The refit of the mighty little ship ORCA is underway!

That she will C.Capt. Can’t wait to see her floating.

This thread as perked my interest in these old boats. Actually walked around the boat yard the other day looking at some old wooden classics that are rotting away. Then this old Mathews rolled in.

[QUOTE=GLMASailor;117786]That she will C.Capt. Can’t wait to see her floating.

This thread as perked my interest in these old boats. Actually walked around the boat yard the other day looking at some old wooden classics that are rotting away. Then this old Mathews rolled in.[/QUOTE]

a fine vessel indeed. Sorry to say, but only a wooden boat has such distinctive character and personality!

I’ve got to say, regardless of how I occasionally feel about your forum decor, you have fantastic taste in a boat, and are doing a great job with that fine old girl. Even with my own little classic I am jealous. Bravo Zulu guy…and before you say, I know, go fuck myself.

[QUOTE=Traitor Yankee;117800]Bravo Zulu guy…and before you say, I know, go fuck myself.[/QUOTE]

Not at all my good man…I greatly appreciate the compliments and affirmation that I am not actually a miserable no good SOB type person even though I often play one on TV.

Now you can go and EFF yourself and your city boy hands Mr. Hooper!

.

I know where there is a 1950 Trumpy 50’ that needs a new home. Beautiful lines like any I’ve seen. I love the old trawler lines of the new Orca, but you can have the wooden boats! I like to ride on them, not work on them! Dad had a 42 woodie Grand Banks that won several wooden boat shows, but man the work…you start at one end, finish at the other then repeat!

sorry for no recent updates but I had to fly back to work yesterday and left my shipwright in charge…spoken with him this afternoon and planking is just about finished as well as about half the caulking. Tomorrow is to continue to do prep for the finish paint on Thursday, hopefully seeing the caulking finish on Friday and paying the seams on Saturday and then bottom paint maybe on Sunday and splash soon afterwards.

Hope to have pics later.

although it is killing me that I am not there to take part and oversee the work, my shipwright has the situation well in hand and provided me these progress photos from the past two days in the yard

  1. last two planks in

  1. cotton and more cotton…they are buying out every marine vendor in the area!

  1. above waterline seams payed with Petit seam compound

keep them doggies rollin!

Looks great. Quite the work in progress. Thanks for the pictures.

[QUOTE=Jetryder223;117577]Hmmm…that a new one on me. I’ve never heard of blending epoxy & Portland cement. . I’ve used epoxy thinned with acetone, rags & paper towels as filler/binder, Experimented with bondo, vinyl ester putty Git-rot, CPES but never epoxy & Portland. Not saying it’s wrong, just new.[/QUOTE]

C.Captain, about the epoxy and portland filler. Is that epoxy the same as black roofing compound (aka bear shit)? I have used that 50/50 combo, common in the NW, and it was superb. Sealed very well, set up firm, but not hardened. And was good for years. Used it below the waterline only. She looks in good hands.

[QUOTE=seacomber;118001]C.Captain, about the epoxy and portland filler. Is that epoxy the same as black roofing compound (aka bear shit)? I have used that 50/50 combo, common in the NW, and it was superb. Sealed very well, set up firm, but not hardened. And was good for years. Used it below the waterline only. She looks in good hands.[/QUOTE]

The epoxy and portland was used to do filling of some gouges in the planks below the waterline but not intended to be a seam material. When the epoxy cures it becomes an incredibly dense material with great adhesion properties and I think that would be too hard to ever remove if necessary. The cement you see in the seams on the transom is only mixed with water and troweled into the gap. The caulker should have wiped off the excess with wet burlap and I pointed that out lest they have to sand off all that dried cement later.

I did think I might use the ATCO tar with portland mixed in for a seam filler as you did but am afraid of the huge mess it will create when it comes time to clean off the excess. I am getting anxious that this get the work wrapped up and the boat back in the water without a huge amount of additional labor although I like the idea of a more flexible material than just cement alone. How did you apply your seam filler and how much work was it to clean the planks off afterward?

