Luger Leeward Restoration Thread

[Dave Custer]

I got the top layers of CSM on. It went well!


Here is a close up. Not perfect by any means but I am pleased with the results.


What do you think?

[SkiprJohn]

I don't know why the original had exposed ends to the stringers.

If you notice the way that each of the stringers has four corners on the hull. If you put a lot of pressure on the bottom of your boat exactly where one of those corners in it could crack the gelcoat on the bottom. Hopefully that won't happen because it isn't a heavy boat.

Are you planning to do more layers? If so then one more layer of mat and a layer of cloth over the top would be great. Otherwise with the cloth as a top layer you'll be doing a fair bit of sanding to get all the little stickeries sanded off.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

I don't know why the original had exposed ends to the stringers.

If you notice the way that each of the stringers has four corners on the hull. If you put a lot of pressure on the bottom of your boat exactly where one of those corners in it could crack the gelcoat on the bottom. Hopefully that won't happen because it isn't a heavy boat.

Are you planning to do more layers? If so then one more layer of mat and a layer of cloth over the top would be great. Otherwise with the cloth as a top layer you'll be doing a fair bit of sanding to get all the little stickeries sanded off.

You can do up to five layers at one time. You don't have to wait for each layer to cure before you put the next one on.

[Dave Custer]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

I don't know why the original had exposed ends to the stringers.

If you notice the way that each of the stringers has four corners on the hull. If you put a lot of pressure on the bottom of your boat exactly where one of those corners in it could crack the gelcoat on the bottom. Hopefully that won't happen because it isn't a heavy boat.

Are you planning to do more layers? If so then one more layer of mat and a layer of cloth over the top would be great. Otherwise with the cloth as a top layer you'll be doing a fair bit of sanding to get all the little stickeries sanded off.

Thanks for the insights as always. It could be that the guy who originally put the boat together decided to leave his stringer ends open to save a few inches of glass.....then I just followed in his footsteps.
Hopefully between CPES, paint, and basic care taking, it won't cause any troubles.

I may order some more 1708 glass Monday and cover all of the stringers with a layer of that. The single layer of CSM was all I was planning on doing, but the 1708 would be good for peace of mind. Hopefully I have enough resin already!
I used a half quart short of a gallon today.

You can't really see it in the pictures, but I grounded a radius on the corners to soften them where they hit the hull. Also, the bottom sides of the stringers are shaped to fit the hull somewhat.

[Dave Custer]

Well I spent more money! Lol I bought paint and supplies yesterday. That stuff is EXPENSIVE!

Anyway! I was putting in some glass base pieces for the keel board and decided to go ahead and grind out the forestay area and fill it in, so I wouldn't waste any resin.
I'm going to have to do some sanding, but otherwise it looks ok. I used several layers of CSM and two layers of 24 oz stitchmat. It will get two more layers of stitchmat, plus a heavy duty new breast hook from the underside, later on.



I covered it in wax paper to keep the rain off as this part of the boat is closest to the large opening in the barn.
Last night a glassed the keel board in with CSM and I'll be going back over it with two layers of 24 oz stitchmat tabbing. The tabbing will be screwed to the oak keel board, once everything is set.
I'm also going to start painting the inside of the CB housing in preparation for reinstalling it. (That will be a good practice area too! )

[Dave Custer]

I got the keel board installed and tabbed. I also covered all of the stringers with 1708 stitchmat.




I also painted the inside faces of the centerboard housing and the forward cabin topper. I am very pleased with the paint.

[Dave Custer]

I had originally planned on installing the centerboard housing next. However, until the decking is installed, the centerboard housing will have no side to side supports.

So, I threw that idea in the garbage, and decided it was time to invert the boat. With a little bit of heavy lifting, grunting, and making funny faces, we got it flipped over and jacked up.




I got the blue tape off of the hull as well as the motor mount. Then I sanded it all down.






I also laminated the mast step board and coated it in CPES.

[SkiprJohn]

"I had originally planned on installing the centerboard housing next. However, until the decking is installed, the centerboard housing will have no side to side supports."

