S-Class |

Dry fit mast staves to test joints and geometry. the 5 staves are glued up as one, then internal blocking fit adn finally the last three staves glued on top.

Fairing out the curve of the mast in preparation for glue up.

The upper deadwood is dry fit to the oak backer roughed opt to width to be final faired on the boat

without a 30' steam box the keel was steamed in a bag with steam generators piped in from both ends. — without a 30′ steam box the keel was steamed in a bag with steam generators piped in from both ends.

Once clamed to position the bag is removed to allow the keel to cool and maintain the shape.

All the clamps in the shop were used to get the mast glued up

Here the backbone assembly has been bolted together and the garboard installed. the battens define plank lines as I go down the hull. Since the boat is being rebuilt over molds I was able to template one side for planks on both sides. Heere the transom frame is also installed but left tall to be finished when installing the deck.

Here the forward section of keel and stem are bolted together and the garboard installed.

planking continues from the keel down until the planks run full length to the transom. At that point the sheer plank is installed and planking is completed from the bottom up as well to improve efficiency.

At this point the old planks are removed so we can continue to check fair of the frames that dont have molds.

the shape of the molded sheer profile is roughed out with a radial arm saw on an angle and a quarter round router bit on the top.

Sheer plank installed and starting to plank in both directions. Planks are let to run long past the transom and will be trimmed to fit the transom plank later. All surfaced between planks and frames are back primed to help preserve the wood and lower planks are bedded to keep water out from between the surfaces.

each plank is roughed to final thickness on the corners so when fairing we don't remove too little or too much material. The internal surfaces are shaped sanded and painted, but the outer are left mostly rough to be faired once the whole shape is developed. — each plank is roughed to final thickness on the corners so when fairing we don’t remove too little or too much material. The internal surfaces are shaped sanded and painted, but the outer are left mostly rough to be faired once the whole shape is developed.

the final plank is called the shutter plank. the mast can be seen glued up and hanging on the side of the tent.

the last plank is hard to clamp, so I used small boards tied off to the structure of the building jig and wedges to push the plank in as the fit was finalized and the plank fastened in. Any imperfections in the planking wer fixed at this point brefore fairing.

I made a transom template of the inner and outter faces fo the transom to trim the aft ends of the planking so it fit well before bringing in the solid 3/4" white oak transom planks. — I made a transom template of the inner and outter faces fo the transom to trim the aft ends of the planking so it fit well before bringing in the solid 3/4″ white oak transom planks.

Here the fit is getting close, some gap can still be seen near the sheer to the left.

Fairing the hull with a stiff long sanding board. Initially the hull is rough planed, then sanded smooth.

Once sanded fair the screws are all sunk to a final depth and bunged over.

Once the bungs are trimmed off and sanded smooth I scribed in a waterline and drove cotton caulking into the seams.

Here the transom planks are being developed from the lofting. This drawing shows the internal framing and planking shapes.

Planks are quick to fit against the templates, but important to get good tight seams for a nice varnished surface later. Each seam is backed by a 3/4" oak cleat — Planks are quick to fit against the templates, but important to get good tight seams for a nice varnished surface later. Each seam is backed by a 3/4″ oak cleat

All the time fitting the template and lofting the curved raked transom pays off when you have a nice even steam defining the edge of the well radiused transom plank.

The first coats of primer are applied while the boat is upside down and more accessible.

this insert ended up threaded a little deep as the original bolt broke and needed to be bored out and the top of the hole ended up without nice clean full threads.

Here the threaded inseret is seen not quite at full depth. The top of the inseert ends up almost a full rodation below the top surface.

the magnetic drill is set on a scrap steel plate and clamped gto the keel this gave us a strong sturdy base and allowed us to drill accuratly at the correct point and angle.

The 5/8" bolts thread into the the internal threads in the inserts. I left extra length so that I could taper the tops and help the bolts lead themselves through their holes — The 5/8″ bolts thread into the the internal threads in the inserts. I left extra length so that I could taper the tops and help the bolts lead themselves through their holes

Here the boat is upright with jack stands ready to be set but no blocks under the keel yet.

Once the hull is back over the ballast is moved back under the hull.

With careful measurments of the original balast and the new lofting the bolts are aligned with their holes pre drilled in the hull.

With the boat flipped the molds mostly came out so we could set some tempareaty cross braces before the shear clamps and deck beams go in.

The transom frame got vertical suports to help keep the planks flat as well as cleats vertically along the seams to help fasten them flush to eachother.

Here the sheer clamps and deck beams have been installed, but the interior is otherwise empty.

interior starting to come together with some sole and ceiling work.

The interior comes together quickly in preparation of the deck being installed

THe house deck beams get a half dovetail cut into the house carlin to avoid bolting the assembly together

The house is assembeled on the lofting floor to allow for varnishing in the warmth of the shop while the rest of the hull’s interior is built and the deck is put down. Here the last few house beams are being fit and faired.

In the inerest of stiffness of the hull the house top is built of two laminated layers. Here the inner thin cedar layer is installed and faired having already been painted on the inner surface.

Here the outer ply surface has been vaccum pressed down to the cedar and screwed down to the house sides and beams. Here the vaccum is clamping down the scarf joiint in the middle of the house top.

THe house sides are of nicely matched mahogany with amazingly deep grain.

the first couple coats of sealer on the house sides starting to bring out the color.

This past fall and winter we have been working away doing a full restoration on an early Herreshoff S-class. The boat has been sitting on the hard in Marblehead for about 20 years after being damaged in a yard fire. Some restoration work had been started under the previous owner, but our hope is to get her back as close to her original shape as possible for racing in the Narragansett fleet. With this goal and an almost 100 year old boat almost all of the hull will need to be replaced. Below are some photos of our progress thus far.

previous restoration work was holding in a lot of deformity in the hull from decades of sitting on poppets and sagging sheer.

as we got the restoration started the remaining interior was removed to be refinished and hopefully replaced.

Some older plaking was still in place, but it is so old that it has become very brittle and weak so it will not be re-used after the restoration.

Aft view of the hull before restoration. Showing some old material and some from a previously started restoration.

Using measurments taken from the original NGH half model we lofted the boat full size to use as our ultimate shape, trying to take into consideration changes made before this boat might have been built.

a mold was made to the inside of all the even franes to dictate the shape as the restoration comneced.

Herreshoff specified tapered frames, lowering the boat's weight where he could. — Herreshoff specified tapered frames, lowering the boat’s weight where he could.

Floor timbers were made from templates lifted straight from the lofting

The molds were inserted into the hull with frames and floor timbers attached

With molds in the existing planking was doubled up to be used as ribbands as the odd frames were bent in.

The transom frame was build up of a few peices carved and steambent to the correct camber.

Transom knee and stem were found in a single oak knee.

With the frames and floors installed the hull was separated from the balast keel and deadwood.

The lead balast and deadwood were wedged open to expose the keel bolts which were cut to separate the hull.

With the ballast removed a ladder frame was built level under the hull to serve as a strong back for the restoration of the hull

With the mast on the bench, the ballast and deadwood away from the hull, and the hull on the strong-back, all major components of the restoration can be worked on simultaneously.

The full length keel was steamed in a bag for 2 hours before being bent on to the building plug.

Once clamped down and cooled the keel was fitted to the upper deadwood and oak backer as well as bolted to the floor timbers.

Category Archives: S-Class

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