the deck on my Pearson Ensign

Aye, I did just that. And, yes, it will be righteous to sail the finished product, indeed!

 

I guess I thought he was a kid too. Unless he's a real bright 5.5 yr old.

 

. . .

 

Pearson Refurbish

Alan and Par +1.

5.5, made my morning... ;]

 

No, I'm not a 14 year old. I've been sailing for over 40 years (bought an 8' Sabot pram when I was 13, and taught myself to sail). I've had numerous sailboats over the years, and currently have 5, of which the Ensign is the latest. So I have no problem getting out on the water. A good friend of mine who is a classic car buff and I had a discussion the other night, and one thing we readily agreed upon is that you need to have a driver, or in my case, a finished boat, to get out on the water while you're restoring your fixer-upper other wise you can get burned out and and chunk the thing, or sell it to the next person that wants a "project". I have several reasons for tackling such a rebuild.

(1) I like Ensigns - for their classic good looks, cuddy cabin with v-berth, large cockpit, (great for a sailing program) relatively shallow draft, full keel and forgiving sailing qualities.
(2) Since the boat was donated to our program and came with an extensive inventory of quality parts (complete rig, full set of sails, winches, practically new outboard, trailer, etc.) I feel that I can get a reasonable return on what ends up being invested in a new deck. There are good quality materials (marine plywood, oak, spruce, and some incredible locally grown cypress) available nearby.
(3) I enjoy working on, and restoring sailboats. While most of my friends search barns and backyards for old cars and trucks, I look for old sailboats. I have picked them up inexpensively in cow pastures, abandoned at the local yacht club, and ready to haul off by owners whose kids have lost interest in them. I always make sure that the boat has a good hull and if possible, a complete rig. I get a great deal of pleasure from seeing something neglected and forgotten returned to a functioning state, especially if I had a hand in it. I've already gotten a great deal of pleasure doing planning, trying to decide what to tackle first, researching materials, etc. (by the way - finding some really great deals on parts on e-bay) and enjoying the discussions on this forum. Got some help yesterday standing the mast up and rigging it, just to envision what the finished product might look like. (Fresh inspiration to keep going!)
(4) I have an energetic group of young sailors and fellow adults who are ready and willing to help, want to see the Ensign in the water and sailing, and I think will feel a deeper sense of stewardship and pride if they have a hand in the restoration.

If this sounds like I'm seeking justification for fooling with a 47 year old boat, I apologize. I certainly appreciate the advice and input, especially regarding materials, adhesives, framing, deck and rig loads, etc. because I would like to avoid serious mistakes and do it right, if possible, the first time around.

"The best bilge pump is a frightened man with a horse bucket!"

 

Ensign Refurbish

I am with you. Doing a 73 Kite myself. As you noted, I once had an Ensign and still miss it...Should have kept it, even if in storage.

No justification necessary; none'tal!

 

Seasailor55, good to hear you have grown up and are ready to face some responsibilities. I think before there were worries about your having the time between classes and getting your parent's permission.
I've given some thought to your approach of using plywood and given that you're going to be doing a serious job of restoration, wouldn't it be a beautiful job if you used some mahogany or teak ply or sold wood for the cabin sides? Hardly more expensive than painted sides but something that would make that boat stand out.
I've restored a lot of fiberglass boats in the same way, "wooding" them out a bit in just such a way. The nice thing about doing the cabin sides bright is that the maintanence is pretty straightforward, since the area is a breeze to varnish.

 

Alan,

Excellent point. I've kicked around the idea of naturally finished cabin sides, and I do have access to some marine grade mahogany plywood, which should finish out nicely. One question that I have is: could I glass and epoxy the cabin sides along with the rest of the deck and cabin , then just varnish for a bright finish, instead of painting? I like the idea of natural wood, but I would also like to completely sheathe the cabin and deck in glass/epoxy for sealing and maintenance purposes. What would you suggest?

 

Sheathing, or epoxy coating makes sense only, when the entire structure is epoxy coated. No voids, no nail holes, not a single spot must be forgotten.

