For this week 6 blog before the short Christmas break I made a priority to complete the last of the minor glassfibre repairs and paint finishing so I could concentrate on the pleasurable part of this rebuild with adding all the new finished joinery and fittings.
Firstly, I mentioned previously that the four 50 mm screws that secured the cut profile either side of the centre plate in the keel band came through the cockpit floor and needed to be sealed with saturated chop strand Matt and resin. Please do not just add a blob of sealant over these screws, it has to be a proper bonded glass mat patch.
Then it comes to the last of the paintwork procedures of the cockpit floor, hatch interior and the large Lazarette internal area. This after a thorough chemical wash and a wipe over with cellulose thinners to break down the surface of the original (now a surface of over 50 years after its original build). It needed to be ‘keyed’ to take the new bilge paint.
For this my preferred material is Danboline. It’s essentially a bilge paint that adheres extremely well to glass fibre / resin base and timber. For my use as a charter boat out in the Ionian Sea it works extremely well, and it’s hard wearing and easy to maintain. With sailing groups swimming off the Luggers and running them up on to beaches, a lot of sand and small pebbles find its way into the bilge / floor area, so it’s easy to sponge and scoop the bilge dry and clean.
The aft Lazarette is also painted out with Danboline. It’s very serviceable and with its suspended floor fitted looks smart too, especially when you compare it to the original.
This image shows my preferred non-slip finish for the main cockpit floor and that of the suspended floor section in the Lazarette. It’s a ‘topping coat’ that’s applied on the final hard gloss finish of the flooring. It’s industrial in its manufacture and so hard and durable, and can be over-coated so easily. Last summer was my first time to use it as a change from the marine Interdeck product and it’s far superior. I will be looking to get this product made up into 1L containers and add it to my product list. Watch the JLJ website for details.
I’m just going to trace my steps back to the making and paintwork finishing of the main cockpit flooring. These 5-section JLJ flooring inserts are so easy to handle as compared to the full made up sides which can be heavy and awkward to get out, especially when afloat if one has a problem! Please check out the product page on my website and the detail of the material I make the flooring out of, it’s not a conventional soft wood but a Swedish Upper Gulf ‘Unsorted Redwood’ of joinery quality and not the white wood one sees in builders merchants and B&Q. A far superior material. These pictures illustrate the 2 side panels that form each side as opposed to the one solid panel.
For the wet and exposed environment that these open boats are operated in, it’s essential to undertake the preparation of the sanded finish through each stage of the painting process. Note that the wood is virtually knot free and close-grained. We start with a good quality oil-based primer, 3 coats with prepping between each coat. Oil based paints have greater penetration and by volume are higher in ‘Solids’.
The floor sections had been pre-fitted to this Mk1 Lugger in mid-November. This has proved to be essential with these early models as there was not consistency or planned build program when these centre plate ribbed casings were installed. I have fitted out five of these Mk 1 Luggers now, and they have all varied slightly, so making a kit as I do for the Mk2&3 is not possible unless the client is willing and able to undertake these small, ‘Tweaks’ in the fitting process. Alternatively, bring your boat along to NP22 one morning and by the afternoon I will have fitted the flooring correctly.
The second picture illustrates the finished flooring after it has been pre-fitted and brought up to a high gloss finish. They are now ready for the ‘topping’ anti-slip finish. With the new completed floor sections in place and a platform to work off, it’s time to commence the pleasurable tasks of fitting the new joinery, hatches and Lazarette seat.
In a previous blog I had pre-fitted the mainsheet traveller stainless steel rail which replaced the hideous 4 mm wire that the mainsheet block was originally attached to. By drilling the inner side deck wall to 26 mm to take the 25 mm 316 grade stainless tube, and with the spray work completed, I’m now able to finish the installation.
For Drascombe owners conversant with these very early basic models there were many poor manufacturing and fitting out processes, the Mainsheet traveller wire was one of the worst. Very basic and ineffective to say the least!
From my JLJ stock the cut-to-size tube and fittings appeared all ready to do the final fitting. It should be noted that the early Mk1 shells were 90 mm wider than the Mk 2&3 models due to the two raised sections in the mould. Consequently my kits are made up to account for this difference.
To finally fit the tube between the 2 side inner deck sections require a little light pressure to push the boat apart via the gunwale rail and this allows the tube to slip into its housing. It’s not a lot, but by having a timber section cut as a brace and two thin pads to place as protection on the inside of the gunwale rail, with a pal to hold the fixed end and by gently tapping the brace with a heavy hammer, the opposing inner deck skins opens up enough for the second tube end to enter its housing. When the pressure is released the tube is as ‘Snug as a bug in a rug’.
