Possible interior for Gadfly II/ Mai Star II & updates for the vision ahead for Gadfly II / Mai Star II

 Having looked at a number of designs of of similar boat of the period, The most likely interior is one from the pen of Harrison Butler. Because when Gadfly II / Mai Star II was build Anderson Rigen & Perkins had build a number of boats to his design. Although Gadfly II/ Mai Star II as many of the design features she differs in some places. The Harrison Butler Association do say that the boat does have a number of features that are Harrison Butler, however, there are number that do not. One very noticeable is the shape of the keel and forefoot which are to lat to be Harrison Butler. They have said that it warrants further investigation because the builders build a number of Harrison Butler boats during the time Gadfly II was build and may of used some of the design feature to build Gadfly II. It was not uncommon for boat builder to use some design features when building other boats for other owners while a Harrison Butler was on the stacks being built.


So now with this in mind the interior can be completely removed and be redesigned to look very much like a Harrison Butler boat of its size would have looked like when she was build.

This will have to wait a while as I have to re-rib and frame the port side forward and work my way down the hull renewing the ribs and frames as I go along the boat repairing broken and rotten tops of frames as I go along. I will possibly remove the last of the furniture left in the boat. Also I have to remove the cabin sides and roof off the boat so that I can get to grips with the work easier over the next few months.

All this work around working as a boat builder as a day job and my other restoration project on my James Silver Chance which is presently in Woodplumpton in the North West of England.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Work done today on Mai Star II

Image
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...
Read more

Making patterns of the two foredeck lodging knees and inspecting the deck bems to see which of them can be salvaged and which need remaking.

Image
Making plywood patterns of the to foredeck lodging knees which are on either side of the deck beam which holds the samson post deck plate Having sorted out the deck beams from the other deck bits it was time to inspect which can be salvaged and which will need to be remade using laminated oak to make up the new deck beams. Many of the deck beams are in reasonable condition. while others are a mess with bits missing off the ends and others rotten in place. The deck beam in the middle is completely shot and the only thing that can be used for is a pattern. The other deck parts such as carlins and coamings are under bench until we get round to making new bits later. All the varnished parts are under a cover until we are ready to work on them.  
Read more

The frame and inner hog repairs now done and now its time to make up and steam the ribs in place.

Image
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.   
Read more