1956 Dragon

[Joe Woodbury]

I have found a 1956 Dragon built with tight caulkless seams in Helinski Finland. It has been out of the water for more than 10 years but keep in the rainy northwest hill country. The planks of mahagony have swelled and broken maybe half of the ribs and of course the bilge planks have sprung off the boat in several places. I plan on laminating sister ribs in place and pulling the planking tight to the new ribs. Do I let the boat dry out enough to get the planks back where they were originally and maybe risk them braking free again when put in the water since the hull is really tightly seamed? Or do I cut a caulking seam in the bilge planks and pull the planks back to their original shape while they are still wet? Or pull the blanks tight together and re rib the boat in is new larger shape?

[imported_Ola Sylwan]

Hi Joe,
Since you have been fortunate enough to find a Dragon don´t make the mistake of thinking that you can convert a tight seam to a caulked. The planking is much to thin, as are the ribs, and you will almost certainly destroy the boat in the process. Search for and read postings by "Kings cruiser". The former owner of hi´s boat had made that blunder. You can get drawings from the International Dragon Association, http://www.intdragon.org/ The links will give you a lot more to think about.
Ola.

[Joe Woodbury]

Thanks Ola for your reply. The outside of each plank has a rabbit on the bottom side about 1/8 wide and 3/8 deep. the rabbit is filled with some compound and then wedged with mahagony. the wedges are 1/8" by 3/16". I dont know if this is original or someone elses attempt at repair. Maybe this is why the planks have come off at the bilge.

[Roger Cumming]

It's not original - someone probably did try to repair the planking and made matters worse. I owned a Dragon built in Denmark also built with tight seams. Apparently, this construction works in Scandinavia's cold, wet climate. It doesn't work in the eastern US, and there is nothing that you can do to change this. These boats are lightly framed (they are racing boats), unable to stay tight when hauled for the winter each season. The frames are too light to stand the stress of normal caulking nor is the planking thick enough. The Dragon's long overhangs do not help matters.

If the boat is otherwise worth repairing, and the planking can be reclaimed, I would consider removing the wedges, replacing (not sistering) broken frames, and refastening the boat. You will have to keep the boat in the water year round (which is best for the boat anyway) and make a canvas boom tent to cover the boat when at anchor (the cockpit isn't self draining.

Dragons are lively performers where there is ample wind - they were designed for the North Sea. There used to be a fleet in SF Bay, maybe there still is. Dragons were an Olympic class up until 1970 or so. They were replaced by Solings.

Good luck!

[imported_Ola Sylwan]

Hi Joe.
Roger is the expert here. The wedges are definitely not original. From your post I suspect that you live on the left coast and that the climate where you live is not as dry as he thinks. In my opinion most of the ribs break shortly after the boat is delivered to the first owner. If you check the links on the IDA hompage you will find out how others have tackled your problem. If you need to spline or wedge a tightseamed boat, I believe it should be done with the planking at, or almost at, maxmum wetness. If you dry it out and spline it, it must be kept dry forever after or it will explode from from the stresses of swelling.

[Joe Woodbury]

Thanks for your input Roger. I live at the Canadian border in NW Washington, as close to Scandnavian climate you can find in the US. All your comments seem to be verified in this Dragon. The boat was pulled from the water every year. While in the water in the summer the seams opened up because of the long overhangs. In this climate, if the boat is stored next to a south or west hill and in the shelter of trees, the hull is as wet as being in he water even throughout the overhangs since in never feels the sun.
I have a history of building canoes with alaskan stem bent ribs and african mahagony veneer, having found a cheap supply nearby. When I climbed inside the hull it appeared to me to be the bigest canoe I ever saw or imagined. So I cannot turn away from it. I am aproaching the repair as if it in fact were just a giant sailing canoe. I am now thinking I will leave the existing ribs but add new alaskan cedar ribs between the existing broken ribs and double the number of floors. I have access to free alaskan cedar and plan on doing all the repairs with this. Also hope to thru fasten the new ribs with clenched copper nails. This hull looked like it should have had more ribs to start with. I find that with light planking more lightweight ribs are better than less but stronger ribs. This boat will not be used for racing and hull weight is not a critical factor for future use.
I would appreciate your comments about this plan.
Ola, I looked at the IDA page and links but could find nothing about repair of wooden Dragons. Do you have anything more specific?

[This message has been edited by Joe Woodbury (edited 01-09-2002).]

[This message has been edited by Joe Woodbury (edited 01-09-2002).]

[Henning 4148]

Two issues cross my mind:

1. Your boat was very likely registered for racing by the first owner or the builder with the then local class association. If you can get hold of the original sail number, you should be able to trace some history.

2. I have read somewhere, that some dragons intended for competitive racing were drysailed to keep the weight down (and the strength in the wood high?), i.e. they did not stay in the water for any length of time. If your dragon was built for drysailing, that would explain some of the trouble you face from swelling.

All the best, they are lovely looking boats.

