This week is going to be busy with a number of projects being started this week.

This week is going to see a number of projects get underway and other continuing along at a slower pace. As with all boating projects some have longer deadlines than others and with limited workshop space you have to work out which to sort out first to use the available space to its best advantage.

The Hardy 18 refit will be coming along this week as will the work on the Mai-Star II now that the larch as been cut and will be delivered this week. so then the planks in the port side of the Mai-Star II can be put back in place. Once that is done then when the oak is delivered the ribs in Mai-Star II can be refitted and the hull can then be sorted and painted. Then it will be time to get to grips with the Cabin sides and roof.

The jobs on the Princess 25 refit are coming along well.

Today it was the turn of making and machining the new oak trims to fit around the boat when the bulkheads and side and headlining are refitted to the inside of the boat.

Also the varnishing is coming along on the galley locker doors and the toilet locker door and along the gas locker lid. Also gluing the Formica to the bulkheads and tirming it up ready to fit the new oak tirms to them once they are in place on the boat.

Once all the trims are made up then comes the long drawn out job of varnishing them all with six coats of varnish.

The start of the week has started with a number of jobs being done on the Princess 25 refit.

The week has started with a number of the smaller items on the refit list. Jobs such as painting and varnishing locker doors and lids. As well as making up new oak trims for main of the panels in the inside of the boat. Such as side lining panel joints and head lining panels as well as the edges and joints of the Formica areas of the boat. Areas such as the joints of the toilet bulkheads, and other such areas around the boat.

Small Jobs take a lot of time and somtimes you can not see the wood for the trees.

As often the case when doing jobs on boats, there are times when you do a number of small jobs that in themselves do not amount to very much. Do make a great deal of difference in the end result.

I had one of those days today where I did a number of small jobs on a number of different boat projects. The jobs are time consuming in that they are difficult little jobs and need a lot of patience to get right and look the part.

Also getting the correct finish on varnish work need the correct environment and patience to get the finish you are looking to get on the final coat.

Another fun job is making up new trims where the old ones are either broken or in some cases missing and having to make them up with just little bits of the old trims where possible.

In the case of the Princess 25 refit the owners wishes to have a white and blue interior with English oak trims throughout. This means having to get rid of all the old trims and replace with oak, lots of bench work to do to get all these new trims made and varnished up the fittied to the new white Formicaed bulkheads.

While this is all going on there are a number of other jobs to do on other clients boats.

It is all change again down at the workshop.

Over the past few days, it has been a time to sort out a lot of little jobs on a number of projects we have underway. However, now we have done them will can get on with some of the bigger jobs we have around the workshop. Today,we are taking delivery of some marine plywood to rebuild the Enterprise dinghy and early next week we will be taking delivery of a log of larch for the new build which we will turn into a new dinghy by the spring.

Also there will be progress made on the Mai-Star II with its new ribs and planks being fitted over the next few weeks and months and the new cabin sides and roof re-instated ready for the new season next year.

So it should be exciting times ahead as always there will be photo updates and dialogue along the way to keep you up to date on the projects as they go along over the next few months. 

Down at the workshop and a list of jobs to do on the client's boats

This week it is a bit drier than last week and now we can get outside on the clients boats that are out side in their different locations around the county. Having spent the last few days doing work on their boat with small interior work that needed doing on the parts of their boat that we had in the workshop to do while the weather was aganist us working outside.

Hopefully now that we have a couple of days of dry weather we can get on with work on their boats where they are. The lists of jobs to do on the boats are very different from boat to boat and will challenge our skills to complete them and we at J-Star enjoy a challenge. Two of the main jobs at the moment are the refits of a Princess 25 and a Hardy Navigator 18 which boat need a great deal of work on to bring them both back to a good condition and ready to take to the high seas again.

As well as these two boats we have a number of smaller dingies to work on to bring them back up to serviceable condition and also to build a new dinghy over the winter. So we are presently busy which is a good sign that the industry is picking up once more. 

This week has been a mixed bag of different jobs from small ones to bigger ones around the weather.

This week has been a mixture of doing what you can round the weather. Everything from delivering boats back to their owners to gluing little bits trims to doors on another boat and many things in between.

At the beginning of the week it was all change at the workshop with the turning over and putting back on the trailer of "Jasmine" and taking it back to its owner's home. So he can do the painting and varnishing on the boat over the winter.

