JWS Marine Services

Category: Woodwork

  • Laurent Giles Wooden Classic Restoration Project

    Here is a 35ft Laurent Giles wooden Classic, came to us late 2013, after a complete hull survey it was apparent that this was going to be a big project, after a sit down chat with the owner we decided to break the project down into sections.

    First section of work was to remove all the paint from the hull, this was carried out by blasting with soda, the soda media is quicker at removing the paint and is kinder on the planks than burning it off, plus burning off just eats up man hours.

    Next display of pictures are some internal shots of the problems that boats had for example, all the metal work was rotten and a lot of the floor straps had no fixings through into the wood keel and also wood frames that hold the planking together were found to be cracked and shifting.

    The next section of work was the removal of the mild steel floor straps and floors, all were removed, filled and faired so that we could use them as patterns for the new castings. All straps were replaced with AB2 bronze fittings as per the owner specification so that the boat would not have any more rust problems in the future, secondary to this they are incredible strong and with last for 30+ years. All new floor, floor straps and brackets were individually drilled and all new bolts were made and threaded by hand as we were unable source the required length off the shelf.

    We removed the planking from the Port and Starboard side to expose all the work ahead, nearly all grown wood frames (3” x 21/2”) and the small wood frames (11/4” x 11/4”) at the turn of the bilge were fractured on both Port and Starboard side. You can see from the pictures below the amount of work that has gone into re-doing all the frames, the total that required replacing was 156 small wood frames and 12 large grown wood frames all had to be hand cut and all the wood had to be individually cut into laminates and all glued in jigs to form the shapes required for all frames and then all had to be fitted with copper nails and roves.

    The following photos show where the chain plates were fixed to the hull, the frames were rotten and in all 10 small wood frames 4 of had to be completely replaced and 6 grown frames needed replacing, all had to be re-nailed using copper nails and had new strap frames and bronze chain plates.

    Plank work to the hull was our next section of work, the removal and replacement of 6 Port and 7 Starboard planks, this was carried out using 10m x 800mm planks of Kayenta mahogany from the Cashew tree, the individual planks were removed and a template was taken for the new planks, this was transferred to the plank of mahogany and cut to size and all shaped by hand using planers etc. 2 planks per length, on planks where we were required to do one plank, the planks were joined using stopped scarfs, this process was carried out individually 26 times and all had to be copper nails and roved in place by hand.

    We had some work to do to on the coach house roof due to it having some rotting sections and leaking. We removed the entire coach house roof from the boat so that it was easier to work on while we removed all the varnish, this also gave better access to the deck area and the works required.

    With the refit of the mast ring on the forward section, this was found to be rotten and on dismantle it was found to have peg board instead of plywood under the old teak boards, we removed this and re-worked the area to make it watertight and looking good again.

    Removing the top was not easy as all fixings were bronze bolts that were specially fabricated for that purpose, therefore we had to have new ones fabricated to the same spec as the old. With wooden boats all the old fixings they used where hand made to the spec required, over time we at JWS have managed to enlist some specialist fabricators that can assist with projects like this, without them carrying out re-fits of this nature would be extremely difficult.

    The next area we tackled was the deck, we removed the old deck and re-fitted a new 12mm marine plywood sub deck with hardwood lower margins and then fitted a new teak deck, teak margins and 48mm 5 x 5mm rebate, as with all boats when we removed the old deck it exposed more rotten wood deck beams and the top plank to the hull had to be totally replaced with new.

    The following pictures show the work to the new chain plates and new chain plate straps and also the bar strapers that all had to be hand made out of silicon bronze bar and all new wood block and the fitting of all.

    Here is the type of prep work and pre-fitting of plywood panels, all are painted before fitting, this quickens up the finishing time. With access to difficult areas all deck beams are painted and all bulkheads are pre-varnished before fitting, all works carried out is by hand and all are checked before final fitting.

    Below you can see all marine ply wood is cut to shape using templates, then taken to the boat and cut to fit, then all is temporary fitted and all deck beams are drawn on and all plywood is taped up and then painted to a gloss finish ready to be fitted to the boat. All are fitted with 316 stainless steel wood screws, all are filled and sanded flush. The hard wood margins are made to fit and glued in place. The whole area is cleaned up ready for new teak deck.

    Teak decks with curves like this require large planks of teak, the widest plank we used on this project was 12mm thick 400mm x 3000mm long, this ment we could get a long run on a curve, you can see there were a lot of wide boards required, these were all marked up and all cut by hand along with all rebates being cut with a router. All work was pre-templated before cutting to minimise wastage and so we don’t have any pre-problems with lines. All the glue used in the section are epoxy based glues.

