Restoring an old Puffin..

[Hammer Man]

I have an old boat that apparently is a Puffin by someone called Ian Oughtred. I would like to restore it to use with my daughter but have no idea where to start or what I need.. I'm guessing I should start with stripping all the old paint off it. I have lots of old reciepts and letters from when my friends grandad owned it in around 1960 something.. There are three masts and three sails with it and I am unsure which one goes with the boat! I don't know what kind of wood it is constructed from but it is VERY heavy! And I don't know if it leaks or not either! Anyway, here are some pictures taken when I collected it at the weekend.

Where she was sat since 1980's
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1031746-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033581.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033589.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033590.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033599.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033595.jpg

[DGentry]

Can't help you with the restoration, but others here are experts. Thought you might like this, though:

http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/details.asp?Name=Puffin

I don't see the daggerboard trunk in your boat, so that might be something you will have to install with if you want to sail it. Though, clearly, the previous owners didn't seem to need one . . . .
Did it come with a dagger or, maybe, a lee board? These are generally airfoil shaped boards that stick down below the boat to reduce leeway. Apologies if you already knew that!

Looks like you've got a great boat there! Congrats! I don't envy you the paint stripping, though.

Have fun!
Dave Gentry

[Thorne]

Welcome to the Forum!

Ian is a well-known designer, and has published at least one book and a number of plans.

http://www.woodenboatstore.com/images/325116.jpg http://www.woodenboatstore.com/images/325144.jpg

[Jim Ledger]

Very nice find. I wonder, though, if Ian Oughtred was designing back in 1960. I'm not sure.

I wouldn't be too quick to strip off the old paint. If it's solid and not flaking, then you could just leave it. Spot prime the bare spots after scraping and sanding and give it a fresh coat on top of the old. With an older boat, some roughness in the paint gives the boat a used, lived-in look, much like an antique, that can be lost in trying to make it perfect.

Do the minimum, and get the boat in the water. Go sailing with the little girl this spring, not next.

Meanwhile, educate yourself in the care of an old boat, then you'll be in a better position to decide if work is needed or not.

Important point, the paint probably contains lead, harmful stuff, especially for small children. Be careful sanding and take precautions, dust masks, vacuuming, etc, to keep the dut contained.

[Ed Armstrong]

It looks similar to a puffin (formerly the 10-foot Acorn), though the bilges look firmer. If it's mant to sail, it should have a daggerboard or centerboard. The daggerboard is directly in front of the center thwart, in my boat. All of Ian's designs are now glued lapstrake plywood, but he does include guidelines for traditional construction too. An Acorn built out of marine plywood wood be around 130 lbs or so. Yours looks considerably heavier than that. Here's a photo of my Puffin/Acorn:

http://webs.directcon.net/edarmstrong/04132007064small.jpg

You can see the rounder bilges in this transom shot:

http://webs.directcon.net/edarmstrong/PICT0062.JPG

Ian has modified his designs over time, so modern Acorn could look significantly different from one built in '60's. I dont' even know when he started designing boats, but someone around here undoubtably does.

Good luck with your restoration! Post pictures when you're done.

Ed

[TerryLL]

Hammer Man,

This boat is totally worthless and you need to get rid of it as soon as possible. I'll be happy to relieve you of the burden of ownership. In the meantime, hide it away in the back of your garage and don't tell another living soul about it.

No, seriously. This is a real treasure you've come into. It might even have been built by Oughtred when he was a young man, which would make it even more valuable. If you plan on restoration, please consult the experts and take care and time to do it right.

[BETTY-B]

What a score! I hope to see many more pics as the restoration of this fantastic little vessle progresses. Wow...

It just looks dirty from here. Wash it, then I'd be tempted to just give it a scuff and a paint job. While looking very closely for any broken or rotten bits. Oops, reading the posts above gives the same advice. I'll shut up now...

What a sweetie you've found there!

Welcome to Wood Boat World.

