The Other Tremblay

[Mihun09]

This would be the twin to Red's Tremblay, although we had this one first. Christine started this project as part of her heart attack rehab, she had been told light woodworking would be a healthy way to get back in shape, so she began taking it apart and learning the procedures.

She had originally purchased this as a deal to get a 13 foot Bastien Bros Huron, which sits waiting. The owner would not part with just the little boat so she had to take this one as well. It had seen better days for sure, at some point previous repairs had been done all wrong. They cut out inwale rot and tossed the original mahogany decks and replaced them with "Arrowhead" shaped decks rather than splicing in new inwale tips. Several ribs had been replaced with what could have been pine, not shaped correctly and creating bulges in the hull.

This boat was put off to the side as we finished up Red's Tremblay and then brought the Morris in, but with the Morris in limbo we need to get this boat finished and up for sale. Already done are 57 rib tips, which is almost all of them. A portion of planking has been done, ribs have been removed to be done a second time, inwales cut for scarfing in new tips and we have mahogany for new decks. Last weekend I replaced the cane on the bow seat so it is ready to go after a coat of varnish. Those seats are not original but came with the boat and just replacing the cane was easy. It was stripped but sanding needs to be finished and replacing the ribs. Original planking saved can go back on and hopefully in a month I can then build an indoor canvassing station and we get that done.

With all the stripper builds going on I needed to add one WC project to go with Robin's.

As it arrived, complete with original Verolite covering in poor condition.



As it sits now...

 

[memaquay]

That's a lot of lov'n for a Tremblay. You got heat in the work place now? Did I miss something?

 

[Mihun09]

Last month Christine had the electricians in. 2 guys, one entire day, we have 60 amps out in the shop. I ran the plug giving us a 240V, 4000W shop heater. In a half hour it can bring the temp up 10 degrees. Downright balmy out here in Manitoba.

 

[red langford]

I installed a direct vent propane heater in my shed. Requires almost zero clearance and I installed it myself. It has a thermostat but requires no electricity to run. Cost me about $500 and I installed it myself.
http://www.empirezoneheat.com/ehs/i...vent-wall-furnace&parid=95&pagid=176&mlnid=80

Any luck selling that other boat? Did that guy call you??

 

[Mihun09]

Red, the Canadian is still for sale, have not heard from that guy yet. I may have to put it up on Kijiji soon, at this point it is only advertised here, on MyCCR and at work.

 

[Iskweo]

These are good boats to use as training aids for me. Absorb some knowledge and skills so I can do better work on the nicer ones. Wait till you see my little Huron...that is a beasty.

This Tremblay is actually not that bad looking a boat, probably due to it being a 15 footer . It's not quite as tubby as one of your hogs, Rob. A fellow at work has an 18 foot Tremblay flatback that someone gave him. Go figure. I can only imagine what that is like.

As many of these old Tremblays and Hurons as there were, they are starting to become harder to find for any reasonable prices. A lot of them were simply scrapped or abandoned and left to rot. A lot of them did rot, under porches and beside garages. I love saving the ones that we can.

On another note, yes we have heat. I had to dig deep for that though, it wasnt cheap. Ergo, I need to move some of the inventory ( so I can buy more...lol) and pay down the construction costs.It sure is nice to be warm though.

 

[Mihun09]

Alright, new mahogany inwale ends, 14" each side both ends scarfed in, new mahogany decks done today. Later Christy will shape up the new ribs to go in, then it is all downhill from there. I dislike sanding immensely but it has to be done. Original planking that was saved will get re-installed and then varnish time. I may go with poly-urethane under coats but will finish with Epifanes.

 

[Mihun09]

No Title

Slow progress.

All new ribs are in but the last one needs full tacking still and old ribs will need some re-clinching. First coats of varnish. I did two coats up in the ends before re-installing the decks, it makes it easier to get into the pointy ends. Also, for those really hard to reach places, other than cutting the handle off a paint brush, I use a sponge. Dip the sponge in the varnish and it will get around the corners to get the front of the first cant rib and around the edges of the stems and what not. Really handy for the tight places that usually get no varnish since it is difficult to do.

There was a cracked rib that we had no plans to replace or fix from behind. It is not cracked all the way through so I just did a resin infusion on it. I secured the boat from pulling inwards, wrapped a ratchet strap around the hull with a block of wood positioned at the crack, then as I tightened the strap it forced the crack open enough that I could brush in some epoxy. Normally I would syringe it in, but I didn't want to waste a syringe on a single crack.

We need to replace both carry thwarts and the center thwart still, more new planking to close in the sheer, sanding and varnish. The hope is to get it into canvas by months end so it will be ready for paint end of May, if it gets warmer to allow the filler to dry.

