.

Moderators: Don Ayers, Al Benton, Don Vogt

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Wed Sep 24, 2014 6:58 pm

Hello,
I’m helping a friend replace some side planks on his 1970 38ft Connie.
My question is, how do I go about getting the factory seam back in. I’m fitting the planks as tight as possible and plan to bed them in with west (he likes this stuff) or something.
Can someone give me advice on how to achieve this? I would be interested in eventually reworking all the seams but for now at least this new area.
Thanks.
Attachments
IMG_20140920_171159_686.jpg
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

joanroy
Posts: 686
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:46 pm
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by joanroy » Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:15 pm

Fit the plank, relieve the outer edge with appropriate router pit, install and fasten. Side planking is usually just fit tight, not bedded. After installation, I'd sand with 120 to fair, apply a very thin bead off Sikaflex along the seam, two coats of primer and two finish. Use good wood. Done!

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:51 am

Thanks,
Since I’m having to fit each plank individually, I do not have a perfect tight fit like I would if I follow cut off the lower board.

I assume if I relieve the edge of each board individually (off the boat) my seams will not be a constant width. Right?

If I attach a guide for my router on the plank while on the boat, I could get a consistent router groove at the seam on both planks and then patch any holes made for the guide. This seems like my best chance for a nice looking groove.
What do you think?
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

joanroy
Posts: 686
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:46 pm
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by joanroy » Fri Sep 26, 2014 12:13 pm

Sure. Routing after the planks are in place is fine, just a bit more set up time. Any screw holes made while attaching the jig are easily filled prior to finishing. When trying to match old with new sometimes it's better to leave the new groove a little proud and fair it to the old with sandpaper by eye. Get it close and once it's painted up you'll never see it.

Peter M Jardine
Posts: 697
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:27 am
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Peter M Jardine » Sun Sep 28, 2014 8:38 pm

First, talk your friend out of using West system epoxy for the seams. It will not work. Constellations are batten fastened boats, and they are by nature quite stable hulls for finishing, but using a relatively brittle adhesive between planks will lead to failure of the seam, and could split planks as well. This seam was designed for a seam compound,(in the rabbet only) but a caulking can be substituted. The carvelling lines on constellations was not only a cosmetic factor, it was designed to deal with plank movement, which is inevitable on the larger boats. I used boatlife, and it seems to be holding well. Some paint cracking is almost inevitable with time, but it seems to be minimal.

When I did the replank of Vanora, we didn't bother to go the route of the router, which is in fact a small rabbet in each plank edge. We just took the plank off and use a plane to put a small bevel which gave the same seam width as the others. I also felt it was a safer way of dealing with grain issues, altho a laminate trimmer with a small rabbeting bit would probably not result in any chipping. The real issue is make sure that the planking lines are fair to the original, which is harder than it looks. Remember these hulls were built upside down, and CC looked very carefully at the shape and the lines of the planks. With the carvelling lines you can be off by a little bit in plank width and it doesn't look too good.

BTW, it's alright to fit the plank tight, but not too tight. Keep in mind that CC looked at different parts of the boat in regards to moisture content in the stock.... some was as high as 16% for underwater stuff. Most of the mahogany/khaya/meranti we use now is kiln dried furniture grade.... down around 7-8% ... when it takes up some moisture it will probably settle somewhat higher. When you put a lot of planks back in, take that into account. In your case, not too many, in our case, we thought about it some.

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Sat Oct 04, 2014 7:55 am

Thanks guys,
I’m duplicating the original planks by follow cutting. I see the old seam caulk is mostly on the outer half of the plank with the inner being down to bare wood. I do a little hand sand using a board with 40 grit just to smooth out the rough calk edge.
I’m not getting a perfect fit although I think when I come back and route the seam in I should have something that looks good.

My progress has been slow but I hope to get all seven boards back in before the snow flys. I will also see about not using the west on these as well.

