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Thread: Uh! Oh! I did a bad thing!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
    Posts
    2,630

    Red face Uh! Oh! I did a bad thing!

    You would think with a half done 15ft. sailboat in the shop and a half done 18ft. kayak hangin' from the rafters, I would have left well enough alone. Shoot no - the wife is out of town and look what followed me home.

    IMGP1740.JPG

    I'm told it's a William Atkin design built in 1936. In it's day it won the Chicago-Mac race in it's class. It's been sitting in this spot for five years and is in pretty bad shape. I don't really know at this point if it can be recovered, but I'm going to give it my best. This is the kind of project I've always wanted and couldn't pass this up. It's 27" on deck and has a beam of about 9'3".

    If anyone has any information on this design, I'd really appreciate it.

    The engine,

    IMGP1731.JPG

    is a flat head four banger gas powered. I don't know what make as I couldn't find any markings. Any info, again, would be appreciated.

    As you can see there are some missing planks.

    Port Missing Planks.JPG Starboard Missing Planks.JPG

    The other planks around this area are in pretty good shape. There has been a repair to that part of the keel and I think the planks were taken off for that repair. We may be able to find the missing planks and that would be a plus.

    The boat is at the Maritime Heritage Alliance in Traverse City, MI. They do a lot of work, all volunteer, on old wooden boats. They restored some beauties. They've told me they may still have the mast also. The mast is placed quite forward on the boat. Other than that, I don't know much about the rig.

    Well, I have to go make plans to move the boat behind my shop. This will be a multi-year project and I'll have to get it protected before I start to work on it.

    John







    John Bailey
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Virginia Beach, VA.
    Posts
    513
    John, you have given yourself one good looking project. I like her looks, best thing is she is wood. Please keep us informed as you bring her back to life.
    Aspire to inspire before you expire.

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  3. #3
    man does that look like fun, i did two restorations about six years ago and have since bought a farm and twocnc machines so the chances i would do another boat are slim, however seeing this brought back some great memories!!

    jim

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
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    Quote Originally Posted by james mcgrew View Post
    man does that look like fun, i did two restorations about six years ago and have since bought a farm and twocnc machines so the chances i would do another boat are slim, however seeing this brought back some great memories!!

    jim
    Hey Jim,

    What kind of boats did you restore? I'm a bit overwhelmed by the size of this one. I've never attempted something this big - but it was a combination dream and opportunity, so I had to take the plunge.

    Couldn't resist - one more shot - Starboard side.



    John
    Last edited by John Bailey; 05-10-2009 at 7:19 AM.
    John Bailey
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Portland, Maine
    Posts
    17
    Im having a tough time seeing some lines from your pictures, but Atkins has a pretty informative website of their boat designs (with nice pictures I'm sure if you check it out you will be able to match up your boat with the website.

    I ordered the Bluebird from them a couple years ago. Mrs. Atkins was very friendly and informative and will probably answer any questions you have.

    http://atkinboatplans.com/

    Travis

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Marquette Heights, Illinois
    Posts
    2,945
    That looks like several years ofFUN to me!!!

    Keep busy!

    Bruce
    "The great thing about Wood Turning is that all you have to do is remove what's not needed to have something beautiful. Nature does tha Hard work."

    M.H. Woodturning, Etc.
    Peoria, Illinois 61554

  7. She's a great looking boat. The missing planks may have helped prevent water from pooling inside, one of the things I've noticed causes a lot of the rot on boats "on the hard". If the frames and rest of the planking is in good shape, I would say you have a few years of rewarding restoration (as opposed to all the restoration no one sees when you're replacing frames).

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Hanover NH or Jensen Beach FL or somewhere in between
    Posts
    217
    John, I did a like project some years ago with a 1963 Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer; a boat of similar size.

