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[Oh How Original]

So, I recently started a thread about buying a boat I fancied restoring back to some former glory, my goal was to have a slow moving, effecient boat, to use with my action cams at the lake for some onboard footage of the yachts and other stuff.
Unfortunately, it's arrived and it's a bit more past it than I thought, the pictures below show most of the story.
This isn't really the sellers fault and I don't have a huge amount of money into it, I feel the motor is probably worth what I paid, so with that in mind, I wanted to ask you chaps some advice, firstly, I have limited knowledge on boats in general and wood work, do you think this is a bit more than I can chew?
I honestly expected it to need a clean up, some yacht varnish, paint it where needed, wire up the electrics properly, add some accessories and that would be fine, but it's cracked in several places, with some wood even missing from parts.
What do we think?

[Oh How Original]

Also forgot to say, I wasn't quite sure where to put this post 

[boatmadman]

Nothing too horrendous there.
Paintwork - rub back with wet/dry (do it wet) to get a nice flat finish, no need to go all the way back to the wood everywhere. Where the paint has peeled away, rub it down until you get a 'feather edge' transition from paint to wood.
Fill any cracks with upol car body filler and sand smooth. Paint all with grey primer, rub down lightly and paint top coat - bob's yer Auntie.
Rudder - you may be able to just file off those blobs of solder, Alternately, remove the whole rudder and tube and replace with a bought one, only a couple of quid.


Good luck

[Shipmate60]

Sell the motor as people pay a high price for these.
Use the funds to re-engine and buy glass paper, filler and paint.


Bob

[Oh How Original]

How might I go about taking off the entire top deck? Some of it is is actually cracked away and missing.
Out of interest, what do you think the motor is worth on it's own?
If I did decide it's a bit much for me, I'd probably sell the motor, keep the ESC/servo and give the hull to my mate and see if he wants to do anything with it.
I'm skeptical to be honest, wood work really isn't my forté and I wasn't expecting missing bits lol.

[ballastanksian]

If you want to use the existing rudder. Remove it from the hull, strip the paint off and then remove the solder using a soldering iron and wiping off with a rag (wear gloves) then clean the surfaces well so they shine and have no grease or dirt on the surfaces. Then just re-solder making sure not to use too much.

Clean, fettle and then prime and paint before re installing.

[Oh How Original]

I think buying a replacement would be the route I'd go, my soldering iron is a bit hit and miss, something I've been meaning to replace.
How do I measure it to accurately find a replacement? Height? Width? Thickness?

[ballastanksian]

Is it a kit or a scratch build project? I ask because there are a number of standard ones available that can be trimmed and shaped. You can get them on Ebay and other suppliers do them as well. I cannot say with accuracy, but I think you measure height by depth. Have a look at someone's site, Cornwall Model boats for example?

[warspite]

my corvette has a motor that looks like that, decaperm 6v with a 2:1 drop down gearbox, I think it was - funny old world

[Onetenor]

Cut the missing bits back to clean edges and replace with fresh wood  with reinforcing strips under the joint.Glue the strip under the existing wood with half the width exposed .Let it dry then let in the new wood resting it on the srip glueing of course  make sure edges are  as level as poss with each other. Rub down and fill  as needed when dry. Actually easier than it sounds Good luck John

[Oh How Original]

Cut the missing bits back to clean edges and replace with fresh wood  with reinforcing strips under the joint.Glue the strip under the existing wood with half the width exposed .Let it dry then let in the new wood resting it on the srip glueing of course  make sure edges are  as level as poss with each other. Rub down and fill  as needed when dry. Actually easier than it sounds Good luck John

It's a Decaperm 12v, 8500 RPM, 5-pole with built in 2.75:1 gearbox.

Thanks for the tips guys.
Would I be right in thinking balsa wood would be the best route to go?

