How to eat an Elephant

The Foils - yes, that is what the rudder and centreboard is called

I slowly worked my way through the boat, starting at the obvious items, like the rudder that needed serious muscle to move up and down. Then there was the immovable centreboard, so I removed the Cb. pivot bolt, and manhandled the board out. After inspecting the centreboard and rudder, I found the wood in excellent condition and started sanding them down, only to discover that the best treatment for these foils would be to fibreglass and epoxy sheath the wood to give it better tensile strength. While I was busy doing this, the job came to a halt, as I needed advice on what materials to use.

The Floor - above the bilges.

During my rummaging around in the boat my screwdriver and various tools disappeared into the bilge areas, which I was unable to retrieve due to the wooden strips being screwed to the floor frames and which could not be lifted up. So I pulled up all the flooring and discovered that the transom looked different to the standard wooden Wayfarer. The transom floor frame that should be fastened along the bottom of the transom was fixed about 40 mm forward and not to the transom itself. After consulting The Wayfarer Restoration Manual, it was clear that there needed to be all manner of wood pieces attached to the inside of the transom. Also there should be a cutout at the top of the transom which was absent on my Wayfarer transom.

When I removed the Rudder, I noticed, that not only were the rudder pintles off-centre, but also that they were attached to high on the transom. This must have been done to clear the tiller above the transom.

The Wayfarer was designed with a cutout in the transom for the tiller clearance to allow for the rudder to be set lower down to ensure that the rudder is at the correct depth.

Looking aft along the side decks, I noticed that the port side deck was sloping more than the Starboard side deck. Closer examination revealed that there were uprights attached to the inside of the transom. The Carlins and side decks were resting on the uprights and were of unequal heights.Although it is quite a workable solution, however, if the transom was made correctly these uprights would not be there.

After trying unsuccessfully to remove the transom floor frame, I realised that it was fixed by screws from underneath through the hull planking. The transom was attached to the hull all round by a 300mm wide, heavy glassfibre cloth. This also covered the screws underneath the hull holding the errant transom floor frame. !?
Very workable and strong solution and more work, Ooh Boy !

"Don`t fix what ain`t broken"

. In my case that saying is more like " fix what ain`t there".

I took a deep breath and tried to figure out the shapes of the Transom frame and turned again to WRManual for advice, sure enough the transom was not  as it was shown in the manual. It is suggested that one should use the old parts as template in making a new one. The only thing is, there is only one old piece  for the frame in the boat.!

I turned to the UK Wayfarer association for help, the instant response and advice I received was incredible.!    I received a link to the Class measurements for the Mk1 Wooden wayfarer, which is a great help but did not give the radius height to the top of the Transom.  The Wayfarer International MIT Web site was also very helpful and I found the original Kit Assembly Manual for the original Wayfarer wooden version. However no measurements are shown, but at least I could see the sequence of how the boat was put together and the shape of the components.

Fashion pieces

The Transom frame is actually called the Fashion pieces, these are connected to the aft part of the hull planking and to the inner keel, the transom is then fastened to the frame. At least now I know what this frame should look like and by extrapolation, I may be able to work it out.

Like all fashion designs, I can only show you once I have made the piece!

Decking

In order to re-build the transom, I will have to remove the sidedeck on either side to get full access and as the sidedecks will have to come off, I might as well replace the foredeck as it is undulating with the very thin plywood that was used.

The other bug bear was the gunwales and rubbing strips, this was not to the Wayfarer specification. The sidedecks overlapped the hull planking and a triangular wood strip was placed underneath. Aesthetically it looked fine, however, it was vulnerable to damage. The gunwale will have be replaced according to spec.

The Wall

No, it is not a boating term! It is made of bricks and concrete, and at this stage of the project, I ran straight into one!

"The project is too large!?, all these things to fix and with every piece of wood uncovered I find more to do!"

Fiona reminds me often of a old African saying: " How do you eat an Elephant - One small bite at a time!"

Credit

It may be perceived that I am too critical of the previous rebuild, however I would like to express my gratitude to the previous owner for resurrecting the boat from sure demise.

He is a young man that had limited experience with the Wayfarer and did a great job getting the boat on the water and sailing again