DAN

[Hammer Man]

OMG, I see something of beauty. A true prize.

Get the paint off first, with great care.

I see something in the second picture I don't like,
right side center, a patch maybe??

I don't know, it could be a patch. I will have a look tomorrow while it is still light and perhaps take some better pictures. I didn't notice it (because I don't know what I'm looking at in all honesty! This is my first boat!)

Can't help you with the restoration, but others here are experts. Thought you might like this, though:

http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/details.asp?Name=Puffin

I don't see the daggerboard trunk in your boat, so that might be something you will have to install with if you want to sail it. Though, clearly, the previous owners didn't seem to need one . . . .
Did it come with a dagger or, maybe, a lee board? These are generally airfoil shaped boards that stick down below the boat to reduce leeway. Apologies if you already knew that!

Looks like you've got a great boat there! Congrats! I don't envy you the paint stripping, though.

Have fun!
Dave Gentry

Hi Dave, Thanks for the link. I'm affraid I don't know what a dagger board is, or a dagger, or a lee board.:o There are two airfoil shaped boards though yes... I will take pictures of them and post them!

Very nice find. I wonder, though, if Ian Oughtred was designing back in 1960. I'm not sure.


Do the minimum, and get the boat in the water. Go sailing with the little girl this spring, not next.


Important point, the paint probably contains lead, harmful stuff, especially for small children. Be careful sanding and take precautions, dust masks, vacuuming, etc, to keep the dut contained.

Thanks for the helpful tips and advice, especially on the paint containing lead - I wouldn't have known.. I've no idea if Ian Oughtred was designing in the 1960's, I'm just going on what I've been told and dates on letters and reciepts. There are two file boxes full of stuff about boats! It may not even be a puffin I guess, it says 'puffin' on the sail bag though.

It looks similar to a puffin (formerly the 10-foot Acorn), though the bilges look firmer. If it's mant to sail, it should have a daggerboard or centerboard. The daggerboard is directly in front of the center thwart, in my boat. All of Ian's designs are now glued lapstrake plywood, but he does include guidelines for traditional construction too. An Acorn built out of marine plywood wood be around 130 lbs or so. Yours looks considerably heavier than that.


Ian has modified his designs over time, so modern Acorn could look significantly different from one built in '60's. I dont' even know when he started designing boats, but someone around here undoubtably does.

Good luck with your restoration! Post pictures when you're done.

Ed

Sorry for my apparent ignorance, but I don't know what bilges, daggerboard or centreboard are! I've no idea what mine weighs but we could just lift it of the ground with three men and could drag it with two of us! Very heavy indeed!

Hammer Man,

This boat is totally worthless and you need to get rid of it as soon as possible. I'll be happy to relieve you of the burden of ownership. In the meantime, hide it away in the back of your garage and don't tell another living soul about it.

No, seriously. This is a real treasure you've come into. It might even have been built by Oughtred when he was a young man, which would make it even more valuable. If you plan on restoration, please consult the experts and take care and time to do it right.

Haha! Worthless eh?! I honestly have no idea as I was given it for free but now you've made me wonder! lol What's a boat like this worth? Its not for sale, I want to keep it but it would be nice to know. Is it worth getting it insured? I don't have a garage, its outside my house under a tarpaulin!



Sorry I haven't quoted everyone, thank you all for your kind replies and encouragement though!

[Ed Armstrong]

It sounds like you have lee boards. Lee boards mount outside the hull around midships to provide lateral resistance for sailing upwind. Your last photo shows an "appendage" at midships that looks like it could be a prop for a leeboard (I'm sure there's a technical term for the support that holds the leeboard away from the hull, but I don't know it).

I also don't know the technical definition of "bilges", but the curve of the bilge is the part of the boat where the planking goes from mostly horizontal (near the keel) to mostly vertical (near the sheerstrake -- the uppermost plank). A "firm bilge" makes this turn abruptly. A "slack bilge" makes this turn gradually. Sorry I muddled that...someone has to have a better definition.

