Restoration of the classic 1930's yacht Gadfly II/Mai Star II

Although the outside is not been started on yet the main body of work as been on the inside repairing and replacing rotten and broken frames and floors.   The outside as been sanded back ready for work ro start on this part of the hull once the work on the inside and the deck is completed The inside looking a lot better now that te first coat of primer as been applied to the plank above the bilge line. The next job will be to keep applying more coats of primer until the wood starts to turn to a uniform colour  and then the undercoat will then be applied.  Another job will be to fit the floor bearers back in the lower part of the hull and so we can walk and work on the inside easier. The inside is now changing for the better and will soon be putting back the deck beams and the top planks again now the that the frames are done and we can fit the three missing ribs shortly.  

Having removed the lower section of the first frame to have a lower section across the keel/hog. It is time to make a pattern of the piece and go through the oak pile to find some suitable pieces of oak to make up a new lower section which connects together  the two frames in the hull at the forward end of the keel bolts.  Another jobwe did was to remove as much of the rotten section of lower forefoot which the samson post mortised into when it was in position. The new forefoot will be made out of some of the seasoned oak  we have in the yard and will likely be made up of two pieces glued together to make up the correct thickness. and then new bolts will be made up and the fore foot will then be bedded on a bed of red lead putty and thick paint.  The three bolts were able to be moved in their holes which is a good sign and will make it easier to put new bolts in to the holes. possibly go up a size and bore new holes through the outer part of the hog/keel. Just placin...

The inner hog pieces now replaced and ready to be screwed and bedded down on a mixture of  red lead powder and linseed putty in the same method the original inner hog pieces were fitted almost 80 years ago. The frames are all dry fitted and the same method to be used on the frames as are the inner hog pieces. The same method will be used on these port side frames  The grown floor which as come out of here will be replaced with a laminated oak as it is difficult to source a piece of oak with the grain pattern to make a new floor.   

As before removing the rotten or broken top sections of the frames and replacing these sections with seasoned oak which we have kept for just such a job where seasoned oak is the better wood to do this job. we have replaced two frames on the port side, one of them is a complete frame and the other is the upper section of the next frame aft in the boat. Both of these frames are the frames where the chain plates are bolted through and they have to be in good condition to take the loads the chainplate put in this area of the hull. The next job on the starboard side will be to remove and replace the next frame back from the frame that as already had the upper section replaced and have this done on this frame too. The rest of the frames are in good condition and only need a bit of attention to make them fit for purpose. That is that they just need a small piece of oak let in on the very top part of the frame. The inner part of the hog on Mai Star II is made up of sections of hog set in betw...

  We have now got the new port side frame screwed in position. Now that is done we can start to shore up the planks that are not sitting correctly to the shape of the frame because they have moved over the years and had refastened when they started to move. So we are going to sort this out now when we refasten this frame in to position. This will also help when it comes time to refit the ribs that are missing in the same area of the hull.

The first of many updates to come now we have time to work on Mai Star II this spring. The first job will be to get the frame back in position and once it is fixed then we can start to make and fit the steamed ribs that are missing on the port side. Then work round the other jobs on the tops of the frames and make a new breasthook.