New (old) Project

[Patricks Dad]

on 1/1/13, I hauled home a new project. It's a 1949 Ole Lind boat. I bought it from a guy in Detroit Lakes MN (where the Ole Lind Boat Works was in business for many years in the first half of the 1900s). It was in pretty bad shape (worse than I thought when I decided to buy it), so I let it sit for about 6 weeks before starting to work on it. Here's a few pictures of the process I've been going through....






























My next step is to put new ribs in, new gunwales, a new finish and she'll be ready for the water (this fall).

[Glen Smith]

Wow, lotsa' fun on that eh Randy?

[Snowman]

Randy,

Lots of work - stay focused!!

You mention installing ribs. I also see that you glassed the inside. Are you going with the same rib configuration or a modified one, given that you have glassed the inside?


Snowman

[Patricks Dad]

I've glassed the inside and the outside. The ribs will look the same as before (same spacing and dimensions) but will be epoxied in place rather than nailed to avoid puncturing the glassed hull.

[Jim Dodd]

That's one Big project ! My Compliments for sure !

What are you using that follows the contour of the hull so nicely on the clamps and saddles ?

Jim

[Patricks Dad]

Thanks Jim. If you are referring to the cradle that the boat is sitting in, I built it while the hull was inverted to match the shape of the hull. It's just a few 3" wide strips of 1/2" plywood with slices every 1/2" through all but the last ply. This made the strips pretty flexible. 3 of those laminated made for a strong structure that conformed to the hull wherever I wanted support. I then built a simple frame to tie all the "ribs" together and ensure it would sit flat on the ground once I flipped it over. I was worried that once I turned it upright and took all the ribs out it would need some additional support. It has worked out pretty well.

[Jim Dodd]

I see ! Very nice workmanship Randy !

Jim

[Denis]

Old products meet new construction ideas. Nice to see old boats restored.

[Patricks Dad]

I've started putting ribs back into the boat. I've carefully laid out the placement of the odd ribs that only cover the floor of the boat. I struggled with either placing them where the old ribs were or placing them with an even spacing. I chose to align to an even spacing (just under 4" center-to-center). Some of the original ribs were off as much as 3/4". Once those are all in, I'll go back and add the even ribs between these which go from gunwale to gunwale. It's a slow process. The first few didn't need any steaming because the bottom of the boat is fairly flat. It won't be long and they will need steaming.

[Jim Dodd]

Love that clamp system !

Jim

[Patricks Dad]

A few more ribs in...

[Patricks Dad]

Finally, all the floor ribs are in. The wood for these ribs was donated by Ted Moores by the way... Thanks Ted!

Now to start steaming and installing the even ribs that go between these...

[BearLeeAlive]

Great restoration job. Looking forward to seeing more as the project continues.

[Patricks Dad]

Started bending the even ribs yesterday.

[Patricks Dad]

Just a few more ribs to go..



And then I can start glueing all the long ribs in place (that will take a few weeks).