Then it was the turn of the Enterprise to take its place where "Jasmine" was and start her restoration for the next few months. This has now been started and is well underway with the deck having been removed as well as the damaged and rotten hull panels.  So that can be worked on when the weather is against us working outside.  Other work do on the Enterprise restoration was the removing of the old varnish off the seats and thwarts and other smaller items of the boat that need sorting out while the other member of the company is doing other work on other projects.

Also this week there was a start made of the work list on Mai- Star II with the removal of the broken ribs on the port hand side and the doubling ribs. Also the removal of the damaged planks in the cockpit on the port side. So this year the main thrust of the work on the boat will be on getting the port side of the boat sorted out and getting the cabin and roof re-instated ready for the new season.

There was work done on the little Hardy Navigator "Me Time" in the way of getting it on its trailer and making up some chocks to fit the trailer so it can be transported to the workshop. Once there the long list of jobs to do on its refit list can begin. The first of which is going to be to get a cover sorted so it can keep it dry while it is being worked on.

Other work done this week was to trim the galley and toilet compartment doors so they can be have the trims varnished. Also done now are the cockpit wheelhouse trims which fix the wheelhouse roof to the new wheelhouse windows.

So next week it is going to be another mixed bag of jobs and a step closer to get all the projects to the finished condition ready for next season.

The one thing about being a boat builder is that every day is different, well most of the time.

The main thing with being a boat builder is that you get to work on a lot of different boats and meet a lot of different people along the way.

One day you could be painting the bottom of a boat the next you could be changing windows in a narrow boat, or even removing planks out of a wooden yacht. So every day as its new challenges and way of getting the job done. The only time it get a little problematic is when you have to work outside and the weather is either damp or raining.

Today's job is to remove and reseal a couple of windows in a narrow boat. This is a bit of a messy job as removing the sealant and putting new sealant on the windows can get a bit messy and needs a lot of cleaning up. When the job is done they should be good for a number of years to come.

This photo shows "Jasmine" before it was turned over, so that it could be put back on to its trailer for its road trip back to its owners home for him to finish off the painting and varnishing over the winter months.

 

This photo shows "Jasmine" back on its road trailer ready to go back its owners home for him to finish off the hull over the winter, then back in the spring to have a new deck fitted.

 

Now that "Jasmine" is finished for the time being, it is the turn of the Enterprise to get the restoration treatment on her to bring her back to a sailing condition once more over the next few months, so she to can get sailing again.



 

The first job on the Enterprise is to clean up the frame work and the gunwales and replace the rotten and damaged port side gunwale with a new spruce  guwale and then replace the two top hull panels on both sides of the hull.

 

This week will see a change in the boats that we are currently working on.

This coming week will the end of some long term projects and the begining of new projects to see us through the wnter into the spring. The work on the Enterprise dinghy restoration will be the first of the homebase projects and once that is completed then the new dinghy will be started on and to be completed for the spring season. Other works planned are a couple of Hardy Marine cruisers to work on, one is in need of some major TLC and the other is in need of some repairs following a accident in which parts of the boat were damaged and are in need of replacement and a general clean up.

As well as these project I have a narrowboat to sort out its windows and other small jobs to do before the weather turns for the winter. Also an ongoing project on a Princess 25 which is in the middle of a full restoration back to its former glory and will be back in the water for the new season next year.

While all this is going on I have a classic 1940's yacht to finish and get back into sailing condition and back afloat. So the next few months are going to be busy with projects and general work.

As with all other projects there will be a weekly update in the form of photos and text to keep you all informed of the progress of the projects.

Volvo Penta sterndrive overhaul.

This photo is of the sterndrive from the Princess 25 now off the boat after a battle with nature after it had been on the boat for 30 years.

 This photo shows that we are making a start to dismantle it.

 

This photo shows the old anode showing it was doing its job. 

 

The business end of the leg unit in need of a bit of TLC and a repaired propeller before it is put back into commission

 

This photo shows the transom shield removed from the leg unit after a battle to get the pivot pinds out of the transom shield.

 The leg unit at last removed from the transom shield and will be able to work on it easier.

 

This photo shows what 30 years of being in the water can do to serial number badges

 

This photo shows the exhaust coupling removed for cleaning and replacing the rubber o ring.

 This photo shows the hole where the gear shift cable goes through which was U/S and needed replacing due to old age

 

 The ram unit to trim the leg

 

This photo shows the pivot pin hole which was a battle of wills to get the old one out

 

The transom shield in need of a bit of TLC