James Silver Western Isles Chance Restoration

  Last weekend while working on my other project boat in my yard I badly injured my left ankle which as put me off any heavy physical work, however, it will not stop me from getting some work done of other projects that do not me to stand to do them.  Jobs like rubbing down the bits that were brought back from Chance over the past few months which are in my workshop.    I had made a lot of plans for the next few months which now have to be amended. The main job that is going to have to be amended is the removal broken ribs and the rotten planks that are going have to be replaced before we can move Chance back to Essex to be near my workshop. So I am going to have to get some help to do the job while I can not get in the boat to do the job myself.  So if anyone knows of anyone who can help in the Preston area please DM me. Thanks from Simon Tricia & Michael and my brother John

So far, my brother john and I have stripped out the inside of Chance so there is very little in the way of the hull, so now we can turn our attention to removing the broken ribs and replacing them with green oak which will be steamed in place using the old method of a wooden steam box and using an electric boiler to make the steam. However, before we can steam the new ribs in position we have to take off the both side deck edge covering boards on the fore deck and the aft deck on the starboard side so that the steamed ribs can be push down into position from above behind the single beam shelf in the aft cabin and behind the high deck beam shelf and the lower beam shelf which is the beam shelf that is the beam shelf in the aft cabin which is used to bolt the rubbing stake as it is steamed in position as it curves round the hull. So, while I am at my workshop it will be time to sort out the oak and next time, I am up at Chance I will cut the oak to the correct size and then steam it

So far, we have removed much of the interior furniture to gain access to the inside of the hull to inspect the condition of the planking and to inspect the condition of ribs throughout the boat. What we found was that the forward part of the boat, that is from the stem to as far back as the galley the ribs were in good condition and will only need washing down to come clean and then get a few coats of primer and then undercoat and finally either white or cream gloss to finish off the paint work in that part of the boat. However, that is where the good part ends because from then on it is a different story as many of the ribs in the main cabin are broken along the line of the turn of the bilge. Not all the ribs are broken, in this area there are 12 ribs aside, all but one on the starboard are broken, however, on the port side 8 out of 12 ribs are broken. So, there are going to be a lot of work that needs doing in this area alone to give back this part of the boat its original strength.

  Having cut out the broken piece of wood from this door frame it is time to let in a piece of Mahogany that is a close match to the existing colour of the original mahogany. This is the only damage on this door, so when it is planed down and sanded back and a little bit of stained varnish it will match the surrounding wood.   A least this is a start with more small and larger repairs to come has we go through the large number doors we have to do that came out of Chance. After the glue had cured over the weekend it was time to plane and sand the repair to the same level as the rest, the only thing to do now is stain the new piece to the same darker colour of the rest of the door frame. After a coat of dark mahogany stain and a few coats of yacht marine varnish it will be okay. One door repair down more to come over the next few weeks and months as we go through the pile of doors that need repairing or replacing.

When I was given Chance last year the previous owner had only just got the boat a few months before he gave Chance to me. The major problem was that the owner before him had many of the parts from the boat still in his possession and was unwilling to handover the parts he had taken off Chance to the owner who I was given Chance from.  So many of the parts are with the owner who gave Chance to before me. So now I have to source a large number of parts to replace the missing items such as , portholes of various sizes, a complete set of stanchions, 2 x tabernacles mast fittings  , chainplates and many other items which I will list later after I have gone over Chance to see what items are missing.  I am now at a stage in the restoration where I will just have to take a few more items out of the inside of the cockpit and then I will be making a start on the hull planking and the ribs. However, before I can tackle the ribs I will have to remove the deck edge covering boards to expose the top

  Dear readers of my Patreon page,  I know you read my page as it keep a record of the number of people who have read the page and to anyone else. So far it has been disheartening the lack of interaction I have had on my patreon page and my YouTube channel about my restoration project on Chance. If there is anything wrong with the contain or it is boring the hell out of you please let me know and I can change the contain or close the page down.  I have been a full time boatbuilder for the past 45 years and have a wealth  experience in the boat building and restoration industry which I would like to hand on to future generations , I am husband and a father of a disable adult which makes life interesting on a daily basis.  My son has help me from time to time on this project and my other project Mai Star II which you can follow on another Patreon page. My wife is helping to when her work shifts allow and I also have my brother helping with this project, so it is a truly family project.