    On removal of the aft deck area we found that all deck beams and the transom face was completely rotten and delaminating so we removed all the structure and as you can see from the pictures below it was completely re-built from scratch and all new laminated beams and frames, all were primed and re-dambolined out.

    All the teak margins were individually templated and cut from teak boards and finished first then the teak decking individually laid one at a time, due to the clamping and gluing the planks in place.

    The following pictures are of the teak deck being laid, deck caulking applied with any excess being removed.

    You can see the new coat roof going on, all was finished off with 5 coats of Varnish.

    Final stretch of the main project was her hull and interior (The pretty parts)

    As you can after the hull was blasted we sanded her back and washed her down to removed any contaminants.

    We then applied coats of primer, she was then sprayed with AwlCraft 2000 paint system.

    We had new decal/name made to the owners specification and we applied this to the transom, the font used here is Lucida Callgraphy

    At the start of the job the most of the interior was removed, this enable the owner to have more control over the new layout of the galley and cabin areas.

    Once the lay out was achieved all was coated on primer and damboline paint and all wood work received 5 coats of Varnish.

    There a few pics of some of the deck hardware we purchased also.

    It was then time for her to leave our shed, we launch her in the water where she awaited her new mast to be fitted.

    When it comes to a new mast we have a great company that will fabricated to any spec we provide.

    Once we have the new bare mast back in the work shop it is placed on trestles ready for dry fitting of parts and varnishing. all cables are run through the mast.

    The old track is dry fitted and any alteration required are made at this point.

    The mast head fitting and spreader fixing are fitted.

    Then all parts are removed in preparation for the application of varnish, a light sand is carried out before proceeding with the varnishing coats

    Once complete we had 1 Degree West Ltd fir the standing rigging and we assisted them in fitting the mast to the boat.

    Since leaving us Farida restoration has been published in a number of boating magazines, please click on the links below to take a look –

    https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/document.do?docId=1225

    http://www.sandemanyachtcompany.co.uk/yacht/548/FARIDA

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  • Hand varnish of Transom on a Grand Banks 46

    This was just one section of the project carried out on the Grand Banks 2018/19, was to hand varnish the transom.

    The first job was to tape and prep the transom for removal of old varnish, and to protect against the varnish chemical remover.
    Next we removed all the fitting from the transom to access the working area, these fittings were; 2 stainless steel corner straps, 1 boarding ladder, 1 nav-light and a bathing platform, all were refitted on completion of varnish.
    The old varnish was stripped using a chemical remover, the whole areas was sanded and prepped ready for the application of varnish.
    We applied 18 coats of varnish, sanding in between each coat.
    Varnished used in this application was Epifanes clear varnish along with Epifanes PU, anti UV varnish, with an added drying agent mixed into the single pack.

    Take alook at our other jobs on her –

    Respray of Grand Banks 46Galley storage Fabrication on a Grand Banks

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  • Refit of new toe Rail on a Twister 28

    Another job done on the twister while she was with us in 2010/2011 – New teak toe rail
    The guardrails was removed along with the push and pul-pit and all was refitted on completion of work
    The old toe rail was removed along with both the sheet tracks.
    We supplied a new teak toe rail like for like, upon delivery this was cut to size, glue applied and fitted to the boat.
    The whole thing was then sanded and the working area cleaned.

    Check out the other work we have carried out on her –

    Respray hull on a Twister 28Osmosis Treatment on a Twister 28

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  • Total Refit of a Fairey Huntsman

    This project cam to us back in 2007, it was one of several vessels converted from the Fairey spearfish patrol vessels to the more well known Fairey Spearfish power cruiser, after she was purchased, the owner opted for a survey report to be carried out, once this was done we had a good general idea of what was required.

    The project was on a grand scale, with the owner closely involved alongside some other contractors, specialising in other field of the re-fit.

    JWS main areas of repair/refit were –

    Complete renovation of the cabin, this included all timber work, roof linning, galley area, windows and frames. Wall lining and upholstery, carpets and timber flooring and joinery to heads.

    Complete renovation of cockpit, which included new teak flooring throughout forming a new design but maintaining adequate support. New seating area to rear of cockpit forming lockers for wraps and fenders, guard rails around rear cockpit. Lacquered teak to side wall of cockpit and both sides of cabin door. The dash board and area in front was finished in a white spray. New design instrument placements and the dash front was lacquered in teak. The windscreen frame was taken off and re-fisnished. New teak bullnose moulding to two cockpit sides. Supply and installed new radar mast in a stainless steel design.

