Mississippi River Scull Boat rehab

Mark Spolarich

Well-known member
First off I want to express my thanks for all the advice and guidance I have recieved from this site, either directly by individuals or through researching all the posts. I enjoyed working on this boat and it has me thinking about future projects already.

This is how the boat looked when I brought it home:

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First thing I did was remove the sideboard extensions, front shield, front shelf, and sand the top side exterior to assess the condition. I made a few repairs where I thought they were required.

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Next up was removing the keelson (called a mud board) and here is where I learned it and the keel were waterlogged. Removing a waterlogged oak keel was a lot of fun (insert sarcasm) even after letting it air out for about a month while I did some more sanding.

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After removing the keel I focused my attention on the bow. I found one too many spots that were bad so decided to remove the deck. Good thing I did because I found more areas of rot and decided to replace all the wood.

Before:

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The entire "nose" was filled with resin and I removed that as well.

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I got the bow cleaned and ready for new wood

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I used some of the old framing as a pattern, wasn't perfect but I got it close.

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From here on out I was negligent in taking many pictures of repairs.

I flipped the boat over to sand the hull and this is where things slowed down. I found a few areas where the fiberglass layers delaminated and I also located the source of water intrusion that caused the keel to be waterlogged. A previous owner repaired it but the damage was already done. I added layers of fiberglass tape to strengthen the keel from bow to stern and to repair the hole. On one area of de-lamination I used some 1708 (thanks Derek, that piece you sent came in handy) to add strength and to help build the area up. This was followed by a layer of 7.5 e-glass and a final coat of epoxy over the cured fiberglass. Before flipping I painted the hull with 2 coats of epoxy paint. I repaired the keel using 8lb expanding foam, layers of fiberglass tape over the foam, and finally a layer of 1708. The entire cockpit recieved a layer of 7.5 e-glass.

On the top side I added fiberglass tape to all edges as re-enforcement and wood trim to the edge of cockpit for strength (and because all the pictures I saw had them). This was also followed by a layer of 7.5 e-glass and additional epoxy. Entire boat was painted with epoxy paint followed by flat oil-based enamel.

Hull after painting:

MarkView attachment 20170813_212430.jpg

Finished boat

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The interior wood got a coat of boiled linseed oil to replace lost oils; I may paint it before season, haven't quite decided yet. I also still have to install the oar flange.
 
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