Herreshoff 12 1/2 Restoration - h12restoration

Boat on cradle
Boat on cradle 2004-09-03

My 1928 Project Boat on a trailer back from Annapolis
My 1928 Project Boat on a trailer back from Annapolis 2004-08-31

Building frames on the ground for storage building
Building frames on the ground for storage building 2004-09-06

Nearly completed storage building
Nearly completed storage building 2004-09-10

5 years later...
The boathouse has become the storage shed for all kinds of stuff that there was no home for...

Removal
I jacked up the boat, added wheels and began the process of rolling it to the shop

It took a while
We finally got the Herreshoff to pavement and rolled into the shop

This will look nice hanging outside
Once I have completed its replacement

Next I'll get it off the cradle
All of the reference material recommends using boat stands.  It would be easier to get inside once it is lower too..

Documentation
I got the boat in its current condition.  I started to put the pieces I had back in position and began labeling them.

Lots of replacement needed here
I wish I had more of the rear deck..

Transom and tail feather


Blocking was added at some point to become a back rabbit
There was plenty of black goo (tar maybe?) to seal the joint.

Garboard plank removed
All of the planking has been refastened at least once - maybe twice..  Many screw holes..

Original seat brace
I have one set of plans showing this design

Original Combings
I spent time fitting the original parts to verify fit and hull shape

Molds in place
Added molds to help hold hull shape.  I made one side, then fitted mold to opposite side to determine symmetry.  The rear mold was very close. 

The center one was off my 3/16-1/4 inch at the big part of the curve,  The left side had flat frames and the right had a bit of a bulge.  I split the difference and duplicated the mold for both sides and they both pulled in tight.  So I'm sure it is pretty close.

Added molds and removed transom
I've added a couple of additional molds to hold the hull shape.  I created one side and fit it to the hull. Then I would try it on the opposite side and take note of the variances based on how the planks were fit - or noticeable distortions. 

Once I got a shape that was close on both sides, I duplicated the mold so that left and right were symmetrical.  This method has worked well so far.  Right now - the hull is fair and the shape is pulling back nicely

Transom Removed
I'm in the process of replicating the transom.  Here it is removed.  Even to my eye, this looks oddly distorted - however - the planking has barely moved.

Transom
Just looks funny..

Replication in Poplar
The original transom is in such poor shape that I decided to make a transom using inexpensive poplar.  It is hard to tell if the original has shrunk over time and the seams opened up or if it has been apart and back together..

I'll use the poplar transom as a reference to make a white oak replacement once I have it fit properly.


Transom Bevel
Here I have got the first side on the *test* transom beveled..

Fitting in place
So far the fitting has been tough.  You can see the sheer plank is shorter for some reason and the lower planks run a bit long, but the bottom near the keel is pretty close..  I have more work to do here trying to get it to fit correctly.

Mold for the ribs
I was able to obtain an accurate mold pattern for the rear ribs.
As it turns out, the rear of the hull was pretty far out of shape.  This mold pattern seems to have pulled things back. 


Mold #20
I was able to come up with accurate measurements to create molds to pull the hull into shape. The the planks and frame ends near the keel were drooping a bit and the hull had some extra bulge near the turn of the bilge

New Molds
The molds helped to restore the shape through the mid section.

Deck Removal
I removed part of the deck and the deck clamps to assist in getting the molds into position.

Deck Clamp Removal
Here is were I took the plunge and first removed them

Bulge and the turn before removing the 4th plank
After clamping near the keel, the hull pulled up into shape pretty well.

Molds pulling hull into shape


Here is a mold section taking from the lofting
I'm cleaning up the edge

Duplication
I screw the completed mold section to another piece of lumber, trim close with the band saw

Completed copy
Then complete the duplicate at the router table with a pattern bit

Second layer being trimmed with Jigsaw
Here I cut off all the large overhang

Trimming Second Layer
Using the router to trim the second layer of the mold flush with the first layer taken from the lines drawing.

Good Day
Completed three molds.

Fully Completed and double checked
I double checked all the molds and tweaked them so that they all matched the lines. Next step is to set them up and fair.

Moving Hull onto trailer
My garage sure has lifted quite a few boats. I need the room in the shop to set up the molds for fairing. It took a couple of months to get a trailer made and delivered.

Herreshoff on the trailer
The boat is going to spend a little time outside again, so that I can fair the molds. The other positive side effect is I can clean up the shop space a bit. It is entirely too crowded in there right now...

What is the best time of year to order a trailer?  Not in the spring when everyone else is doing it...  It took a while, but my new Triad trailer is in for the Herreshoff.  We lifted the hull and put it on the trailer last night so I can clean the shop and set up the molds and fair them.

Most of the shop has been impassable lately, so it could not have come at a better time.  I should be setting up molds soon enough.

It took a while - but all 22 molds are completed - being assembled that is. 
Next I need to set them up and fair them to shape. 
I think it is time to order a trailer so I can move the hull outdoors so that I can work on the molds for a few days.  Hopefully they fair up quickly.

I'm finishing up on the bow molds - only 5 left, then I can fair them and get to making floors and steaming frames.

Fits very well..  Past the halfway point of mold making

Up up to 11 molds now, 11 to go.
It takes 3 - 3.5 hours each to make each mold.

I have to plane up more lumber for the next batch.

I'm up to 7~8 molds that are pulling the hull into shape.  My plan is to construct one for each frame.  The bilge was bulging quite a bit at the keel and a little at the turn.  As each mold goes into place - I can see the original shape is coming back.  My sheer line marks are lining up nicely.

I think there may be some drooping at the stern, but I can't tell for sure just yet.
I completed 4 molds this weekend.

I spent the day working on the last station - turns out it was off quite a  bit.  I think the transom being off/loosely attached for so many years allowed the planking and ribs to move significantly. 

I've recently added two additional support molds, removed the right side garboard plank, and removed the transom.

The next few days will be used to replicate the original transom as closely as possible in poplar so that I can use it as a template to create the white oak version later.

Spent 7 hours moving the boat off the cradle and down to blocks and stands.  Just the extra 6" lower and flexibility of moving stands has already made a big difference.

I took the garboard plank off, and removed the floor beams.  There were weird blocks gooed in over the keel rabbit - obviously a fix for the leaky bottom.  They will not be going back in.

7/17/2010 12:20:54 AM - 001077911273
After a 6 month delay due to other projects, I'm finally back at it. I made a few molds to assist in pulling the hull back into shape. I'm working on a few more to continue correcting the hulls shape.