Another boat for Eric

Saw this beauty in Tod Inlet in BC the other week.* Don't know anything about it--- it has no visible name or hailing port and we didn't see anyone aboard to ask.* So I don't know if it is a converted fishboat or was built this way.* I suspect it was built this way as it's pretty small to have been a commercial troller or gillnetter, plus the high forward section with the portlights and peaked hatch are not typical fishboat features in this basic style of boat.



-- Edited by Marin on Saturday 26th of September 2009 09:21:39 PM

Marin,
I'm very glad you found your way back to Trawler Forum. I'm sure it's a fishboat and very old as well. That aft cabin surely grew out of a fish hold hatch and all the old trollers (turn of the century to maybe even the 40s) were narrow w the signature canoe stern. High sides fwd were not very unusual as most of the type were quite deep. I'm guessing that boat has a draft of over 5'. The large scuppers, the anchor sheave on the side of the stem, the stove stack, the heavy duty rub rail and more inportantly the very small wheelhouse all dictate that is was a fishboat. Usually on a converted fish boat of this vintage the first thing done is to get a bigger wheelhouse. A Few fishermen make yachts out of thier boats when they retire but I doubt this one is in that catergory as he probably would retain the stabilizers, the big heavy anchor winch, the cockpit roof w the dinghy on top and the dry stack exhaust. No* .. this boat was striped when the fishing ended. Lastly I'd say the man who converted her was probably a sailor as the boom rest looks like something akin to a sail boat.

Welcome back Marin
Eric Henning**
Willard 30
Thorne Bay Alaska

Hey Willy,
I was thinking maybe you should've been writting the last post** ..* as I wrote it. I, however, thought you'd have more to add or change. What is a Kishi boat** ...** the name of the builder** perhaps on the lower Fraser** ..* like Stevston?

Eric Henning

Thanks Willy,
Very interesting about the builders. I've thought of building a large flat bottomed skiff w double planking. What would you put between the planks?

Eric Henning

The PT boats of WWII had hulls constructed of double-diagonal planking, same as the runabouts of the era. (Contrary to popular belief there was very little plywood used on PT boats.) Elco and Higgins, the primary manufacturers of PT boats during the war, used canvas between the two layers of mahogany planking. It was saturated with something--- I want to say aircraft-type dope but I could be wrong.

Yea*** ..* sorry Marin but I do think this one's got nothing to do w airplanes. From what I think I know about double planking it's usually diagonal both sets of planks. If not the inboard planks would be HUGE battens (as in batten seam). I want my inboard planks to be diagonal for strength but I want the outboard planks to be parallel to the gunnel so they look the best when varnished. I would make the inner planks of Yellow Cedar and the outer planks of Red Cedar both of which I can get cut to my spec's at local sawmills. If I had to do it now w no further research I'd use Dolphinite*** ..* a very soft and non hardening bedding compound.
In your defense Marin I built a kit kayak in about 1951 and AC dope was supplied for the canvas. Also about 3000 copper tacks.

Eric Henning

nomadwilly wrote:

*From what I think I know about double planking it's usually diagonal both sets of planks.

Click to expand...

You are correct.* I have a copy of a film that was produced by Elco during the war about the manufacturing process of their PT boats and the two layers of diagonal hull*planking*(which are slanted in opposite directions from each other) are very obvious.

Runabout manufacturers like Chris Craft, Hacker, and Gar Wood also used double-diagonal planking in their boat hulls, and I've read that they, too, used a layer of canvas between the two layers of planking to ensure watertightness.* But I don't know what the canvas was saturated with when it was applied.

Dolfinite is good stuff--- we use it on our boat to bed things like window frames and such--- but it does dry out if exposed to air.* This is why we were advised by an experienced shipwright to apply a faired bead of Polyseamseal around the joint between a window frame and the cabin side.* The faired bead of Polyseamseal prevents the Dolfinite from drying out.

Since writing the above I looked up some stuff on the internet and it seems that a common material for saturating the canvas between plank layers is "mastic or paint."


-- Edited by Marin on Friday 2nd of October 2009 03:53:03 PM