 

[Mihun09]

Just found the wood I will use for the grab and center thwarts. Original would be maple or birch but I have some nice Walnut that LF Tripper gave us that will be beautifully dark alongside all the mahogany.

 

[Mihun09]

and now for something completely different...

Christine plans to re-install the original keel on this boat which presented a mild problem. The cup washers for the keel screws had pulled half way through the ribs on most locations and we don't want that happening again, but how to fix the extra large holes at this point... well, how about loading them with thickened epoxy?

To do this neatly, I first took some masking tape and using a grommet tool, punched the appropriate size hole in the tape. Lay the tape over the offending hole in the rib, fill with thickened epoxy then remove the tape and let dry. Once it is dry we can sand the area again before varnish and when we go to install the keel, we simply re-drill the holes with the countersink as needed and the epoxy will stop the washer from deforming into the hole now and in the future.

If I weren't putting the keel back on I would just leave the holes as is, not wanting the ugly epoxy to show under the varnish.

We have decided to name this boat, The Fugly Duckling due to the undulations in the hull from when we got it and that will remain.

 

[Iskweo]

Eh voila, it is all good again. Better actually. I have some sanding and reclenching to do tomorrow and then it is varnish time. This poor neglected unit is taking its own sweet time, almost like it doesnt want to leave. I will find it a good home though as I have too many already. It is a good size though and not as unwieldy as its larger relatives. Who knows, I may grow attached to it.

With the mahogany inners and decks, and walnut thwarts, I believe that a flat yellow paint is called for...like a Caterpillar yellow. We hope to have it in canvas next weekend.

Christy

 

[Mihun09]

Got the shop canvas rig in and ready to do this boat. It was a matter of drilling through the back wall and using a 8"x1/2" eye bolt through to the outside. The other end has doors so I fitted a steel base to a 4x4 post which I also faced with a 2x4 to give me 5" thickness. The boat winch is through bolted, the base is bolted into the floor with 1/4" lag bolts, the top fits into a slotted 2x6 screwed to the ceiling.

Not sure there would be enough room to do a boat over 16 feet inside since the shop is only 22 feet inside. This should work.

We will leave it overnight then start stapling tomorrow after work, if we can get it all done by Friday, I will then do the mildewcide then filler on the weekend. The cradles are only under the boat in case something gives out, to keep the boat from hitting the floor.

 

[memaquay]

There's a lot of boat building going on on this site!

 

[Mihun09]

This is the boat building site, there are what, 6 active builds plus Robin's rebuilds going on.

 

[Momentum]

I love the builds...all of them. Everyone has its nuances and special personality, much like the owners. You can sure tell alot about people by the boats they build or restore.

 

[Jim Dodd]

AWESOME project !

You mentioned stapling the cloth. Do you use stainless staples on something like this ! If so, where can I get some !

Thanks for sharing !

Jim

 

[Robin]

Nice canvas stretching rig. Did you put rocks inside the hull to help with the stretch?

 

[memaquay]

Do you use stainless staples on something like this

I use them for attaching webbing to my seats. They are fairly common, I got some from my local hardware store. Expensive though, a small box was 14 bucks.

 

[Mihun09]

Jim,
Yes, we use Stainless staples. We can get them anywhere in any size but for this we are going with 1/4" and for a change they actually have pointy ends which will make it easier to bed them into the planking/ribs through the canvas. I use S/S staples for my webbed seats as well. Any hardware store, Home Depot et al carries them. For the T50 we need the box is blue and should have S/S on the package.

Robin
We usually put a fair amount of weight in the boat, my toolbox is about 50 pounds but there is less weight this time. We also don't cut the canvas down like you and so many others do, never have although it would certainly make it easier to manage. Maybe next time once we buy another roll of canvas. We don't have any spare at the moment. Speaking of that, we get a roll, 65 feet, for about $150. It is untreated so after the process is done I'll spray it with end cut preservative which is basically just mildewcide. Stuff is expensive though, $35 a gallon. This time around I'm going to try using my weed sprayer, give me more control, maybe use less product. Once that dries I can do the filler.

I should go out and help Christine stretch and staple...

~~~
OK, so after saying we never cut the canvas down she decided to do it on this one. She is still out there working away and I'm just giving moral support and tips when needed. This was her therapy boat to begin with and she has done the majority of the work on it, so it just makes sense for her to continue with it on her own as much as possible.

You can see the support on her left wrist, she has pooched both wrists and is still recovering from a fractured ankle, so she is doing what she can under the circumstances. She just needs to be reasonably healthy for the August trip.

 

[memaquay]

Interesting, watching someone else work on a canoe. Must be quite the experience. Do you feel compelled to give suggestions, or do you just fiddle with the radio?