I am not familiat with the boat you want to restore, but i have doubts that you will be able to encapsulate the areas completely in epoxy.
If only one side of timber is not coated, it lets moisture in and invites rot, because that part does not dry out easily again.

If the parts are completely new, epoxy coating and sheathing with some fabric for abrasion resistance makes perfect sense.
You have to apply a UV protectant varnish in several coats, otherwise the light destroys the epoxy.

Regards
Richard

 

Richard

I agree with you that the material needs to be completely sealed inside and out. This would be new build wooden deck and cabin construction, completely sealed in epoxy inside and out, with glass sheathing on the exterior, on a fiberglass Pearson Ensign hull. My question, I suppose was not worded correctly, or was incomplete. What I wanted to know was: if I want to finish cabin exterior sides leaving the natural finish of the wood showing, is it possible to sheathe the cabin sides in glass/epoxy, then use varnish instead of paint, or will the weave of the cloth be too prominent through the varnish?

 

Seasailor, if the cloth weight is 4 ounces or below, then the weave is completely transparent. A 6 ounce weave is just barely visible. The only reason you'd want to use cloth on these "finished" surfaces is to offer some abrasion protection.

Another option and one I've used, similar to what Alan has suggested, is using veneers of the pretty stuff, over plain 'ol plywood. Plywood usually has a peeled grain, which for the most part looks like crap. You could build your cabin sides from relatively cheap, not so pretty plywood, then skin it with a 1/16" or thicker vertical grain (pretty) veneer. I do this often on transoms, when a client insists he'll take care of it. Bonding a thin skin is fairly easy and doesn't cost too much either, as veneers are commonly available to furniture builders.

This is a curved transom with a 1/10" mahogany veneer over it. It was stapled to it's plywood substrate until the goo cured, then they where pulled and filled.

 

The weave will be invisible, using a light cloth.

oops,crossposted.

 

Ensign Refit

I would definitely inspect another Ensign, if you have not. Maybe contact the sailor in NOLA or class member for some input. As I recall, my boat was all glass, save the cuddy doors, seats and flooring. Glass foredeck, inside and out, hull, etc. Now you may have to use some wood to rebuild areas, understandable, indeed. If I have some pics around that show it, I will put up here. I think all but one were lost. I souped it up a bit for racing, so my memory is clear on it not having wood. As I recall, the bunks looked as if they were off a mold...

Just my dos centavos.

I understand the Milwaukee Sailing Center harbors a few Ensigns, and may be of some help. Regardless, you will do well to heed Par's advice and some others here. They do this stuff for a living.

Also, try to contact "epoxymoron" who is a chemist I believe and works in Saginaw or Bay City, where the Geogeon Bros were/are headquartered. He knows epoxy and how to use it well. Big help for me, for sure.

Duckworks as a lot of rebuild material also.

I wish I could offer more, but my only total rebuild was a wood Hunt I-110, which I tore apart and covered with glass/polyester, which is a different deal altogether; not so sophisticated, I guess is better way to put it.

 

Bob, there have been a few "generations" of this particular boat. The earliest version aren't even called an Ensign and the first and second generations had a lot of wood in them, though my understanding here is someone long ago hacked out the balsa deck and cobbled together what currently exists, or what use to until Seasailor took a saws-all to it (understandably).

 

PAR has made a good suggestion where you apply a veneer over some fir or peeled plywood. This gets some light cloth if desired but it's not really necessary to glass the sides of the cabin since it will see little abuse being vertically oriented.
Plywood has no need for cloth as it has its own tensile properties. It's often recommended for plywood hull bottoms, the better to beach without gouging.
Usually, a single layer of 8-12oz cloth is enough. Where brightwork is involved, 4 oz is, as said, invisible but again, you can omit it and the job will still be fine.
It's simple and cheap to add cloth anywhere you are coating with epoxy, and it will cut down on maintainence over time and also strengthen any underlying joints somewhat.