REBUILDING MIDSHIPS, STARBOARD SIDE (2)

[bob mitchell]

Well, things didn't turn out the way I expected. The aft end approach to sliding inner clamp reinforcement was to short. But the area that has to be totally rebuilt, at the engine ventilation, is totally gone, so I can pull some deck beams and get a good angle to slide a six or seven foot board in, if I cut the forward pilot house bulkwark away a little - it is shot at that height anyway - probably from a leaky pilot house windshield (like the repair on the port side). 

      Note that the one sound board you see in this photo was a hoaky cover up repair. The photo also shows the ends of the 3 layers of the inner clamp as well as the one layer for the outer clamp.

          The leaky pilot house windows are the reason quite a bit of that pilot house forward side panel comes off. ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF A NEWPORTER IS THAT THE PILOT HOUSE/DOGHOUSE ASSEMBLY IS OF TWO LAYERS OF 3/4" PLYWOOD, WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO SCARF IN WHOLE NEW SECTIONS WITHOUT TO MUCH TROUBLE. JUST CUT ONE LAYER BACK SEVERAL INCHES THAN THE SECOND FOR A GOOD EPOXY OVERLAP. NOW THAT IS A HELL OF A BACKHANDED COMPLEMENT!!!!!!

         In assessing the plywood cabin sides, I found the best way is to just take out the crappy windows, because 1) IT IS THEIR LEAKS THAT CAUSE THE DAMAGE (especially bad if endgrain not sealed) and 2) once they are removed it gives you easy access to a fiberglass edge so that you can see what is underneath. Sometimes no 3/4" layer has to be removed, sometimes only the outside layer, and sometimes both layers. ONE CRITICAL THING TO REMEMBER - DON'T TEAR UP THE ROTTEN SIDE, BECAUSE IT IS YOUR PATTERN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALSO REMEMBER, BE VERY CAREFUL ALONG THE TOP - THAT IS PROBABLY GOOD WOOD, BUT HAS VERTICAL SCREWS INTO THE ENDGRAIN OF THE SIDES - IF YOU TAKE THE FIBERGLASS OFF YOU CAN FIND AND REMOVE THEM SO YOU WILL NOT TEAR UP THE ROOF PLYWOOD.

        Another thing you might notice is the fiberglass is very hard to remove in the deck/pilot house corner. This is because the deck and it's fiberglass layer extend under the cabin sides.

          No matter what, I will put a strong carlin in the cabin joining the cabin sides to the deck (instead of vertical lag bolts through the deck beams and then into the endgrain of the cabinside plywood. (See earlier articles on port side cabin replacement for photos and more details)

[Clyde A. Phillips]

Be aware that the cabin side were two layers of 3/4 inch plywood when I started with the Newporters in the late 60's.  At one point sometime afterwards and to the end of production the cabin sides were of one layer of 3/4 inch and one of 5/8 inch ply.  This change was at a time when I was not at the yards.  When I came back on these boats Ack had already moved back to California to his retirement job as a yacht broker and I never knew if this change was his idea before he left or a change after he left.  Other changes were made during that time also which so far seem to have good changes.

Bob mentioned the cabin tops so I'll remind you that these were of three layers of 3/8 inch plywood glued up on a mold.  No fasteners were used except two 3/4 brads (at the edge of each piece of plywood on the center line) just to hold the sheets from slipping around on the mold while gluing pressure was added.

[bob mitchell]

Thanks Clyde. My impression yesterday, from examining the plywood in the windows, was that hull #113 made in 1967 still had two layers of 3/4", but I will check today. (124 hulls were made as far as I know, with Moonfleet being the last)