Saturday 5 September 2015

Chestnut Moonlight restoration, part one.

Time to start the Chestnut Moonlight we bought a while back, it needs an entire restoration but is a great hull with no lumps or cracked ribs. Outer gunwales were changed out for these extra deep ones crafted by a previous owner, along with a strip of fiberglass to bridge the gap between the canvas and boat. The canvas had been trimmed down no doubt due to rot, and extend its lifespan. The ends have the typical rot, and will be rebuilt. Originally green, then red, then finally blue. This one will be kept (for a while at least) as its a very slender 16' hull, at 32" wide and with the undercut heart decks. The seller stated they retrieved the boat from a cottage in Lac Megantic Que, where my family originated. Seems fitting to do it up right..



Original slanted decals, circa post-1956


Wide, tapered ribs and heart deck. 


Flaking interior finish


Gunwales,trimmed canvas and fiberglass strip


Bare hull, seats and thwarts to be removed


Typical end rots, will need rail and stem trips


Despite the drywall screws





Lots of help with  this one



Almost ready for stripping


Stems coming off, TONS of sealant and steel screws



Stembands were saved, to be cleaned up

Bites in rail from seat and thwart bolts


Nice original bronze carriage bolts. 4 wings under the head seat into the rails, reproductions made today lack this feature. 



Traditional weave, to be taken out  and redone. 






Rasp marks from fairing the hull, typical factory practice. 


Nice solid planking, hull will be faired after refinishing and repairs made, before canvassing.


Even got help with the cleanup


First results of stripping before the heat got to be too much and dried the goop too fast. 


Small amounts of varnish to be removed


Ash decks out, and all the steel screws


Ash stems, with serial number stamps, unusual for a Chestnut


Gunwale tips to be spliced


Most varnish off, one more pass and done.


Some vertical grain planking, some flat sawn 


One more pass with stripper and repairs, varnish and canvas.