The summer of '14 in the Super Shed

Here is a photo of the two projects going on side by side. This early summer was mostly spent working on Ebbens 32' Ericson that he purchased for $1.00 five years ago. We had hoped to launch it this summer on lake Champlain but the work was slow and the summer sped by. We patched the 12 or so holes below the waterline and rebuilt much of the interior. The gas Atomic 4 is ready to pop back in after a major overhaul (see photos below). Early next spring we will paint the exterior, patch the deck, install the head and waste storage tank (still building that) and then get to the lake for some well deserved SAILING!

There is another doner boat (at low left in this photo). It is a 14' O'day Javelin - with a 6" hole in the bottom. Hopefully that hull will be done this spring, and kept locally to teach the kids about general boat handling. Then they can transition to the Ericson '32, and then if there is interest on their part.... onto Bluesette and as many sea miles as they have interest in. Maybe it won't be their "thing" but I would like nothing more in my life than to show them some distant corners of the world. Time will tell.... even the small boats will be so much fun with them.

Bluesette on the left - Oink on the right (formerly Windsong)

Ebben and sister Bria starting Atomic 4 overhaul with friend Max

Finally at the backbone

This is block #2 (from Chapaquidick) after the first block was found to be too damaged.

Same engine as above - Final wiring before start-up.    Purrs like a kitten!!

I would love to have had more time to work on Bluesette this summer. I did finish rebuilding the compressor and now have a full sand-blast set up which will be on-site for the remainder of the refitting - essential on a steel boat. As you can see from the photos below, the compressor was a major rebuild in itself.

RatRod

As I was working on Bluesette and Oink (Ebbens 32' Ericson) this past summer I came across a posting of an old Firebird convertible for sale on Craigslist - the car was located around the corner here in Norwich. The end of the story unfolds with a '69 Firebird here in my yard that was purchased for a handful of peanuts and the joy of another round of moto work in the shop. I look at this project as another way to increase my engine building skills for Bluesettes diesel overhaul and maintenance, and an enjoyable project to work on as I pass some more time before I can realistically launch Bluesette. At this time Bluesette is over the rail in September of 2021.

The '69 Firebird convertible as it rolled into the shop - years of dust and mud:

"YardBird"
     Barn find of 2014

One wash before winching into the shop for dismantling
...and a rat-rod/hot-rod make over.

     

                          

                       468 ci Pontiac 400 hp street ripper
                            Found in an abandoned '79 Performance Trans Am
                     all the interior is coming for the ride too!
                     click on image for close up photo

Finally, 15 months later... it's time to start working on the boat!

The ice finally started to melt off of the roof beams on the building which allowed work to safely start up again putting the large sheets of tin down. The poly boat tarps are now going over the side - allowing my first real open access for work. It's taken 15 months to get this far but I think it will all be worth the extra effort in the rebuild. 

The first teak planks are being pulled up in the lower photo to get an idea of the condition of the steel underneath. I am fully expecting to have to pull the entire steel deck up and weld in a new one. The decision is made not to replace the teak which should provide a watertight deck in any sea. Thousands of screw holes holding the last deck down failed so no need to go that route again.

Time to build a large stairway for ease of access, strip the decks, strip the interior overhead and anything else that hints of rot (all of which was caused by the leaking decks). Also this summer I hope to pull the diesel out to begin its restoration next winter.

Getting Ebben on the road...

With the low temps outside Bluesette projects are limited so while I wait for parts on the compressor/sandblaster project Ebben and I rolled his Series II Land Rover into the shop for its overhaul. He is getting his drivers permit in a couple of weeks so we have some time to get this rolling. We have to work the Rover project straight through as Aperios Samofa diesel will be filling the shop after it is removed for rebuilding this summer. All of the other projects will be out the door before the Samofa rolls in.

Thoughts of Maputo bay, Mozambique keep me moving forward. It would make a wonderful rest stop after rounding Cape of Good Hope, and family lives there for guided tours and a shower!

Dig Ebbens new ride.

After 30 years in the barn. All wheels & gears locked up.

Thanks for the pull Jack!

Lots to remember for re-assembly!

Floors cut out to expose frame for welding. New floors and firewall sections going in soon.