    At The WoodenBoat Show in Mystic, CT June 26-28, there will be an Atkin Family Tribute. If you can make it to The Show, I'll bet you could glean some valuable information about your "new" boat.

    www.woodenboat.com

    Old, fat guy on the set of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" October '09

  9. #9
    No doubt that's a fresh water craft w/ your location but honestly I swear I smell salt water What a project! I believe there's an Atkins design forum on Yahoo. Might be worth checking out.

    So what does your wife have to say about it now that she's seen it? Keep working on her and she will be softly humming the theme to Gilligan's Island soon!

    So where do you start on something like this John? research, survey, or just jump right in.......?


    Mac

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mac McQuinn View Post
    No doubt that's a fresh water craft w/ your location but honestly I swear I smell salt water What a project! I believe there's an Atkins design forum on Yahoo. Might be worth checking out.
    Quote Originally Posted by Mac McQuinn View Post

    So what does your wife have to say about it now that she's seen it? Keep working on her and she will be softly humming the theme to Gilligan's Island soon!

    So where do you start on something like this John? research, survey, or just jump right in.......?


    Mac


    Well, the wife hasn't really "seen" it yet. She was gone to Chicago for the weekend and the boat's still in Traverse City an hour away.

    I've checked out the Yahoo site and posted a query about what model it is and any other information. Wooden Boat site also. "Or" just jump right in - I think I already did that.

    My plan is to clean it up as best I can, take all the hardware off. Start at the keel and work my way up.

    It's a plan!!

    John
    John Bailey
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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Colonial Heights, Virginia
    Posts
    200
    Quote Originally Posted by John Bailey View Post

    Well, the wife hasn't really "seen" it yet. She was gone to Chicago for the weekend and the boat's still in Traverse City an hour away.

    I've checked out the Yahoo site and posted a query about what model it is and any other information. Wooden Boat site also. "Or" just jump right in - I think I already did that.

    My plan is to clean it up as best I can, take all the hardware off. Start at the keel and work my way up.

    It's a plan!!

    John
    It sounds like a good plan to me, good luck...with the boat and your wife.
    Gary

    "It is neither wealth nor splendor, but tranquility and occupation which give happiness. " Thomas Jefferson

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Owings, MD
    Posts
    33
    Great looking boat, it looks like a really fun project. Do you think you'll have to replace most of the planks and frame or will you try to re-use them? I've always liked the look of the re-used ones.

  13. #13
    John,
    Did you really think anybody here would say that you did a bad thing?.....

    I do believe the folks that read the boat building forum are all green with envy..... Looks like a LOT of work and you'll probably enjoy every minute of it. If your household is anything like mine.... the real work will be getting your wife "on board" with the project.....

    God I hope my wife doesn't look at this forum....

    Greg

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Lake Leelanau, MI
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    2,630
    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Frederick View Post
    Great looking boat, it looks like a really fun project. Do you think you'll have to replace most of the planks and frame or will you try to re-use them? I've always liked the look of the re-used ones.
    I know the boat looks rough, but there are some very good points to this boat.
    From what I've seen so far the planks and frames are in good shape. Like anything else, once I start pulling things apart I'll probably find problems. The biggest concern is where the iron keel connects to the keel timbers. (Sorry, but I haven't learned the names of all those parts.) From my first inspection, it looks like everything above that is in pretty good shape.

    The floors are in good shape, the engine turns and all the parts seem to be there, which means I'll be able to use them for patterns if need be.

    One of the real pluses is that all the original hardware is there. All that old brass would be hard to replace. The portholes are in good shape also.

    I'm still trying to identify the model. I've sent for an Atkin catalogue to see if I can match it up with one of their models. Then I can buy a complete set of plans so I can restore to the original.

    I'm spending this coming Saturday cleaning the boat, getting it ready to cover it before I have it moved. I'll get more detailed pictures at that time.

    Just a few more pictures.




    John
    Last edited by John Bailey; 05-12-2009 at 5:32 AM.
    John Bailey
    Sawmill Creek is a member supported forum. Click here to donate.


  15. #15
    If I can help you reproduce anything just let me know John.


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