Advice Needed on 1946 Century

Hi there,

I just acquired a 1946 century that is 13.5 feet long and set up to take an outboard. The hull is in good shape althought it could use stripping and revarnishing. I took the seats out and took up the floor to take a look at the ribs and a couple of them have soft spots.

I intend to sister them but want to clean the inside of the boat first. What would you recommend to get it cleaned up ? I thought of using an Arma and Hammer product with bleach that kills mildew etc but am not sure that is a good idea.

The floor that I took up was pretty thin wood ~ 1/4 to 3/8 that had been painted white. I would like to rep[lace it, either with a painted floor or something that is natural. Can anyone recommend a wood to use for that application ?

Thanks in advance for the help.

jon

 

Sistering isn't recommended except when the original frame is sound (but broken or cracked). Once a rotten frame is removed, the natural place to put the new frame is where the old one was. and don't forget, the planking behind that frame may be a bit rotten too. Then you might dig out that rot and reinforce that planking as well, at least coating the area with paint or epoxy.
What is your construction? Batten seam or steamed oak ribs?
Also, look up high under the foredeck and check for rot there at the nose. Also, pay extra careful attention to the corner frames in the transom, and the lower transom frames as well.
Refinish only when the boat has been carefully scrutinized. In addition, the hull may need refastening, in fact, it's almost guaranteed. That means re-snugging each and every screw in the hull (maybe removing 500 bungs carefully without damaging the surrounding wood. Then making as many new bungs after refastening and setting them in thickened varnish.
a painted sole could be made from many woods--- a reasonably hard cedar like port orford, spanish, or even yellow pine or fir.