The Blanchard Restoration

The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle restored a Blanchard Junior Knockabout last year. The following are a series of videos documenting the restoration. I'm posting the videos as it may provide some insight to the restoration process for those who have not seen it before.


The Haulout

The Haulout is the first step to any boat restoration. It is at this point that the boat is removed from the water and the boatwright gets his first look at what work will need to be done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt6u1bl-mRE

The Survey

The Survey is the first time that the boatwright gets hands on the boat out of the water and can check out the areas where he thinks problems might lie. After the survey is performed he can plan the restoration and get a timeline on the work he will need to do.

In this video CWB Blanchard Junior Knockabout (BJK) “The Lucky Seven” is being surveyed by CWB Boatwright Joe Green in our North Lake Union (NLU) Boatshop. The BJKs in CWB’s fleet have come from many different owners and their past maintenance history is not always known until their first haulout by CWB Boatwrights. Each BJK has different restoration needs based on their own unique history; the survey is where these specific needs are identified and a restoration plan is created.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1IiMJdprB4

Replacing the Transom

Now that the survey of “The Lucky Seven” is complete the restoration can begin. The first section of the boat that needs to be worked on is the transom, which as you saw in the survey video needs to be completely replaced. The transom is the surface that forms the stern of the boat and where the name of the boat placed.

In this video CWB Boatwright Joe Green works through the stages of replacing “The Lucky Seven’s” transom at CWB’s North Lake Union Boatshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-PgoPgBQI0

Framing

For the next stage of the restoration Joe Green moves inside the boat to replace six of “The Lucky Seven’s” sistered frames. The frames of a boat are what creates the shape or skeleton of the boat, which the planks are then shaped around to create the hull of the boat. Ever wondered how boatwrights get a straight piece of wood to curve around a boat? In this video you will see how steam bending is used to make the frames pliable enough to shape to the boat.

Watch CWB Boatwright Joe Green and his boatshop volunteers in action as they steam bend frames for “The Lucky Seven.”

Planking

Now what everyone has been waiting for!!

During the next stage of the restoration Joe Green returns to the exterior of the boat to replace a plank on “The Lucky Seven.”

The planks of the boat are what forms the hull around the boat’s frames, giving the boat its beautiful shape. Replacing a plank is very precise work since the boatwright has to make sure that the new plank will fit in exactly where the old plank was removed. You will see in this video the many stages that the new piece of wood goes through on its way to becoming a new plank. The steam box will be back in action again in order to make the plank pliable enough to shape to the boat.