    Complete renovation of external decks, including repainting of the topsides in a combination of flag blue and white. Removed and made good life buoys racks and davits. Supply and fit new deck hatch, supply and fit new side rubbing stake in teak with a high glossed finish. New teak decks to transom, sides, bow and cabin deck, with new polished deck fittings. Polish of hull sides and re-apply Antifoul.

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  • Galley storage Fabrication on a Grand Banks

    The owner of this returning boat requested the fabrication of a galley unit.
    First we removed the cooker from the area.
    We then set about making 3 new doors from teak for the new galley unit to match in with originals, we then painted the insides white.
    Template all and fitted the ply fiddles, we then made 3 plywood shelves, primed all and applied a top-lac paint.
    JWS supplied a new microwave and the owner supplied his own induction hobs, which we made a new Formica top to fit on induction hob.

    Finally we varnished all in match with existing.

    Check out her other jobs carried out at JWS –

    Hull Respray – Grand Banks 46Galley storage Fabrication on a Grand Banks

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  • Colvic 34 ketch

    This Colvic came to us after it had a collision resulting in damage to pul and push pit, toerail and bow sprit along with some gel repairs on the topsides.

    As you will see we had to remove both the pull and pushpit, as they were badly damaged, we sent this to our fabrication contractors so new ones could be fabricated.

    In the meantime we set to work on the wood work required. First was the toe rail, we removed the top capping section of wood and the side rubbing strake, this was milled up ready to fit new and remount. we then filled the damage section with epoxy cut the teak to size and fitted to the boat securing with new screws and doweled all. We then sanded this section to finish.

    We then started on the bowsprit damage, once we removed the pulpit, windlass and cabling for lights etc from deck we moved the forstay fitting from fixing point, we removed the bow spirit from boat and all relevant plates fixing etc. This landing area was then cleaned up ready for new wood work. We supplied the hard wood for the new bowsprit and fascia plates. Both were milled up and all glued together, then sanded and prepped for fitting. Both were fitted and secured in place. We then refitted the forstay fitting and cleaned up the working area.

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  • Sparkman & Stephens 36f SY – Keel and plank work

    ‘Clarinet’ – The 36ft Sailing yacht was custom made by Sparkman and Stephens ltd
    The boat hit an object in the water at speed and was taking on water.
    The boat was lifted at Southsea Marina and JWS was asked to take a look at the damage caused to the keel and if any subsequent damage to the hull and hull planking had been caused, as JWS marine has a wealth of experience in the restoration and refit to the old wooden boats.

    We were instructed to supply an estimate of repair based on our findings.
    The repair required was to the keel and plank with fracturing along the plank grain, we removed the anti-foul with soda blasting and then sanded the hull clean so the hull could be checked again for any hidden damage to the planks etc.
    JWS repair the splits in the planking and splined seams by routing out along the plank length and replacing with new milled splines as required and rake out any disturbed putty. Clean up and replace old caulking as required then re-fill the seams with linseed putty as required, prime the hull and re-anti-foul the hull to finish.

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  • Capping and Side slat replacement on a Fisher

    As you will see the boats capping’s and side slat’s were looking rather tired, so we removed all and took the up to the workshop for templating and cutting.

    Once all sections were cut to size, these were re-fitted to the boat, the owner opted to carry out the varnishing himself.

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  • Princess 360 insurance claim for Fire Damage

    Came to us in April 2013 as an insurance claim after a fire had started in the engine bay, both engines and tanks had to be removed, the bay was then cleaned using an industrial degreaser, sanded and 2 coats of Gel coat applied. Then engines and tanks were re-fitted. The headlining had significant fire damage so all panels were removed, any repairs required were carried out and new vinyl and popper fitted then the panel were re-fitted. While the boat was in our workshop the owner opted to have the seating area and helm seat recovered after several cleaning attempts did not remove the smoke damage or oil completely. Also aside from the insurance work, the owner opted to have all new windows throughout.

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  • Insurance claim on a Pacific Seacraft

    Boat came to JWS in 2014 following push pit and toe rail damage, this was an insurance claim.

    Once we had acceptance for the insurance company we proceeded to remove the push-pit from the boat along with all the fixings in way of the damaged section of the teak toe rail, it was noted of removal that the aft guild roller bolts were damaged so this had to have brand new replacements.

    we removed the damaged section of teak from the toe rail, we supplied a brand new section of teak, this was templated for fitting before being cut to shape.

    The new section was the fitted to the boat.

    The push-pit was taking to the fabricators for repair and refitted upon completion.

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