[Capt Podge]

RUDDER - loosen the nut & bolt that holds the tiller arm in place, pull the rudder clear of the hull, then proceed as per

If you want to use the existing rudder. Remove it from the hull, strip the paint off and then remove the solder using a soldering iron and wiping off with a rag (wear gloves) then clean the surfaces well so they shine and have no grease or dirt on the surfaces. Then just re-solder making sure not to use too much.

Clean, fettle and then prime and paint before re installing.

Note: When you reinstall the rudder make sure of correct orientation of the blade - the photos show that it is the wrong way around i.e. it is 180 deg out.
(that's probably why there is a nick on one of the prop blades. )

Regards,

Ray.

[Capt Podge]

PAINTWORK - difficult to tell from the photos but it looks like the wood was not primed before the topcoat was applied. I would take the whole thing back to bare wood, that way any damage will be easier to see and can be put right before applying any paint at all.

So, first things first, remove the rudder. Remove the propeller, remove the prop shaft - in fact just remove everything that it is possible to remove.
Then take the hull back to bare wood. If possible, make card templates of the deck so that, if it gets damaged during removal, you will have templates to make a new deck.

PROPTUBE - if possible, cut/drill/grind away the "bodge" on the inside of the hull. Remove the nuts/bolts/brackets holding the tube in place on the outside and take the tube out. Give it a good clean up ready for re-installing later. When you replace the tube, instead of nuts 'n bolts, use P40 car body filler and sand to a smooth finish.

Hope this helps in some way...

Regards,

Ray.

[Oh How Original]

Appreciate the wise words fellas :) it does sound plausible to repair anyway.
I'm really more of a styrene worker though, so I'll have to have a closer in depth look and make a bit of a list of damages and see what's what.
How am I best to remove the deck?
I figure this will be the easiest way of cleaning up the inside and doing repair work.
It's currently nailed on (does that sound correct?) and I'm hesistant to use just force as a way of removing it.
To answer an earlier question, I didn't build it, but I know it's an original from the 50s/60s which came in kit form, I think?
Certainly not a scratch built thing anyway.

[Capt Podge]

Looking at picture number 8, there appears to be a length(s) of wood all round the deck edge. If you can prise this away, it MIGHT give you better access to the deck itself whereby you could get a thin screwdriver (or similar) underneath to tease the deck away from the main frame of the hull.
Just take your time and don't use excessive force.

It's worth a try anyway.

Regards,

Ray.

[Oh How Original]

From what I can see, they are attached to the deck.
I could be wrong though.
Out of interest, does anyone know what the motor might be worth?
Genuinely barely been used, the lad that had it put it in, with intentions of restoring it and just left it to sit, but it's tested and working and in very good condition.
Not meaning to make this a for sale post lol, I'm just curious, if I decided it was too much to tackle for me.
It's a Decaperm 12v, 8500 RPM, 5-pole, these are the specs I found.
Gear ratio: 2.75.1
Voltage: 12V
No Load Current: 0.3A
Current (at maximum efficiency): 3.5A
Shaft Diameter: 4mm
Shaft Length: 13mm

[ballastanksian]

Cheap timbers and ply are a horror to use and repair. Usually they are soft or coarse grained perhaps with blemishes and knots that have sent the grain all over the place. You can guarantee that cheap woods will require much more preparation and repair if damaged than a quality wood or ply.

This often puts people off and if they only knew of how easy quality timbers and plys are to use. I apologise to Brian (BB) in Oz, as I always wax lyrical about his carpentary (really cabinet making quality). His work shows what can be done with the best timbers while there are numerous examles on here of how good Birch ply is to use as opposed to other types.

Fair do, the best is not necesarily cheap, but in some ways its economy is the fact that using the 'Measure twice cut once' principle, patience and proper storage, good materials will pay dividends as you need to use less filler and less material as good material is inherently stronger and more reliable. I have bent cheap 3mm FE ply and it just breaks in one direction 

My gibberings above are to give you confidence to try some wood. I hope that the model was built with reasonnable quality ply so saving you lots of filling and fettling.