Ed

[Hwyl]

It's a great boat, but I doubt it's an Oughtred design. It's clenched not glued and has very solid framing. It's one of thousands of clinker built dinghies that used to be everywhere in the U.K. enjoy her. I too am jealous

[Hammer Man]

sheesh, this is getting confusing! lol I feel like an idiot because I have no idea about any of this stuff! I uploaded some more pictures though!

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033591.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033594.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033572.jpg

[DGentry]

Looks like Ed is spot on with the leeboards, seeing the pic and hearing that you have two airfoil shaped boards. It's great that all your sailing bits are there!
FYI, you'll use the leeboards when you are sailing. You lower the one on the lee side (away from the wind) of the hull (hence leeboard), and it'll keep your boat from just sliding sideways when you are sailing into the wind. A leeboard acts just like a dagger or centerboard, except those go through a slot in the center of the hull instead of hanging outside the hull itself.

This, like the many other nautical terms, is utterly unimportant now, but will be a bit more so when you start learning to sail. You can sure row it without knowing much at all!

Great find!

[Hammer Man]

Don't let it set on the ground, get it on some horses
and keep it covered for now.

This may help:

http://www.glen-l.com/free-book/rigging-small-sailboats.html#contents


I will go out and buy some horses at the weekend, thanks for the advice! And thanks for the link, I just had a quick look and it is very informative. I will have a read of it properly when the kids are asleep!

[Hwyl]

Yes, looks like it's rigged for leeboards, and I'd say at a guess that she was originally Dutch.

Sailing depends on the sideways power on the sail being counteracted by something in the water, like a knife through butter. On a big boat, it's the keel (which has the secondary job of being a pendulum weight), on small boats it's any of a number of arrangement of boards. Yours has boards on the side that are called leeboards. Pretty unusual in England. Others have board that either slide or pivot in box in the middle of the boat called either "daggerboard" or "centreboard".

[Hammer Man]

Yes, looks like it's rigged for leeboards, and I'd say at a guess that she was originally Dutch.

Sailing depends on the sideways power on the sail being counteracted by something in the water, like a knife through butter. On a big boat, it's the keel (which has the secondary job of being a pendulum weight), on small boats it's any of a number of arrangement of boards. Yours has boards on the side that are called leeboards. Pretty unusual in England. Others have board that either slide or pivot in box in the middle of the boat called either "daggerboard" or "centreboard".

Thanks for the info, I'm glad I joined now! I was going to attempt it without any help but thought I'd come here 'just to see what people said'... I will look through the old papers in more detail tommorrow to see if it will tell me where he bought the boat from originally..

I have this picture from the weekend where one of the boards is leaning on the boat - is that a leeboard?

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033611.jpg

[Hammer Man]

Looks like Ed is spot on with the leeboards, seeing the pic and hearing that you have two airfoil shaped boards. It's great that all your sailing bits are there!
FYI, you'll use the leeboards when you are sailing. You lower the one on the lee side (away from the wind) of the hull (hence leeboard), and it'll keep your boat from just sliding sideways when you are sailing into the wind. A leeboard acts just like a dagger or centerboard, except those go through a slot in the center of the hull instead of hanging outside the hull itself.

This, like the many other nautical terms, is utterly unimportant now, but will be a bit more so when you start learning to sail. You can sure row it without knowing much at all!

Great find!

Thanks, I think I'm starting to understand! Its difficult to picture in my head without ever having sailed before.. I can't wait to fix her up and learn though!

You will learn, and learn to love the boat as well, they
have a thing that gets in your blood and won't let go.

I have been at it for nearly sixty years now, and build
ing the damn things for fifty.

This is the spot I have questions about.

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7707/s1033581.jpg


http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/7707/s1033581.jpg


Ahhh, now I see where you mean.. I will definately have a look tomorrow after work and will take some pictures of it.

Many thanks again guys, I appreciate your help!