[QUOTE=c.captain;118006]The epoxy and portland was used to do filling of some gouges in the planks below the waterline but not intended to be a seam material. When the epoxy cures it becomes an incredibly dense material with great adhesion properties and I think that would be too hard to ever remove if necessary. The cement you see in the seams on the transom is only mixed with water and troweled into the gap. The caulker should have wiped off the excess with wet burlap and I pointed that out lest they have to sand off all that dried cement later.

I did think I might use the ATCO tar with portland mixed in for a seam filler as you did but am afraid of the huge mess it will create when it comes time to clean off the excess. I am getting anxious that this get the work wrapped up and the boat back in the water without a huge amount of additional labor although I like the idea of a more flexible material than just cement alone. How did you apply your seam filler and how much work was it to clean the planks off afterward?[/QUOTE]

The ATCO tar and portland mix is exactly what we used for a seam filler. Used a large blade putty knife for application, pushing the mix into the seam flush with the planks. After curing a day, a very small amount of filler, due to expansion, left a bead about an eighth inch high full length of the seam. I left it as is, it was to watch for wear, saw no breakdown except where fishing gear rubbed it flush against the hull. The seams near the waterline were shaved flush using a wood chisel just for a flush appearance, no mess.

c.captain i was always safe out there on this old gal, a harold hansen built seiner, 1949.

the photo didn’t attach I am afraid but I love the designs of Harold Hansen! You know that the museum in Bellingham has all his plans in their maritime collection? Beautiful classic NW vessels!

btw, talked with my caulker and he is going to give the roof tar/portland mix a try and let me know how he feels about using it. I like that it is a more flexible seam compound that just cement mixed with water

I didn’t know about that collection, thanks. There is another Hansen Boat Co., photo collection in the Southeast Alaska Seiners group on Facebook that Kevin Kristovich of Ketchikan put together, the entire Hansen fleet is in it, great stuff. They were master craftsmen, and there were others too. Jacobsen, Prothero, Sagstad, Peterson come to mind.

The caulker will find this mix easy and fast in application, because of the powder in the tar, it holds together well and can be pressed in evenly without making a big mess, it is user friendly in all ways. But mainly it serves as a great sealant for many years, and freezing weather doesn’t get to it because it holds no moisture.

[QUOTE=seacomber;118078]I didn’t know about that collection, thanks. There is another Hansen Boat Co., photo collection in the Southeast Alaska Seiners group on Facebook that Kevin Kristovich of Ketchikan put together, the entire Hansen fleet is in it, great stuff. They were master craftsmen, and there were others too. Jacobsen, Prothero, Sagstad, Peterson come to mind. [/QUOTE]

I intend to write a book someday about all the fine wooden boatbuilders in the NW during the 20th century. Names like Martinolich, Tacoma Boat, Western, Martinac, Pacific, Skansie, Maritime Shipyard, Ballard Marine, Seattle Ship, Northwest and Bellingham Shipyards all build a huge list of the many craftsmen who built such great vessels over 75years.

The great sadness though is that there are not a lot of photos of the old yards and the men building these fine craft but lots of pictures of the boats themselves. Hard to imagine what it must have been like on the Tacoma Waterfront or on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in the great times.

This is a good one of the sardine seiner VICTORY under construction at Pacific in the 1940’s

a great history, there are still a few shipwrights around. ed peterson of seattle was in touch with alot of them, haven’t talked to him for a few years. will try to relocate. here is a favorite, she was owned by the late John Kristovich of Ketchikan. He was really from Tombstone Bay in Portland Canal on the AK.- B.C. border, a family homestead.

An important history, and would be a great book. There was a good resource in Ed Peterson of Seattle who took his time to remain in touch with alot of the shipwrights from these years. I will try to re-locate him. Yes those names are familiar, heard that the gov’t started to tax the boatyards for the wood they had lofted for ageing, Select inventories were no longer viable and that was the beginning of the end for seasoned boat lumber. This was in the late 40’s, early 50’s.

c.captain i was always safe out there on this old gal, a harold hansen built seiner, 1949. sea comber.jpg

photos from yesterday with topcoat applied

I am very happy this morning!

Wow.
That looks GREAT. Very nice color choice.