Our Project Boat

[Alistairnz]

Warning: Thread will be picture heavy.

So about 6 months ago I was offered a Davidson 31 very cheap, so cheap I had to buy her. She is an IOR inspired Racer/Cruiser designed by Laurie Davidson and built in 1975 by Compass Yachts here in New Zealand in 1975. Her hull and cabin top are solid glass with a balsa core foredeck and GOP side decks. She was re-powered several years ago from a Bukh 12 to a Yanmar 2GM20, at which point a new gland was installed. Who ever installed the new glad decided that it did not need lag bolts and a layer of chop strand matt glass was enough to secure it against the vibration of the engine.... It wasn't which resulted in the glad working itself loose and would leak when ever the engine was running. This was of great concern to the previous owner and rather than getting the problem fixed he decided that she would be better left on the marina to gather city grime and marine growth, all the while he used it as his private smoking den.

Upon our first viewing she was in a very sad state but there was potential to work with. This is what she looked like

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Having agreed to a price with the owner we paid up and our project journey began.

Initial list of repairs and areas that require attention:
-Gland Leaking
-Large soft area on fore deck
-Ball valves in bathroom severely corroded
-Mystery leak (slow) somewhere below water line
-Every nook and cranny full of previous owners items left on boat
-Running rigging old and mouldy
-Wash boards leaking
-Leak from water filler cap into boat
-Engine full of hard salt crystals
-Gel coat on decks and cabin top faded and cracked
-Decent marine growth on hull
-Windows crazed and leaking
-Very tired and dated interior
-Filthy decks and canvas

I will add to this thread in stages as we progress through the restoration and modernisation of Glissade.

In the interest of full disclosure I am a boat builder/shipwright by trade and have access to most things we will be using at trade prices.

[atoll]

if you need inspiration check out this thread!
mine had half a ton of concrete poured in the bilge,and soot from a paraffin lamp covering all the surfaces!

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...rew-59975.html

[SkiprJohn]

Congratulations and good luck on the restoration.

[Alistairnz]

Having taken ownership of Glissade our first stop was the floating dry dock in the marina to see what sort of shape her hull was in as we had purchased her without a survey.

This is her up on the dry dock...














The out of water inspection revealed that her prop was almost eaten away from electrolysis, which I think was due the fact there were 3 anodes jammed onto the shaft. There also appeared to be a lot of small osmosis blisters all over the hull, and the keel join looked to have suffered some damage from multiple groundings.


So now we have added these jobs to the list
-Osmosis repairs
-Inspect keel joint and bolts
-Replace propeller
-Repair grounding damage on keel


But apart from being a little nervous with the keel situation, as we had to sail her 15 miles to the boat yard and her new marina, I was pretty happy at this stage about my decision.

[gjordan]

Good Looking Boat!!!, your list looks about normal for a somewhat neglected boat. As a shipwright you should whip through most of them, and purchasing at a discount will help a lot. It looks to me like you have a gem that just needs a little polish and money to be a nice boat. Congats. ______Grant.

[montenido]

Hey, she cleaned up nicely. I wish you luck and success on your project. Aren't all boats "projects"? Mine have been. I'm on boat number 3 so far...

Cheers, Bill

[Alistairnz]

Thanks guys, yeah she has scrubbed up alright so far. I have another round of pictures from our first time on the hard but also have a new born baby so hard to find the time to do it. However I am grateful she isn't as big a job as my last project.....



But I digress I have a dirty nappy to change


Shipwright by trade, adventurer by nature

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Alistairnz

Having taken ownership of Glissade our first stop was the floating dry dock in the marina....

Interesting dry dock. I have never seen an elevator like that before. Does the channel and planks move sideways? I just wonder how it is adjusted for different boat sizes or beams.

Originally Posted by Alistairnz

But I digress I have a dirty nappy to change

A man with two babies. Change nappies, paint, mix resin, sand, fix, clean-up, change nappies.... Wow, lots of work.

Good luck with the project and keep us posted.