Broken frame jacked into place (both sides) and ready for welding. Brakes and floors all ripped out. Radiator at the lower left of photo. Lots of holes like that seen in frame need to be patched.... about 14 spots in all. This rover is clearly in remission of frame cancer.... but there is hope for the future!

Time to hit the trails!

Rebuilding a very old air compressor for sandblasting the hull...

With a long New England winter settled in I was not quite able to get the tin roofing on the building so the restoration phase will have to wait a few more months to begin. Aperios covers were left in place but tucked in a bit tighter for the winter. So it seemed a good time to work on the sandblasting program in the warm shop. One downside of a steel boat is that they need to be sandblasted and painted every 10 years or so. Aperio is well overdue for the full show.

After an email blitz to various town and state surplus agencies I purchased this 1969 air compressor from the Burlington National Guard Air Station. Nobody at the air base knew if it would run. Many hours have been spent freeing stuck valves and seized parts, I installed 2 new pistons, a few new bolts, exhaust valves, gaskets & filters. With a bit of luck that will do the trick and it will handle the entire sandblasting process and then be sold prior to launching the boat. The compressor is a bit small but that might come in handy at times. $200 for the machine and it has a jackhammer too! That and the 300lb sandblasting pot I am about to build may help put some change in Aperios coffer.  

Today I am empowered by the thoughts of visiting Arawa, Papua New Guinea and walking on the beaches where my grandfather landed in WWII. He made it out of there safely... I hope to too!

New pistons, rings and wrist pins.

Two pistons removed and waiting for the new ones in the mail.

Turned the key and nothing. No clicks, bangs or puffs of smoke.
Just plain dead.

Prior to the adoption process. - lonely and neglected.

The Long Roll...

We finally rolled the boat 400' up the new roadway and into the restoration building. Although we waited for the ground to freeze up a bit the biggest issue was still the mud. The rolling platform worked nicely but the original 8x10 beam under the bow cracked - which was retrofitted easily with a 10x10. The key to keeping the 32,000lb load from crashing through the cradle was the center skid. Basically, the majority of the weight was in compression through the center skid so deflection of the cross members played very little roll. Thirty rollers were used, ten under each skid, making a distributed load of 1,000lbs (+) / roller when evenly weighted.

Now to get the roofing tin on and then, finally, the restoration begins!

- Thanksgiving at the Whitehairs -
Julian rocks in his PJ's at 25 degrees! - nice job patching the neighbors driveway Julian! Thanks!

Ebben pulling with the logging skid system - lots of slow control @ 14,000lb pull strength which was nice.
The dozer is pushing from behind and holding the works between resetting the tractor.
The incline here was a challenge as it was quite steep.

We made it though the mud!
Erling, Jamey, Jeremy, Jeff, Jullian, Price, Ebben & Bria  - Thanks for the help!

32,000 lbs over a road of phone poll rollers, on a phone pole platform.
300' up the hill and around three corners. Nothing broke. Amazing.

View of Bluesette from the breakfast table.
Motivation at it's finest...
Time for some roofing tin!

The Rolling Platform

Spring returned and a very used roof structure was salvaged. Ebben and I cleared away the forest, carved out the hillside, cut drains and built the roadway. The roofing sections were erected.

For ease of convenience throughout the rebuild the roof structure was built about 400' away from where Maverick was first placed. Now we face the challenge of moving the hull up the newly built roadway, through two 45 degree corners and into the building. I looked around for months for parts to build a trailer system for the move but I was not able to salvage one that was worthy. I settled on the idea of a three skid platform for the hull that literally rolled over sections of phone poll rollers. The poles were left over from raising the building. This is the most challenging phase of the rebuild as I have never moved such weight anywhere near that distance. We will first try to draw it along with a logging attachment that is spec'd to pull 14,000lbs but in addition we'll use the dozer and an additional Kabota tractor for more pull/control as needed.

The cradle platform is now built. The boat has been jacked up 24" to reassemble the cradle under it.  The first 10 feet will prove whether or not the whole idea will work.

These days I find myself dreaming of visiting Rio de Janeiro. After rounding Cape of Good Hope it will be a good place to gather up some new steam.

Three phone poles make the skids on the platform. Set on 3' phone pole rollers
The cross members are notched into the skid poles and bolted with 3/4" bolts.
 This worked very nicely.