Sunday, March 21, 2010

There's something afloat.....

and it aint this boat!

I started quietly asking my father for his boat a while ago. I think he ran out of ways to tell me no. My wife wishes he didnt. After all, we have our first child on the way, we are thinking of finally buying a home and we live an hour and a half from Deltaville, VA where the boat is.
It would probably be easier for her if the boat could float. She is a 1963 Matthews 42' double cabin. Made completely of wood and by hand by some of the best to ever do it. She has also been on land for a long time and is in need of repair now.

Unfortunately some of the frames near the bow are broken and is now slightly out of shape. Fortunately this gives us the chance to open her up and check everything out. We are expecting to have a lot of frames to replace...and we are ok with that. The transome is also in rough shape and will need to be reconstructed. Other than a few areas of rot (easy to get to) that is the brunt of the structural work that needs to be done.
The deck is in beatiful shape. besides being a little faded it is in great shape. The interior has been sitting for a long time and sorely needs some help. To me, this is the fun part. Its not in bad shape, it mostly needs to be scrubbed a lot but some things will come out. The bulkhead seperating the aft cabin from the living space is rotting and needs replacing. Parts of the roof show a little leakage and the flooring replaced.


Engines are in great shape, ready to run. Electrical is all in great shape also so this will save a lot of work.


I think for a father son project this is about as cool as they come. I will be writing and putting up pics of the work as it progresses. Our first job is to get it moved from the yard its at now to my dad's marina where he works.

So far the plan is to seal up the seams and put strips of wood over that and tow it over a couple of hours and hope the water pumps keep up with the incoming water. Shouldnt be a problem but we know its a little risky...My first realization that owning a boat is for crazy people.