[Alistairnz]

The dry dock is amazing, the platform's buoyancy floods with water to sink it and the arms are hydraulic which operate independently from the platform. You just drive into position then the arms grab the boat to hold her while the water is pumped out of the pontoon under the platform. Very simple but it's very cool and convenient

Getting pretty quick at changing the old nappies now haha

Our boats coming up on the slip in 3 weeks so we can finish off her interior and get the soft spot sorted on the deck. Very excited to get this sorted out

Shipwright by trade, adventurer by nature

[Alistairnz]

When the day eventually came to move her from one marina to another yard to be lifted and worked on about 15 miles away we woke up to 30 gusting 35 knots from the north west. This would give us a broad reach most of the way. My father in-law and brother in-law, all shareholders in the project, were along for the ride but neither having much sailing experience. We christened the boat with a splash of rum and headed out into the harbour to hoist the main and get under way with our lift time only a couple of hours away. Motoring out of the marina we noticed that if we got the engine, a Yanmar 2gm20 shaft drive, over 1000rpm she would quickly get very hot. This left us with barely enough power to keep her nose into the wind, exciting times. Finally got the main hoisted with a reef and we were off. 2 mins later with my father in-law at the which way stick we promptly Chinese gybed, good way to test rigging and sail and scare the crap out of the family :non ono:

The rest of the trip was fast and uneventful, reaching a top speed of 9 knots. Pretty happy with how she went.

Once out of the water she had a very hard wet rub which showed up even more blisters :bang head:


No dramas just a few more to grind out.

Pulled the engine out and stripped it down to find the entire salt water system caked full of solid salt. cleaned up and put back together with new gaskets, anodes and thermostat. let her soak over night full of salt away to clean out what we couldn't get to.

Keel bolts tight

Interior... completely stripped

Wiring pulled out except for engine loom

Headlining ground off ready for filling

New anti foul, she looks great for changing it to black.

New propellor and prop speed

New shaft anode

Keel join inspected all seems ok

Deck water blasted and scrubbed

New anchor, chain and warp

New flow coat in anchor locker

Toilet removed

Leak around companion way sealed

New rubber seal around forward hatch

New water deck filler

Cut and polish topsides

Filled and faired cabin ceiling

Installed stainless mushroom vents

Removed gland and resealed with grease and lag bolts before reinstalling engine

Should be water tight now











Boat due to come out soon to finish interior woohoo roll on summer!!!!!


PS sorry can't work out why some pictures are the wrong way, they aint like that on my computer.....

[IdoraKeeper]

Nice job. Keep on trucking!

[barnakiel]

That floating dock looks like the one off ORAM's ...

If you are at ORAM's, give big hug and kiss to all their staff. We overhauled there and they were great people with great service at great prices.

Down under in pohutukawa country summer is a'comming ;-) Have fun, enjoy Rangitoto/Motutapu anchorage ...

Great job with the boat!

Cheers,
barnakiel

[Alistairnz]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

That floating dock looks like the one off ORAM's ...

If you are at ORAM's, give big hug and kiss to all their staff. We overhauled there and they were great people with great service at great prices.

Down under in pohutukawa country summer is a'comming ;-) Have fun, enjoy Rangitoto/Motutapu anchorage ...

Great job with the boat!

Cheers,
barnakiel

That's the one! We brought her from Westhaven, fantastic crew in Orams that's for sure. Glad you think the same!


Shipwright by trade, adventurer by nature

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Alistairnz

That's the one! We brought her from Westhaven, fantastic crew in Orams that's for sure. Glad you think the same!


Shipwright by trade, adventurer by nature

Westhaven is where we lived back in 2004 thru 2006. Very nice people there. Lou was the security officer, such a great person, we miss her very much.

Fair winds!

b.
now Las Palmas, Canary Islands, but 'we will be back' ;-)

[SVTatia]

She looks great on the outside, great work.
Now, you have done all of that - outside polish, antifoul, stripped in just over 2 weeks?
Wow, wanna come to Canada help me?