many questions on restoring an old H28

hello all

i have recently acquired the labour/pleasure of an old (1946) Herreshoff 28, built in California and sailed to Australia in the 70's, i have many questions as she is my first timber boat.
where to start - the boat and the questions

the hull seems to have been fixed at some time with steel fixings which are now rusting out, pushing a few of the dowels right out and leaving many long rust streaks down the hull above the waterline. She has recently had a new bottom coat put on and isn't taking on any water, so i am hoping to leave her in the water for a few months whilst i get some funds together for a 2 week haulout.
So should i anticipate having to remove all the steel fixings and dowel plug the holes in the oregon planking (white oak ribs by the way) and refasten with copper? fix above and below or through the old fixing points?

i have found some rot predictably at the top of the ribs and in a couple of the deck stringers joining the ribs, i guess i'll be learning to steam oak sister ribs in place (strangely looking forward to this), but i have also found some softish oregon planking from inside the hull, a few small patches i think.
So I am thinking of spraying the inside of the whole hull with Glycol (respirator strapped on) with a view to repeating this process every year? a good or bad idea?

one more question for now - one of the main cabin knees is rotten along with the cabin beam it supports, so i'll be replacing these asap, so what timber should i use for structural cabin timbers? not too heavy i suppose, but is oregon (old tight grained oregon i have to hand) to prone to rot?

i most appreciate any advice anyone can offer as most of the boaties i know only understand fibreglass, and i'd hate to mess up a lovely old boat just in need of some serious maintenance,

thanks in advance, Ian. in Sydney Aus

can post photo of boat if anyone interested.

 

Go to www.woodenboat.com and then to the WB On-Line Forum section. Select the Build & Repair forum, and use the search function in the upper right corner of the screen to look in the archives for information. There is a lot of good info there.

One of the Forumites, Jim Hillman, happily took it upon himself to create a listing of links to many, many useful threads and titled it "WB FAQ Building and Repair, ver. 2.0". It is located at http://media5.hypernet.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=008298


Don't go to the "Misc. Non-Boat Related" section - there be monsters there. The place has been pretty much taken over by a few argumentative politically polarized S.O.B.'s.

 

Iron of any kind just don't belong on a wooden boat,get that mess out,all of it,look for iron fasteners,hardware,anything.Manganese Bronze is best(expensive)then other bronze types.Than good stainless.Being a Herreshoff she may be more valuable in the end if you use period materials and techniques to restore it.You should have access to good African Mahogany where you are at.The glycol treatment should help but is not a fix-all,you should mix in Boric Acid(Borax) to the glycol.Just dry the thing out good before you start,rig up clear greenhouse plastic over the thing while she is hauled and let it dry for awhile.All of your products will adhere better if the wood is dry before you start.Of course to do it right all rotten wood should be replaced,the spores will travel and eventually re-infect the whole boat,glycol or not.

 

http://www.maritime.org/conf/conf-reynolds-mat2.htm (for glcol/borate mix)

 

Those "dowels" are bungs (shallow plugs of the same or similar lumber as the planking) They cover the exposed heads of the steel fasteners. This H-28 may have been professionally built or backyard built. Some were done quite well others poorly, depending on the builder and budget and skills involved.

Sailing a H-28 to Australia must have been an adventure in a craft of that size.

The first thing you need to do is get a survey by a known local wooden boat surveyor. Then try to track down her history, maybe finding out who built her and the material selections that were used.

I have a set of H-28 plans in front of me and there are no deck stringers, but there are deck beams and "strong" deck beams (just bigger deck beams) which would likely be of white oak (could be elm, ash, or other hardwood) and measuring 1 3/8" x 2" or 2" square for the bigger beams. The planking should be vertical grain fir about 1" thick or mahogany or yellow pine 7/8" thick or soft pine or cedar 1 1/8" thick. She should have been bronze fastened.

It's unlikely the original planking is still aboard, though much of her supporting structure may be original (keel, floors, frames, knees, etc.) With the steel fasteners in the vessel screwing with the other types of fasteners (bronze) you probably have a real fastener corrosion issue that may be quite unseen, the rust stains may be the tip of the iceberg in this regard. This is the reason the first thing that needs be done is a very comprehensive evaluation of the yacht be done by a very competent surveyor, who is quite familuar with this type of craft.

The H-28 is a great little yacht and a good performer, but a lot of them were built not of the best standards, so get this checked out before you toss a bunch of money at a hull that would have been better spent using it as a mold for a new yacht.