Storage error??

[brian62]

My boat is resting on concrete blocks and 2x4's and i have a 4x4 running the length of the keel with hardly any pressure applied to the keel. My garage floor is no where near level.I have adjusted the blocking a thousand different ways and still the boat sits level at the stern but an inch or so off mid ship to bow.Over the winter it sat 3 to 4 inches off in the same way until i began working on it again this spring and i made the adjustments.My question(gulp) Did i err in storing this boat back in November when i bought it (with out a trailer)?This boat also sat on a trailer for many years outside and the deck was quite rotted and so where the sides where the bow meets the dash.Im hoping this boat didn't twist out of shape. Your thoughts will be most appreciated.Brian62

[Torchie]

If that beam is resting on an unlevel floor I think the first thing that I would do is to make sure that the beam the keel is resting on is straight, true and level. Even 4x4 beams can twist and have whoops in them. You may have to do some shimming but get that beam right. Then reset your boat on it and see what it looks like. Let the boat rest FULLY on the keel with all it's weight. Put some outward blocks just to stabalize it. One on each side toward the back under the sister keelsons should do it. This is enough to hold it for measurement. Just don't be climbing in and out of it to much.

Then once you have it set back on the beam I would take some criss/cross measurments of the cockpit to see how out of shape it really is.
Once you have determined whats what you can put some more blocking underneath and have at it.
If the dash and bracining is rotted to the pint af not being connected you can pull the sides back in to the correct measurement and reattach with new wood.

If your keel is indeed warped upwards you can put some weight on it and ease it back down into place. Sand tubes are good for this.
Hope this helps
Karl.

[LancerBoy]

What Karl said!

Andreas

[brian62]

Thanks Karl and Andreas,The keel is straight on the 4x4 but it only goes from the stern end to about 3/4 of the way toward the bow and i cant brace it any further towards the bow because thats were the support blocking is placed and there is a 10 inch rot spot on that part of the keel that will be worked on when i flip the boat.The rot spot is from the boat sitting on the trailer for years outside. Im leaning towards Karls theory that the rot where the dash ends meet the sides(under gunwhales) and the rot on the keel have caused the bow to raise and or twist.My follow up question is this:should i wait until the keel is repaired and then make some adjustments or try to adjust it now?I currently have the forward deck Plywood off and havent put the new plywood on yet.I think it wood be safer not to go messing with the support issue until the new deck is on .Also is the dash suppose to be fastened tight up against the sides?There is some sort of caulking on the dash ends but they are about 1/4 inch away from being flush and snug against the sides and the final clue is; The piece of wood that connects the stern top port side(at gun whale) and the top of the transom is pulled away a 1/2 inch. Thank you guys i really do appreciate the advice.

[Torchie]

Lets take this one at at time.
1. I would repair the keel before making adjustments.You need something to work off of and a good straight keel and keelson would be it.
2.Dash should be tight to the sides. Thompson would never build a boat that had a 1/4 inch gap filled with caulk.( Nor would any of the other boat manufacturers of this era).
3. Hopefully your were able to save the old deck for a pattern as this will also help you with your side to side dimensions. You may want to put the deck back on to flip it or you can use some cheap plywood and then repalce it with the mahogany ply later once everything is back in shape.
4. If there is this much seperation at the dash as well as the transom what kind of shape are your ribs in? I am thinking you may have a number of cracked and/or rotted ribs to replace.
If you look thru the restoration section you will see a pictorial on flipping a boat. I would encourage you to do some serious bracing before you flip it.

Someone on this forum should be able to give you dimensions(length) for your dash. This will tell you wether your dash ends are rotted off or they put the caulking there to fill the gap when the sides started to pull away.
Hope this helps.
Karl.

[brian62]

It sure does help.I did save the old decking(for measurements)and as far as the dash ends i think the caulking is original ,it was put on the face end of the dash where the inside rail meets up against the face of the dash. This was probably done to prevent the boards from squeaking (just a guess).However the dash end is still not touching the outside rail and there is no screw holes to indicate that the factory ever put any in and the dash is not rotted at all.The caulking matches the same stuff they put on the framing of the deck before laying the plywood down. Its evident that the sides have pulled away and need to be drawn in and fastened.As far as cracked ribs i have 7 cracked and 1 broken all the way thru.They are the last 8 from the transom toward the bow and all on the starboard side.The keel rot is exactly where the outer stem meets the keel(directly under the dash board) All rot is on the outside ,no rot inside.This weak spot has created the plywood bottom to have a pocket in it that sunk inward,this was created from the boat sitting on the trailer roller for years.So here is my guess on what to do.1.replace ribs 2.brace boat to flip over 3.repair keel and plywood bottom 4.flip boat back over 5.Pull sides in and replace deck and a whole bunch of little things in between.6.count the days until summer 2012... (<; Brian