Runabout Boat Restoration

[Cora Hickel]

Iacquired this 1957 MFG 15 fiberglass runabout with its original mahogany transom in 2017. The previous owner had started to restore it but did not finish. When I first got the boat it was just a hull and a bunch of parts. A neighbor, Kami, and I work on it on weekends at Black River Boat Shop when we both are available.

Many of the ribs had separated from the hull. We reattached them with Six10 Thickened Epoxy Adhesive and some creative clamping. This, along with the outside coating of epoxy, stiffened the hull considerably.

This course is appropriate for students with some knowledge and experience. Basic knowledge and use of hand tools is required for most shop courses. Basic knowledge and ability to sail is required for most waterfront courses.

This course involves a moderate level of activity throughout the week including: standing and working sometimes throughout the day, some hand planing or sanding, working on group projects that require occasional participation. Having adequate balance and agility to get in and out of boats on a moving float or other boats, ability to occasionally walk forward on the decks of larger boats.

The design and manufacture of wooden runabouts early in the last century was one of the high points in the history of American boatbuilding. These boats are still lovely and exciting, and very much appreciated today. Fortunately, many of them still exist, though quite often they sit forlorn in boatyards or barns, awaiting the loving hand of a restorer. So WoodenBoat School is happy to present this course for aspiring runabout rebuilders. Gary Lowell knows restoration as a busy professional in his North Carolina boat shop.

In this course students will examine obvious deficiencies and more subtle problems. Gary will explain each detail of the restoration process and develop a work schedule. Students will learn about materials and sources of supplies, and woodworking and finishing techniques, both traditional and innovative. There will also be opportunities to try your hand at various phases of repair and replacement of hull parts and joinery work, renovation of electrical and mechanical systems, and preparation for and application of paint and varnish.

Gary has designed this course to help the restorer become self-sufficient and resourceful, able to complete an existing project or to find and fix a needy craft, and ultimately to enjoy the satisfaction and value of bringing one of these beauties back to life.

This course is appropriate for someone with little or no experience. The course is designed around the idea that you have not done this before or know very little about the subject. Students should pay more attention to suggested readings or videos to help familiarize themselves ahead of time.

This course involves a moderate level of activity throughout the week including: standing and working sometimes throughout the day, some hand planing or sanding, working on group projects that require occasional participation.

I cut them a little big to allow for fitting. We then steam the forward ends of the planks that take a severe twist from the bottom to the stem. Simply trying to bend them on the boat will usually spit them.

Once the planks cool for a day or two we take them off and fit them. I use a small router with a jig I built to trim them to fit the keel as well as each plank to one another. This is much faster than hand planing each plank and very accurate.

While we are making good progress on this boat the work on the rowing sailing dinghy has been slow at best. This boat is still available. If you are interested in this Catspaw Dinghy its not to late to pick your own colors. Call me at 504-319-1460.

Since this boat has more than 160 bronze bolts in its frames and floors ranging from 2 inches to 6 inches all new bolts would run in the neighbor hood of $1200.00. Reusing as many as possible will save quite a bit of money. The screw on the other hand must be new and will run into the $300 to $400 range.

We recently took in a new restoration project. This is the kind of thing I love, giving new life to an old boat. Chris Craft churned out a lot of boats post war and cut a lot of corners in their construction. They were intended to last 5 to 10 years. The scantlings are minimal and the battens for the bottom are only pieces placed between the frames. This is what it will look like when finished.

From total overhaul restorations to minor touch-ups, Tahoe Runabout Co provides a complete suite of services tailored to extend the life of cherished wooden boats. Offerings range from structural restorations and bottom replacements to cosmetic facelifts through repainting, revarnishing, conditioning and detailing. Tahoe Runabout also performs regular maintenance and inspections to get ahead of issues before they escalate. Their meticulous service philosophy combined with seasoned staff enables even boats thought to be beyond saving to once again gleam.

I'm looking at a 1949 20' runabout outboard . It needs a full restoration but has never been fiberglassed.

Am I completely out of my mind? I've built some smaller wood boats but never tackled anything this big. Should I just jump in or run?

