Just got an old Lyman

[Scott Atwater]

I just purchased an old 1957 or so Lyman runabout for restoration. This is in good restorable condition with the only rot being the top coat plywoood and some transom rot where the previous owner drilled the holes to mount the engine. My question to all of you is before I strip it and jump in is should I do anything like attempt to swell it ect. I am going to use epoxy sealer for the open grain like the top coat, interior ect and a good epoxy paint on the bottom. The transom rot is small about 3/4 inch thick all the way thru both boards.(the hole was drilled at a seem so it rotted about 7/16 on one and about 5/16 on the other.) I was thinking I could just bevel cut it both ways and then reverse bevel cut a new piece and epoxy it in. Anyone got any other idea's. I'm new to restoration but no stranger to wood so any advise would be appriciated. Also should I soak the ply before I bend it for the top coat?(like over the bow where it has a curve) Anyone got any idea's how I should support this to make it easier to work on? Also what works good as a general stripper? I was going to use either a heat activiated one or just something simple like Formby's.

[Hunter25]

Lyman's have common issues that you should look into. In the forward areas of the boat where the stem comes down and meets the keel, the frames are pocketed into the side of the keel. The frame ends rot baddy there and should be checked. The stem is often a leak source too. If you have the garboard off, replace the stopwaters. The transom framing also is known to rot. Check the ends of the planking at the stem and transom, look for cracks in the planking and separation along the seam.

Lyman also used light framing on close center spacing, which can cause tension cracks as the boat dries and gets wet repeatedly. Many get refastened with larger screws, which weaken the framing a lot. Other boats that are in need of refastening, go too long before the job is done and the fastener holes rot out badly. This weakens the frames and they crack or break.

You can sister the frames or remove them and install new solid or laminated ones.

Your boat is before Lyman was using sealant in the seams, so they developed a reputation for leaking. A moored boat is not known for this, just the trailer boats.

Do not soak the planking, it will bend around with some persuasion. With these boats, closely fitted planking laps are a requirement. It is not the job a land based good wood worker will be able to do easily. Picking up accurate bevels is difficult, planning them is also hard. Getting accurate plank shapes is also not an easy thing.

Use penetrating epoxy on the raw wood, not straight laminating epoxy. Laminating epoxy is for gluing and fabric layup, penetrating epoxy is for sealing the wood.

Turn the boat over onto a ladder type frame or onto a modified trailer. It is much easier to work on these planks down hand then under the boat. Fix the framing and other structural pieces first. The planking is last.

If you decide to use sealant in the laps, use a polysulfide (3M 101), not polyurethane (3m 5200).

You should have a skilled boat carpenter take a good look. There are many places these boats can have issues, that are not easily seen by the back yard rebuilder, which can cause problems later.

Sorry about the long post.

[Scott Atwater]

ok I guess my post wasn't very clear. the planks are perfect just some minor transom rot and the keel is chipped probably from poor beaching practices. The top plywood is the only real probelm with this boat. It's peeling and in general disrepair. I checked the fore and aft places you mentioned and nothing major there except some rot on the floorboards. I will be stripping it down soon and will report then. I just got back from getting a few choice pieces of mahogony from an old ChrisCraft which had a barn fall on it. I'm going to use those pieces to help with the rot issues on the transom and I have 5,000 board feet of red oak in Upper MI for what ever else I need to redo. I will keep you guys posted.