I’m guessing if this board is original, it was made in the mid to late 50’s. The frame is Western Red Cedar. I think the the solid rails are Australian Cedar. Not sure what the ply is.
It appeared from the outside to be to possibly professionally built. But after removing the tail section of ply and exposing the framing, I’m thinking it my be built from a kit or plans by a competent amature builder.
It appears not to have seen the water, as there was saw dust and bits and pieces of timber inside when I rermoved some of the ply for repairs. There was no sign of any salt residue around the bung.
It has been sitting in the current owners shed for 30 years and the deck was covered in bird poo. I dont think it was ever varnished. platty.
agreed, dave always makes sure of that. i look forward to seeing how beautiful it is post-restoration.
i’ve seen this board in the flesh, & it’s a bit of a mystery. i think the guess about it being a quality piece of homemade work is a good one. it’s incredible to think it has never seen saltwater. geez i’d love to have the honour of christening such a craft. she must be around sixty years old.
interesting, also, is the slot in the skin of the hull for a fin. there’s no reinforcement blocking built into the frame for a fin to sit into, just a hole. perhaps the maker or someone else decided to attach a fin as an afterthought. so i’m interested, do you plan on attaching a fin dave?
Hey Oldy. I think you may be right about the fin being an after thought. The owner didn’t want to worry about putting a fin in. I thought about trying to talk him into putting one in. Even went and sourced some templates. But after looking at the board and the lack or structure for a fin, I decided not to worry about it.
The new nose and tail ply has been glued into place and detailed. And I’ve started the varnishing. It’s going to take a few more coats than first thought. The ply is so dry, the first coat all but disappeared into the timber.
By the way. This years auction has been bought foward a month. It’s on Sunday 23rd September. Let me know if your keen to go down. platty.
well, no fin it is. the owner’s call, fair enough. in lots of ways in a board of this vintage, in australia at least, you’d expect it to be finless perhaps.
so, what kind of ply did you use to patch it?
i imagine it must be lovely seeing the colours of decades old timber come to life under the lick of a coat of new fresh varnish.
(as for the auction, i’ve put it in my diary just now. we should go down together. not that i think i can can afford anything, but geez it’s nice to look. i’ll keep in touch mate).
I can’t remember what type of timber the top veneer is. I had trouble finding anything that came close. As it was I had to laminate some thin ply I had to bring it up to the original plys thickness. The grain and colour looked close in the end. But when I put the first coat of varnish on, the old ply went really dark. So I had to stain the new nose section to try and match it. I think it will look pretty good with another 4 or 5 coats. Which is what I think it will take to fill the grain.platty
That finish is beautiful. Would the original finish have been that slick you reckon? The depth of colour and pattern in the timber really is something a bit special.