Some versions of your boat came with triangular supports on the aft end of the daggerboard trunk. You can see them in some of the literature. I like the idea to give the trunk more athwartship stability.

[SkiprJohn]

You can see the triangular piece on the aft end of this trunk. I'd add one forward too. The description called it an angular piece to help stabilize the trunk.

[Dave Custer]

Clarification!
I will be using triangular supports on the centerboard on the fore and after ends. However the triangular supports will be attached to the decking. The order I'm thinking of is caulk and glass the centerboard in, install the decking, then the triangular supports.

[SkiprJohn]

Ok got confused with terminology. The cockpit sole is what I would call what you called decking.

Sounds like you have a handle on their function.

How will you remove the cockpit sole to clean under once you've install those triangular supports? I think I'd install the support directly to the hull then cut a notch for sole to go around them. Just something else to consider.

[Dave Custer]

Oh ok! Sorry for confusing terminology! Cleaning beneath the sole is a concern. I am thinking of leaving the center two planks relatively unattached for this purpose. This will give me sufficient access I think.

I can certainly allow the triangular supports to rest on the hull, however there would be no way to attach them to the hull. Is this ok? They will be firmly attached to the CB housing and wouldn't be able to go anywhere. I just do not know much about this sort of thing. I think it would certainly look better to run it down onto the hull.

Thoughts????

[SkiprJohn]

Sure, just shape them as close to the hull as possible, run a little fillet on both sides of the support where it meets the hull and then about 3 layers of cloth or mat then cloth. Start with a 3" wide, then a 5" wide then a 7" wide piece of cloth. Should be the same as attaching a bulkhead to the hull as in the books.

[Dave Custer]

No big updates really! I sanded the hull down, filled in the scratches and dings, none of which were serious.
I painted the hull over a few days, doing two coats at a time and lightly sanding between them. I got five coats on the sides and transom and six coats on the bottom. I used the whole durn gallon of paint! It should be a good build-up though.
The rolling went great. I used a 12-inch foam roller for application, and then a 4-inch nap roller to even things out nicely. It worked like a charm.

My parents are in Nashville using my ipad as a GPS, so all I have is a cell phone picture.


I now have to clean out the forward area that is decked over. I've already removed the three stringers and breasthook that were there, but I still have to grind/sand the area. I hurt my hand working in the shop the other day, and wearing gloves is extremely uncomfortable, so I have postponed doing the fiberglass grinding. Knotted wire wheels on angle grinders, contacting bare skin, are not comfortable.
My hand is healing fine. Here it is after two days! I may try working on the boat later today.


And just for fun, here is an action shot of me in the shop.


While I'm at it, here is a new bottle opener I've started making. I was shooting for a "rooster head" bottle opener, but I think I got "mythological creature" bottle opener instead. A friend of mine said what it looked like would depend on how many bottles you'd opened.

[Dave Custer]

Well my ipad is back in town, so I have better pics now.

First off, let's get a good picture of the painted hull.


This next picture can be a bit confusing, because the boat is inverted.
This is of the forward deck area. I removed the three old stringers and the breasthook and ground down the old glass. Then I laid a single layer of 1708 stitch mat down. I doubled up on the stitch mat on the forward are where the forestay attaches. There are now about 4 or 5 layers of the 1708 and a similar number of CSM layers built up in this area. That, combined with the new, white-oak breasthook board, will strengthen the forestay attachment point sufficiently to prevent further damage.


The two side stringers are pretty long so I laid some more 1708 down as a base layer for the stringers.


Next I cut out several more pieces. I cut out the stringers for the area shown above (those are the long piece on the right hand side of this next picture,) I cut out the breashook (the odd shaped piece) I cut out the motor mount board, the new rudder backer board, and the two chainplate backers.
All are being coated with CPES in preparation for installation.


I also got the hull taped off for the red stripe. I've started painting it and hopefully I'll get the tape pulled off Monday. It's gonna look goooooood!