Ingrid's Squashed nose.

Poor Ingrid - she had been resting on logs, inverted, under a tarp for years. Unfortunately her foredeck was not meant to bear this load and over time it got squashed. Bugged me to look at it, so.....

You can see the flat spot.

The deck camber was templated.

A laminated oak beam was made.

The hull was inverted and prepped, you can see the extent to which the camber was lost.

Finesse.... A crowbar and bungee cord to force the deck to the beam's camber and secure it while the epoxy cures.

Once cured, a piece of 1708 was laminated over top, This is now the strongest part of the boat!

Decided to use the leftover adhesive and scrap fiberglass to make a backing plate for the bow, forward of the oak beam to reinforce the area where the forestay chainplate attaches. The original was plywood and had rotted to nothing.

This was bevelled along its edges and secured with glass-filled epoxy putty. A layer of 1708 was laminated on top (with the boat inverted). The 1708 spans the foredeck and turns to overlap and bond to the hull topsides. Much stronger than original and not susceptible to water damage.

Work on the bow is done!

Comments

Stem and Transom fittings

Ingrid had very few places to which to tie anything, and I noted as I scanned the internet that later boats and gulls had added some fittings for this purpose. I added some stout fittings adequate to secure the boat to both dock and trailer. The transom was straightforward however the stem required the installation of a fitted oak reinforcement , well bedded in glass-filled epoxy putty and then reinforced with two layers of 1708, making a solid stem post integrated with the fiberglass topsides.

Centreboard Replacement - From Compost to Completion. DONE!

DONE Many thanks to the kind members of the UK Gull facebook group for their encouragement and for providing the missing details required to replicate Ingrid's centreboard. Compost Some photos of Ingrid's centreboard as received. A large section was missing and what was left was crumbling. This hole is bored though the trailing edge of the centreboard, it received a locking pin which secured the board in the retracted position for trailering or beaching. Photos of a UK-based Gull centreboard, detailing the missing section. (Thanks Simon!) The photo and discussion also explained the mysterious bit of hardware in a box of stuff included with the boat. This is an adjustable friction brake that fits in the slot at the top of the board. It compresses 1” od rubber heater hose enough to span the centreboard case, resisting the board's swing. Trial fit and hole marking. As with the pivot bolt reinforcements in the trunk, I decided to make a bearing in the board itself, to

HDPE Parts

HDPE AKA Starboard, this is useful stuff and very easy to work. It was used to replace various wooden parts that had rotted. It can be worked with woodworking tools more easily than can wood in some respects. Mast Step: Original imperfections duplicated.

CL Eleven (Gull) "Ingrid"

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