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

Now that the most of the hull forward of the cockpit sole it can be coated with a mixture of boiled linseed oil and Cuprinol.  This was a mixture we used to preserve the boat we build many years ago and as been a good  mixture to use on boat for many years.  We expect the hull to soak up a great deal of this mixture before the hull planking stops soaking it up.  Once this mixture is applied then the hull can be painted with bilge paint in the below the waterline and yacht primer above the waterline. Let the fun begin with the large paint brushes.  

 The inside is now getting the paint stripped off the hull so that it can be inspected and then painted before any ribs or frames are fitted.  The hull is reasonable condition now the paint as been removed, just needs a good sanding down on the inside to get it ready to painted again. Also now all the old nail and screw holes are plugged on the port side forward the ribs and the frame can be fitted without chance of pulling through the hull and that way making the fixing stronger and the hull can regain some if not all of its original shape. There is going to be more of these plugs needed when we do the ribs on the starboard side later in the restoration. Next week, the rest of the paint on the hull will be gone and then the full inspection of the hull can take place and any work marked to be done and list of materials done so that the materials can be sourced and a plan of action can be set in place and the work done. Another job to be done is to make a pattern of the tops of...

 The hull planking on Mai Star II is not so much like a pin cushion and more like a porcupine with a large number of the old oversized holes in the hull being filled with softwood plugs so that the new ribs can be fixed through new wood and not having to replace planks unnecessarily because of a few oversized holes that can be easily filled and the holes re-drill to be able to be used when fitting the new ribs and frames.    The first job to do to the hull was to cut back the plugs and sand them back until they were smooth with the hull planking once more. The other job was to pull the two halves of the planking where the frame is missing so they were flat with the surrounding planking so it was easier to sand the plugs back. A major job to do with the replacement of the sternpost which got broken when moving the boat across the yard. Looks like it needed replacing anyway. We will be replacing the transom at the same time as the sternpost so making the back of the boat st...