Renovating a Classic 5.5 m

As anybody will probably tell you, renovating a classic sail yacht is not too simple a task. The good thing is, not everybody believes half a word they are told. This is exactly how we got into renovating a classic 5.5 m.

According to an initial review of the boat's condition we planned to get by with replacing the deadwood and keelson, keel timbers, keel bolts, garboards and one or two of the planks above the garboards and some local reparation of sheer clamps plus a final sanding and varnish. This appeared like a reasonable amount of work for one winter and we'd be able to get the boat in water for the next season.

The sheer clamp and one of the knees on the starboard side

Since then the scale of works has spread like wildfire. The sheer clamps were found to be mostly decomposed, a majority of the frames had fractures and sections of the stern were rotten. Furthermore, in order to replace the frames it was necessary to remove the deck.

New keel timbers in place

So far we have done most of the work that was initially planned. The deadwood and the keelson have been rebuilt and new keel timbers are installed. At the moment the boat is stripped to merely a hull and we are in the process of replacing the frames. Most of the frames (114 to be precise) are going to be steamed the remaining eight laminated.

Fresh ash-wood frames ready for steaming

Once all the frames have been replaced the hull will once again hold its own weight and work can proceed to local reparations in the stern, planking and rebuilding the deck. It is hoped that the sheer clamp would be ready by the end of this year. This would allow the deck to be ready by early spring, at which time the weather would already allow finishing works such as impregnation, painting and varnishing.

Eero removing five decades of varnish

Unfortunately the Finnish winter is cold, dark and long, which limits the opportunities for working outside. For a fair portion of the year, the sun sets around four in the afternoon. As a result, during the current season work is limited to weekends. But we are four involved in the projects and it's rightout amazing how much four motivated pairs of hands can get done in one day.

By the way, have a look at DIY Wood Boat, they feature first class illustrations of the parts of boats, at least for me this was mostly all new vocabulary.