All over, the Iroko end fascia caps are fitted and its ‘Job done’, and what a remarkable change with the traveller tube being a much more sensible sailing option for controlling the Mainsheet. Later I will be adding the small adjustment cam cleats and small bullseye fair leads to the gunwale rail which give you the opportunity of hauling in on the windward side adjusting line to bring the traveller ‘O’ ring up to a windward position and so getting the sail in a better windward position. A larger yacht would have a fixed traveller car sliding on a ‘Z’ section extrusion and adjusting lines, for a Lugger this method is my favoured solution.
With great progress being made day by day and all the repair work completed it’s time to get the last bit of manufacturing done. The four new side hatches and frames I made a few days ago along with 16 units for my JLJ stock. Two of these units are bound for overseas clients in the first week of January 2025.
In order to bring all aspects of manufacturing, preparation and fitting work along together at the same level, each day I set aside a couple of hours methodically prepping and oiling the various new joinery pieces. It’s a matter of patience of giving these pieces a coat a day using a cotton pad. It’s known as a ‘Rubber’ or for those who are familiar with shellac and French polishing, a Button. They will all get at least 15 coats, mostly at 2 coats a day depending on the temperature. All prepping between coats initially is with 240 paper then later a green Scotchbrite pad to achieve a solid smooth finish.
This is the finish I’m aiming for and further topping up is achieved with a light rub over with the Scotchbrite pad and a couple of coats of the Danish oil. This is how I maintain this finish in Greece. I have experimented with varying varnish materials over the years but found that whilst they seal easily, when exposed to the sun and moisture the varnish bakes, becomes brittle and the moisture gets trapped under the varnish and the whole process then deteriorates. It’s better to have the oil finish naturally burnt off by the sun and not trapping the moisture. Yes it does require regular maintenance but it’s better than having to strip off the hardened varnish.
This finish also applies to the gunwale rails, but so easy to top up regularly. It’s all about the initial preparation that I’m undertaking at the moment; from this point on it’s just a matter of ‘topping up’.
From my previous blog I noted that the Gunwale rails on one section had started to delaminate, and this repair had been effected previously. However to be sure I raked out loose areas and re-did this resin and compound process. It’s the consequence of how the rails have been made, that is laminated with 2 strips on the gunwale edge, not a clever method apart from being very time consuming. I have seen large areas delaminated on later MK2 models where this process has been done quickly and not very effectively.
The solid JLJ Iroko section that I machine is far superior with a long strong scarf join close to the stern.
My final topic of week 6 is focused on using the existing engine mounting board. This is the first Lugger I’ve come across with just a flat board bolted on the stern and no wedge blocks to form a steeper angle for the engine leg to clear the transom when lifted. The reason I believe is that this very early Lugger was meant to have had a British Seagull 2 stroke engine. These were very light in weight as most 2 stroke engines are. This original Teak board was only 30 mm thickness and no way strong enough to carry the Yamaha 5 hp engine. But it had no cracks, so i re-planed its face and thicknessed it down to 20 mm then laminated it with a same sized Iroko board of 20 mm using West Resin which gave me a new structure of 40 mm and no common grain in the 2 pieces. A very strong pad. In the image the join is visible running along the top of the section. The full laminating process I will cover in my week 7 blog, which will also illustrate other forms of ‘joining’ timber to create either longer or thicker sections and be of the same strength if not stronger than a single section. This is evident in ‘Gluelam’ architectural roofing structures.
A process I must get done now is to check out the structural integrity of the cockpit mould that supports the engine bracket. In previous instances I have found the 4 bolt holes worn badly oversize caused by the weight of the engine on a loosely fitted wooden bracket, and also by a lack of thickness in the aft section moulding, sometimes only 3/4 mm thickness. Fortunately these early Luggers were heavily built, these fitting holes were 6 mm plus and in good shape with no cracks.
However, for added strength I will use the 12 mm Marine ply packers that JLJ supplies with its engine mounting brackets as standard. The inner faces of the glassed area are cleaned with cellulose thinners to ensure a good key for bonding. The packers are then bonded into place and left to cure before drilling the new holes for the 10 mm bolts.
For the engine bracket fitting procedure, please follow week 7. I will need a second pair of hands to get the nuts and washers tightened.
So Tiki is starting to take shape and look more like a Lugger. This centre plate casing, made by Just Lugger Joinery and unique to ourselves, makes an enormous transformation to the MK1 rib structure. It make the cockpit area so much safer when moving around having this rib structure encased, and also far more attractive as a finish. The fitting process of the casing will be covered in week 7, all work one can carry out on your own pride and joy.
