Viking Lifeboat

[JippyJoe]

Hi,

I bought a boat about a month ago and I've been reading through the Forums over the last couple of weeks. I bough the boat for therapy, not for profit and I intend to work on it over the next 12-24 months. It's a lifeboat from a ship made here in Australia "Mittagong". The boat was made by Viking in 1963. The boat is 26ft long and can just be seen on the attached picture of the Mittagong being towed past Circular Quay in Sydney.

When I bought the boat most of the add-ons that had been done over the last 40 years had been removed, and I have just finished removing the last bit of flooring. The first step is to put down a new floor and engine mounts. However, I'm not sure how to start it off, and have a couple of questions that I hope someone can help me with:

1. I'm going to use epoxy so it doesn't matter what the boat is built of, however, I would like to know whether it's epoxy or polyester. Is there a way that I can find out?

2. What direction should I run the supports for the floor?
I've just removed the remains of what looks like a temporary floor (not glassed in). These ran port/starboard. However, all of the floor replacement topics on this site show the floor being supported by stringers running bow/stern.

(I have attached some pictures that may help determine the best direction)

Thanks

[Manie B]

your pics have been compressed too much so i cant see real detail of the glass, but my guess is that kind of thing is usually polyester

however doing repairs in epoxy and ply would be easy

[JippyJoe]

I've made some progress since this post. If your interested in having at look, you can see the boat here...http://paulmee.com/?cat=16

[PAR]

That era boat would most certainly have been built of polyester. I hope that white stuff paint on the wood isn't gel coat. I also see you've changed you mind to vinylester, which from my quick scan you may believe is better then epoxy. It's not and good luck with it.

[michael pierzga]

Look'n Great !!...Hey, in the Mediterranean they have a very simple ,classic, sunshade used on chug.. chug.. chug , lets enjoy life, "Llaut's".
Its the remainder of the Vela Latina sailplan. Might be a handy addition for sunny days and it makes your double ended rig look ship shape and ready for cold beer on a hot afternoon..

[JippyJoe]

Thanks for the suggestion Michael. The friend who helped me weld the trailer is Maltease and he used to work on the luzzu fishing boats which are very similar. I am currently looking to build the roof and I was thinking of some type of hardtop that runs about half the length of the boat. The sun is very strong where I live and shade is essential. However, I'm having trouble figuring out a design which gives me enough height to stand up and looks acceptable. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated.

[michael pierzga]

Nothing wrong with a "Pop Top" on a small rig. Lets you really raise the roof on hot nights. I look around the port with my trusty camera. Many locals use pop tops on their small craft because the summer heat here is so intense.