Life's a Gamble, so lets take a Chance Restoration Project

Having removed the panels of mahogany from the forecabin of Chance on the starboard side and got them all outside in front of Chance it was time to inspect them and see what can be salvaged and what will need to be replaced.   This one was the only panel that can be saved out of all the panels as the other panels are rotten in different places which it makes impossible to repair so it is going to be a hunt for some good mahogany faced marine plywood to replace the panels I can not source large enough panels of mahogany. What I am doing is making sure the old panels can be used as templates for the new panels that are going to be made out of mahogany faced marine plywood I did not expect to see this on my James A Silver iron nails nailing bulkheads in place. Bulkheads I have worked on in the past have been either screwed in position or bolted never nailed in position iron nails. The sorting still going on as I get through the pile of wood.  

Got two of the three deck edge covering boards removed at this point and what I found was a world of hurt and a lot of covering up and bodging of the rotten or broken wood under the board. The infills were only wood that held the area together and in some places it was just rotten or not fixed in position or not the correct shape and size. The ends of the deck beams were even there in places and the beam that were there were out of position  In some places the only thing holding anything together was a ton of sealant and not much else.  

Getting the fixings out of the rest of the portside deck edge covering boards as been a long drawn out job. As many of the fixings are cross head or otherwise known as Phillip head screws.  These screws are often screwed in with power screwdrivers and in the process run out the heads so you can not remove the screw out of the hole or the head is full of glue from when the hardwood plug was fitted over the screw head. You can see in the photo that the head is full of glue and the edges of the screw driver head are run off The power these screws were drien in they even bend the head ove on some of the ones I was able to remove. Fast to drive the screw in and almost impossible to remove when they are in this condition   

These updates are of the restoration of Chance our James Silver Western Isles Motorsailer, now that we have Chance at Titchmarsh Marina in Walton on the Naze Essex. The restoration can and will be easier to do has Chance is now very close to my own workshop and small yard. Working on removing the deck edge covering board to expose the port side beam shelf so it can be replaced and the fore deck beams which need removing an replacing as well  

  https://youtu.be/GBSBFHiN9Kw These updates are of the restoration of Chance our James Silver Western Isles Motorsailer, now that we have Chance at Titchmarsh Marina in Walton on the Naze Essex. The restoration can and will be easier to do has Chance is now very close to my own workshop and small yard. In this video you can see that Simon is .down at Chance sorting out a few things to be able to start to rebuilding the cockpit floor bears and be able to refit the cockpit floor down once again and be able to get in and out of the boat easier and also have somewhere to work in a area which is well lit. The main part of the next few days is to sort out the floor bearers for the cockpit and also the galley area and the forecabin where Simon is doing a lot of work sorting out the bilges and the sides of the hull so work can start on the planking and then get the staging up around the boaw to take off the covering boards to expose the beam shelf and the tops of tertibs and the deck be...

  These updates are of the restoration of Chance our James Silver Western Isles Motorsailer, now that we have Chance at Titchmarsh Marina in Walton on the Naze Essex. The restoration can and will be easier to do has Chance is now very close to my own workshop and small yard. Titchmarsh Marina will be Chances' home for the next four to five years while we restore her to her former glory with the aid of our family and friends. This time I was working in the forecabin of Chance, removing the forecabin hanging locker bulkhead and front and then removing the forward end of the Galley bulkhead which had sections of or areas of rot in the panels which when I return to the workshop with the panels will be set out and get grading pieces grade into them and then refitted once the planking and ribs are sorted and the hull planking on the inside face is repainted with primer an the cream gloss as this appears to be the original colour of the hull planking when I have removed the coats of pai...

Working on the forecabin planking and ribs and framework under the watchful eye of the ship's mascot The first of the Chance Restoration mugs now on sale on website and we have other merchandise for you to buy and support the project. The temporary galley area up and running so we can have a brew wherever we need one during the day while working on Chance,