A Piece of south Jersey history has landed. Updated 9-25

jode hillman said:
roy brewington said:
I,m thinking a gifted fella such as yourself might make some molds and knock some of these out in fiberglass... Could be a niche mkt. for some other fellas that don,t care for wood boat maint.! Seriously though Those are beautiful lines in that skiff.

Thanks Roy, nothing looks as good on the water as a rail Skiff.

Yea, I probably could, but that's not where my interests lie. I am more interested in the history and heritage these boats have. Rick Henderson has built them from glass, and his boat is pure style. For all intents and purposes, quite a few rail hunters just use a canoe, not as stylish, but very effective.
Yea, I,ve got a 15' Ghenooe that would probably work perfect for poling marsh after rails . Also recently acquired a 17' aluminum canoe but the ghenooe would provide more stability I ,m thinking for standing poler . Seems like when that moon gets right in fall I,m predisposed with shooting doves but I,m going to have to try railbird hunting just to get it out of my system!
 
roy brewington said:
jode hillman said:
roy brewington said:
I,m thinking a gifted fella such as yourself might make some molds and knock some of these out in fiberglass... Could be a niche mkt. for some other fellas that don,t care for wood boat maint.! Seriously though Those are beautiful lines in that skiff.

Thanks Roy, nothing looks as good on the water as a rail Skiff.

Yea, I probably could, but that's not where my interests lie. I am more interested in the history and heritage these boats have. Rick Henderson has built them from glass, and his boat is pure style. For all intents and purposes, quite a few rail hunters just use a canoe, not as stylish, but very effective.
Yea, I,ve got a 15' Ghenooe that would probably work perfect for poling marsh after rails . Also recently acquired a 17' aluminum canoe but the ghenooe would provide more stability I ,m thinking for standing poler . Seems like when that moon gets right in fall I,m predisposed with shooting doves but I,m going to have to try railbird hunting just to get it out of my system!

Yup! It's great, in NJ we can't shoot doves, so our answer is Sora!
 
An update. I spend a few hours after work each night puttering around on the Skiff. I haven't posted up lately, but progress continues. The inside was treated with a homemade concoction of Boiled linseed oil, turps, varnish and White Vinegar. It brought life back to the traces of remaining original paint.

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The outside was glassed w 6oz cloth and epoxy. Afterwards I fabricated ( from Sassafras and Mahogany) and installed the long gone 1/2 keels and bilge strakes.
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A little touch of class for the drawer front.
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It's almost ready to float. I finished the removable floor over the last few nights. It was a PIA as this boat has so many curves to contend with. She will be ready to float as soon as the weather cooperates.



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Good morning, Jode~


What a sweet little vessel! Very nice work - and congratulations.


Question: What's the purpose of the Vinegar in your Secret Concoction?


All the best,


SJS

 
Amazing that a wooden hull that old would not have rotted away. Must have been stored well out of the weather .Beauiful restoration you,ve done.
 
Steve, thank you. The linseed oil has a tendency to mold is areas of low airflow ( bilges, compartments etc. ) the vinegar helps retard this. It will separate in solution, so you need to shake the jar as you go. I suppose you could apply it later by itself, but I've only ever seen it applied all at once
 
Thanks Roy. It was kept inside for last few decades. It was dry, amazingly so. Some areas dry rotted. So it sucked up an astounding amount of resin/ oils
 
Jode

Your boat has great lines and the restoration job is outstanding. I've never heard of vinegar for that purpose. Good tip.
 
Eric Patterson said:
Jode

Your boat has great lines and the restoration job is outstanding. I've never heard of vinegar for that purpose. Good tip.

Thank you Eric. I kept reading about vinegar as part of the mix. I found several old references specifically in reference to use on boats. They all included the vinegar. Who am o to argue! Lol.
 
Vince Pagliaroli said:
Jode -

Many words can be written about how functional and stylish your restored Rail bird skiff is.

IMO one word works.

WOW!

That's all O need to hear Vince!!! Thanks!
 
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