[Joe Woodbury]

I think you are right about being built for racing and dry sailing. What I have heard about the history of this boat it that it was always used for racing, even in the Olympics. It probably would have done fine except it got caught in a boat house fire and was refitted with plywood decks, etc.? Then it was left in the water during the summer and hauled out in the winter, Then it was simply left hard for more than ten years,but left out in the Pacific NW weather, which is actually wetter then in the water in California.
I built a dory skiff of douglas fir 10 years ago and keep in on a trailer. The most critical part of keepping the boat in good shape is controlling the moisture content of the planking. This has meant it must get in the water often during the summer and keep stored in the shade. From november to February it needs to be covered to keep out the fresh water, but the humidity in the air keeps the planks in excellent shape over these three months. Sometimes in Jan. there is also an excellent time for going back in the water. With the Dragon, the in and out is not so easy. I want to keep the boat moored in the water as much as possible but it must be pulled out in the winter storm season and stored inside for maintenance. I think the biggest problem will be keeping the seams tight above the waterline during the summer. Maybe I can leave the seams as they are below the water line, but replace the wood wedges above the waterline with something more flexible.
I talked with a previous owner who won the NorthAmerican Championship in 1978 in this boat. He claims it was the fastest one out there and was build for Olympic raciing and that all the Olympic boats were wedged seamed to keep their hulls smooth and fast. When he had it in the 70's the planking and ribs worked together OK. He hauled it out every year for paint and then put it back in and waited for it to take up. I guess if it was a good racer for over 20 years it did its job.
What I want now is another 10 years out of this hull in Puget Sound and confidence it will hold up in 40 knots. If I don't fix it now it will end up as fire wood.

[This message has been edited by Joe Woodbury (edited 01-09-2002).]

[Evan Showell]

Joe -- I've got a '63 Abeking & Rasmussen Dragon, U.S. 208. Mahogany on oak, planked tight. Still undergoing renovation. Seams have opened up a bit, but not much, I'd say less than a 1/16". No splines. Although the frames are rather light, I'd be wary of adding addition frames between the existing ones. The frames in my Dragon are very closely spaced, probably no more than 8-10" between frames. The planking is also pretty thin -- 9/16". I am far from an expert on these subjects and, no doubt those more knowledgeable than I will chime in with truly enlightened comments, but I figure the last thing the planks need is more penetrations. With my set up, extra intervening frames would result in rivet or screw holes in the planks every 4-5" inches. That would make me a little nervous on general principle, but I'm not sure there would be a reasonable basis form my apprehension. Those more knowledgeable will have to enlighten us. Just something to think about.

[Hugh Paterson]

Lo Joe.
I have an old Dragon awaiting my time for fixing here in Scotland, needs some ribs replaced and a new deck, worked on two before
there is an active fleet here on the Clyde.
As others have pointed out it sounds as if its had a dodgy repair in the past, from experience, I would suggest you replace the damaged frames, rather than put doublers or
sisters in. suggest you get the keelbolts checked as well we drew a couple last year and found them rotten, this boats from the same era! be glad to swap notes?

Shuggie.

[Roger Cumming]

Joe, a tight seamed boat like your Dragon should not be "dry-sailed", but should be kept in the water as much as possible. Wood shrinks across the grain, so imagine the planking getting wider when it goes in in the Spring. And imagine the screw fastenings into the frames, which are not lengthening because wood does not shrink or swell longitudinally. Each season the screws get pulled one way when the planks shrink, then the other way when the planking swells. After many seasons, the screws loosen and can no longer keep the planks tight to the frames, which is their main function. Dry sailing such a boat would appear to increase the number of cycles of shrinking and swelling.

If she must come out of the water, do it for the minimum of time, store her in the shade, preferably sheltered from the wind, above a dirt floor. On Long Island where I sail, some yards brush linseed oil on the hull below the waterline once or twice during the winter storage.

The seams above the waterline are less of a problem because they only have to adjust to the ambient year round humidity, not immersion and then drying out. Do not paint the topsides a dark color (as I did because I didn't know any better), but keep to the lighter colors. White is best. That old Nat Herreshoff epigram - that only 2 colors are proper for boats: white, and black, and only a fool would paint a boat black - is good advice. Dark colors absorb heat and cause more expansion and hence, more cracking of topside paint at the seams.

As far as adding frames is concerned, I agree with others that drilling more holes (for fastenings) in the planking is ill-advised. I believe refastening the boat, i.e., taking out each screw fastening and replacing it with a new one will do more for this boat than any other single thing. And it is something you can do yourself for the cost of the screws. You might also consider rivets instead of screws because the entire interior of the boat is probably accessible, as Dragons tend to have minimal accommodations. Either way, you will be giving the boat a new 20 or more year lease on life.

You might also read the chapter on Floors in Bud McIntosh's book How to Build a Wooden Boat. As I recall my own Dragon, its floors were very light. Reinforcing or replacing the floors of a lightly built long-ended boat such as yours will do wonders for its stiffness and help keep the seams tight.

Good luck!