1955 CC Hurricane Restoration

David,
If you get a chance, you should read the thread. It's a real interesting story. I think the pictures you are referring to are on page two.

Had a pretty good day today, Got the entire bottom removed and surveyed the condition of the framework.

I lost count!


Grinding to expose the screw heads


Clean striped Bottom



Now for the bad news,which really was minimal. When I removed the forward spray rail I found rot on the chines. Luckily they are made in two pieces and only the outside shine was soft so the fix is fairly simple. The chine is the piece with all the 8d finish nails in it, obviously a repair somewhere in the past. I believe the spray rail losened and allowed water to seep in and eventually the rot took over.


Also found some rot on the keel but discovered the keel was also a two piece unit and only the outside piece was soft so again a pretty easy fix.

All the knee braces will be replaced and I only found 2 frame section that need to be replaced. The framework for the most part is solid but needs to be refastened and sealed.




Tomorrow will be a planning day for repairs and then we'll head out to the hardwood store for supplies.

Alan,

I wish i had the time to do a project like that... some day i will do an old wooden boat....Keep up the good work! looking good so far! Can't wait to see her done!!!!

I know not original but would look sweet on her and new too.

Had stuff from this guy all good.

Edelbrock M8 for a Hemi

eric lavine wrote: your gonna need alotta deck screws

Eric, You haven't been listening!! You don't use deck screws! Unless you want to get in trouble later, Silicon Bronze is the only way to go - not even stainless!!!!

Pete, i didnt know silicone was in your vocabulary...you would be proud of the repair i did on my work car, the sunroof leaked when it would rain, it pi--ed me off for the last time, almost the entire tube in a caulk gun...i did smooth it out nicely

Pretty good weekend on the boat although not a lot to show for it.

Got it outside yesterday and degreased and pressure washed it then made a run to the lumber yard.

Today got all the knee braces removed and started to fab new ones. After removing all the knees I found another frame member that will need to be replaced because of rot and another that has a significant crack so those will get replaced.

I decided to fab new knee braces and add a keel frame member to each rib for some much needed support. Instead of replacing the original 1/4" plywood knees with more plywood I purchased some 3/4" white oak. All the chine knees were broken and the keel knees were so small and weak the boat was flexing every time it hit a wave. Instead of replacing the keel braces with original size braces I made them out of the white oak and ran them from stringer to stringer to tie the left and right frame members together. Then the new braces will be carriage bolted to the keel.

Even though the new braces are just clamped in place I can already feel the difference in the rigidity of the boat.

I got most of the braces cut, fitted and then decided to get some CPES on them so I could install them later this week as I was running out of clamps.




It's really amazing these scimpy pieces of plywood held the structure of this boat together.


Fitting and predrilling.

Alan, keep up the great work. Dana must be a VERY understanding wife or you've molded her into the boat somewhere. Thanks for posting your progress for us all to enjoy It's exciting just watching!

Put in a full day yesterday making more knee braces.


Also found a new surprise at the rear most bottom frame member. I wasn't going to replace the knee braces there because they were hard to get at and looked pretty good but after a little digging around I found some more rot. This frame member is the only one in the boat that is one piece from chine to chine but it came out crumbling.



Today will be easy day of assembly and 90% of the frame repairs will be complete. Next step will be to strip the paint and varnish on the port topsides and removal of all the topside planking. The starboard side bung removal is complete and waiting to come off.

Knee braces and keel supports fully installed, along with the new rear bottom frame and sistered topside frame.



The new bottom frame is now firmly attached directly to the strut support block, it was originally just fastened to the keel with 2 10x 2" screws and was floating all over the place. It is secured in all directions and it's not going anywhere now.



The framework under the engine has been altered a little I assume when the motor was swapped to the Gray 327. It was quite a hack job but is back better than original, only issue I have with it is clearance issues for the Hemi but I'll just have to remain open minded and deal with that when the boat is flipped back over.

Alan....Looking good! You are moving fast on this project. I can't wait for the spring to take a ride in it!!

SNobsessed wrote: Alan - Great job, very interesting photos. What does the new wood get treated with?

Chris, everything is treated with 2 coats of CPES then bedded in 5200 when installing. I'm trying to predrill everything so even the screw holes are getting sealed.

AA-

Better than new will be a gross understatement!

storm34 wrote: Looking good Alan! Just got caught up on the thread. This is going to be a great piece of CC history!

Thanks Chris, I did get a lot done this weekend but nothing pictures will catch so not much of an update. All topside planking is now stripped, need to pop bungs out sometime this week and it'll all be ready to come off.

With all the new braces installed and framework repaired the boat is just rock solid now. Next is to repair the stem, that will a full weekend just to get that done. I think I'll feel real good when I have the stem, chines and keel complete and the boat is ready for planking. That is a personal mile marker/goal. I'm hoping to get to that point around the first of the year.

Andy wrote: If your going to be making the big steamer with pipe, I may be able to get your piping at cost.

Thanks Andy, I'll be experimenting with the steam bending in the next few weeks. I may be in touch, thanks for the offer.