I did lose patience on the second board and cut it short by 1-2 mm on both ends. Can I use famowood to fill that? (I’ll get better at this)
Five more boards to go.
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

User avatar
evansjw44
Posts: 1865
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 8:46 am
Location: Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by evansjw44 » Sat Oct 04, 2014 2:42 pm

I did the transom on my '67 Sea Skiff Corinthian about ten years ago. I hired a good boatwright to help. He had some tricks I wouldn't have thought of. But first, your transom. like mine, it has no thwartship (across) bracing. On my transom the the planked portion was edge glued into one piece the installed and trimmed as if it were plywood. The transom was planked from the watrline up and plywood below (cheap). If you take the whole thing off at once you run the risk of having the transom spread. When we did mine, we removed the bottom half and re-planked, then did the top half. Don, my boatwright, cut the bottom edge of each plan 3 degrees off square so the plank was pulled into place the joint tightened. The sea skiff transom did not have any battens behind the plank joints (because it was put up like a sheet of plywood) so mine now has battens. The joints were sealed with BoatLife for the battens and West for the edges. So after about 10 years, none of the plank joints have opened. The only blemish is a small amount of water penetration in one corner common to Sea Skiffs.

If you cut a plank a little short, consider using a thin slice of mahogany to fill the gap. Filler will just crack out and leak.
Jim Evans

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Sat Dec 13, 2014 11:38 am

Here are some photos of work in progress. I still need to work on the seams. I want these to look great. I may have to address a gap that exceeded 1/8 of an inch (diameter of router bit for seam) and concur with the owner on what caulk we will use after I route the seam.
Jim
Attachments
IMG_7.jpg
IMG_6.jpg
IMG_4.jpg
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

joanroy
Posts: 686
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:46 pm
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by joanroy » Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:11 am

Id forget the router and do the seams by hand. Make a sanding block that conforms to the profile of the original V groove, fold over a piece of 80 grit, and carefully sand the seams. To get a decent match, you really just need to relieve the sharp edge and tapper in a bit to get the effect. After your finished sanding and fairing, give it a good coat of primer before caulking and filling. Don't worry about the gaps too much because their backed up with the battons. Cut the tip of a tube of Sikiflex angled with about a1/8 inch opening and run it in your seam. Just enough to fill the gap without filling you newly formed groove. Do a seam and run your finger tip over the fresh Caulk to smooth and seal before it starts to set. Fill the screw holes with Famowood, light sand and reprime. Nice Job on the replanking. A fresh coat of paint will do wonders on an old wooden boat.

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:29 am

Here are a couple of photos of the slow progress. Seams are going in with the router method and a guide board.
Attachments
20150705_132521_resized.jpg
20150705_125517_resized.jpg
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

User avatar
Jim Godlewski
Posts: 574
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Location: Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by Jim Godlewski » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:06 pm

Ran into some caulk issues today.
We taped off the seams and used a pneumatic caulk gun to apply a small bead of Sikaflex 291 into the seam. We then smoothed out with a drill bit being cautious to remove any extra product. Once we liked the smoothed out bead a light acetone wipe was applied to remove any tape line and imperfections.
After about 30 minutes we notice some bubbles appeared in some areas. Maybe 20-30 percent. I did try to pop one to see if it would lie down but no go. The temperature was around 78 and we were in the shade.
Any ideas what may have caused this?
I’m not happy with the results, so a redo is likely and would like to know what not to do.
Thanks.
Attachments
seam caulk.jpg
1956 17 Sportsman CC-17-2310
1930 Model 100 7152

joanroy
Posts: 686
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:46 pm
Contact:

Re: 1970 Topside Plank Seams

Post by joanroy » Mon Aug 24, 2015 5:17 pm

I've never had that problem with Sikaflex. I run my bead about four feet at a time and smooth as I go with my finger tip and don't touch it again until it sets up. If you keep going back to work it too much it pulls and gets messed up. Your problem could be sags from to heavy application or a reaction to acetone. I suspect a bad reaction to acetone. I apply caulking after primer, let it set up and then full coat finish to seal the caulking. You should also check and make sure the Sikaflex is fresh. It has a shelf life even if unopened.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests