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Wooden Boat Building and Restoration

The last things to do were the motor splashwell, seat, canvas top, fitting the hardware, and electrical.

The original splashwell was a bit rotted and had a huge hole bored in it for a gas tank fill tube. A new splashwell was made of Sapele Mahogany with a Sapele Mahogany veneered marine plywood bottom and fastened to the transom along a thick white oak brace which was bolted to the transom. The splashwell was finished with eight coats of varnish.

A pair of holes were bored through the transom and brass drain tubes were installed in the holes for draining the spashwell. Also a small piece of white oak was fastened to the transom where the outboard engine would clamp onto.

             


The original seat was removed from the boat and stored away many years ago. The braces that hold the seat back to the seat bottom were cracked and looked like they have been repaired once or twice in the past. The braces were made of mahogany.

The seat was taken apart completely, stripped, and splits were repaired with epoxy.

             

             

             


The seat parts were then sanded in preparation for fresh varnish. New braces, made of stronger White Oak were fabricated a little wider and thicker than the originals in an attempt to prevent future cracks.

             


The seat was refinished with 8 coats of varnish.


Len, at nearby Proctor Canvas, did a nice job of sewing up a new canvas top.  It's a two piece cover, with clear side windows, that were sewn in the same way as the original cover.

             


Fitting out the boat involved installing the engine, engine controller, steering system, gas tank, light fixtures, cleats, and bow chocks.

A new 13 gallon gas tank was installed under the splashwell. The outboard engine was hung on the transom and clamped and bolted in place. The original engine controller was restored, refinished, and reinstalled. A new steering wheel was installed. And the original pulley steering system was replaced with a modern push pull Teleflex No Feedback (NFB) steering system.

             


The navigation lights, cleats, bow chocks, and air horn are all original to the boat. A new bow eye was installed on the stem as the original was worn out and corroded. The original horn was cleaned (including the diaphragms), buffed, and the manual operated air pump was replaced with a small electric air pump. One of the lenses of the original bow navigation light was cracked and I was pleased to have found a replacement on e-bay. I managed to find some parts to fix-up the original search light, buffed it, and remounted it. New LED accent lights were mounted. A new compass was mounted on the dash too.

The last thing to do was wiring a basic 12 VDC single battery electrical system. A battery box was installed in the stern as was a new battery switch. The battery switch was wired to a new circuit fuse block under the front deck. Circuits were wired next for navigation lights, accent lights, search light, horn, and a bulge pump as well as dashboard switches.

All wiring was of marine grade tinned wire of the proper gauge and color. Wire terminals were of adhesive lined shrink wrap. The wires were hung in place with a combination of stainless steel wire straps and all-weather plastic ties.

             

             


The very last thing was applying a pair Dunphy logo decals. I worked with Dixie at Old Outboard Decals in Anoka, MN to recreate an original Dunphy Logo from 1962. She also did the decals for the engine.


Here’s some parting pictures of the completed project ready to be delivered to the owner.