It all depends on the condition of the boat, your woodworking skills, and if you're up to the ongoing maintenance that will be required. I've always admired them (I once owned a neat old cedar strip boat myself) but ultimately they're more work than I was willing to put up with.

Didn't someone on here once say that to own a wood boat you must understand that over years of ownership you will complete replace the entire boat one board at a time? Not for me. I'd rather go boating.

There are ways of making a wooden boat less maintenance-intense. It was different in the 40s/50s when your only real choice was varnish. With modern epoxies, urethanes, and adhesives, it's much easier. Still a challenge, but not nearly as bad.

I've personally only owned one wooden boat and it was completely bulletproof... until it wasn't. I went to the dock one morning and it was hanging by the mooring ropes with just the top of the engine cowl above water. It was fine. We got it up and on the trailer. We dried out the motor and got it running right away. I let the boat dry for a week or so and patched the leak.

From what I understand, as long as the existing wood is still solid, you have a good foundation. Replacing wood is not only expensive, but it takes one heck of a skilled artisan to do it. If the wood is solid and you can get a good, durable, modern finish on it, you should be OK. I think the go-to is a special sprayable epoxy these days. It's not unlike fiberglass, but instead of glass cloth, the epoxy bonds with the wood and more or less makes the hull a big clear plastic shell over the wood. As long as you continuously check for cracks and keep the water out of the wood, it would be a fine boat.

Granted, wood's inability to bend on multiple planes means that the hull design can't excel at much. Think of it like driving a 1950 Chevy. You have to love the novelty of driving an old vehicle, but it doesn't compare to the comfort and easy driving experience of a Camry.

Reporter's note: Late June my wife and I drove to Washington state for our twin grandkids' high school graduation. We stayed with friends who live in Warm Beach, a residential community north of Seattle along Port Susan. Port Susan is a bay connecting, eventually, to Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Warm Beach was a great area to walk, especially in the early summer, with lots of giant evergreens, blooming flowers of every sort, spectacular views of the bay and some challenging hills to get the blood pumping.

On one of my random walks I saw a boat works. It was built in the classic design I'd seen in books and travelogues-tall work area to accommodate boats, a loft for storage (in the old days, sails), doors adequate for large boats and, well, lots of boats around. Two guys were working on the deck of a wooden boat when I walked up. That was when I first met Alan Thomle. He's spent the last 25+ years mainly restoring mahogany runabout boats. Here's some of what I learned about the work of Alan Thomle Boat Works and the passion Alan has for wooden boats.

Though there are and were many builders making wooden boats, Chris Craft tends to come to mind when thinking about modern wooden boats. The company was started in the late 1800's by two brothers in Michigan. By the 1920's the brothers, along with new partners, had organized Chris Craft, a company that still produces high end wooden boats. In the 1920's, as wooden boats became more available, the company enjoyed great success, especially along the east coast. Chris Craft had many celebrity customers, including Henry Ford.

Alan Thomle said, "Montana actually had a famous wooden boat company that started in the 1930's-StanCraft Wooden Boat Company." The company started at Lakeside, on the west shore of Flathead Lake, and several years later moved to Idaho. Stancraft still sells a varied line of high end wooden boats. StanCraft's website notes that over the last 12 years the company has produced 150 large, custom mahogany boats as well as one hundred smaller boats and pontoons. One of StanCraft's dealerships is in Coeur d'Alene and the large lake there is a major part of their market for high end boats.

The wooden boat market took a major hit during the Great Depression. A few years later boat builders shifted their focus to suppling the military during World War II. By the end of 1945 Chris Craft alone had built 12,000 small boats for the US military. After the end of the war, the pent up consumer demand worked to the advantage of wooden boat builders as sales grew. Then fiberglass boats became fashionable and demand for wooden boats waned for a time.

An American movie rekindled interest in wooden boats, particularly mahogany runabouts. The 1981 release of "On Golden Pond" featured a 1950 Sportsman Thayer IV model runabout by Chris Craft. Customers began scrambling to find and restore the old classic mahogany runabouts or to buy new customized runabouts.

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