[Thorne]

An easy way to get familiar with all the nautical-speak and boatie-terms (Yarr, Mayties!) is to pick up a book on building / repair of clinker-built (what us Yanks call lapestrake) boats. Otherwise it is hard for us to help you and for you to understand what we're saying...

Poke around in the local library and used bookstores, or ask any friends who are into wooden boats. If you find anything by John Leather borrow or buy it, particularly this book -
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GQ50QZDPL._SS500_.jpg

Amazon.co.uk has it for 12 quid - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clinker-Boatbuilding-John-Leather/dp/0713636432/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1237498663&sr=1-3

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Wow, Dude, you totally lucked out... That is a fabulous little boat... and very safe... good luck:cool::cool::cool:

[Hammer Man]

BHOFM, I had a look at the boat after work today and took some pictures of it. Here is the patch that you spotted..



http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033665.jpg

And this is outside the boat where the patch is..

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033680.jpg


There is also this round bit in the bottom of the boat, another patch perhaps?

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033692.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033693.jpg

There are two more in the front of the boat,

Left

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033669.jpg

And right,

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/S1033670.jpg

[earling2]

that is an absolutely wonderful little boat. And I agree--I don't think you need to strip the paint off of it. It doesn't look like it has much build up in the first place.
Bluff bow, high, tucked up stern, fat and round, lots of freeboard, leeboards...
unique. very cool little clinker dinghy

put it in the water and see if it floats, first things first...

[goodbasil]

If that were my boat, which it ain't, I'd remove that "patch" cause it don't look too professional. Get a pressure washer, (not too powerfull), wash her down, poke around for rot, redo the patch, keep her up on blocks, scrape down whats loose, paint her up and Bob's your uncle.
I like those leeboads, look well made.

[Hammer Man]

The two in the front look like they may have been
there when the boat was built? The other one in
a repair and it looks like they filled the out side with
something.

When you get the paint off you can better tell what
is going on. Worse case, you may need to replace the
plank. Do-able!

Not sure about the round plate? What is on the other
side?

I'm not sure whats on the other side as its on the bottom and its too heavy for me to turn over by myself, I'll have to wait until I have a couple of friends over to help me..:rolleyes:

that is an absolutely wonderful little boat. And I agree--I don't think you need to strip the paint off of it. It doesn't look like it has much build up in the first place.
Bluff bow, high, tucked up stern, fat and round, lots of freeboard, leeboards...
unique. very cool little clinker dinghy

put it in the water and see if it floats, first things first...

Thanks, I'm glad other people like it! Makes me more determined to get it on the water! A few people on here are saying not to strip the paint off but I thought it might look nice stripped back and varnished - or is this boat better suited to paint? I suppose it would help if I knew what wood it was made from!

If that were my boat, which it ain't, I'd remove that "patch" cause it don't look too professional. Get a pressure washer, (not too powerfull), wash her down, poke around for rot, redo the patch, keep her up on blocks, scrape down whats loose, paint her up and Bob's your uncle.
I like those leeboads, look well made.

I'm a bit nervous about taking the patch off! What if I make it worse? If I do take it off, how do I redo it making it look more professional?? I haven't done anything like this before - perhaps I have bitten off more than I can chew!

[Hammer Man]

The images have just finished uploading as I posted that reply. Rather than try to pick out which pictures to post I thought I could just share the whole album with this link.. Let me know if it works? The only thing with that is it makes it more difficult to tell me what a certain thing is for in a picture. I have taken pictures of all of the bits that came with the boat and wonder if someone could tell me whats what? Perhaps by telling me what picture number it is or something?

http://s89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/puffin/

[Hammer Man]

Do'h, clever me eh?! I don't want to give out my password for that as I can't remember the guest password so I've created another album. Sorry to be a pain! Try this one - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jamesprobbins/Boat#

[adampet]

Wow, Great boat. Looks well made, sturdy and stable. All of the advice you've received so far has been spot on. You may want to get in touch with these guys.
Dinghy Cruising Association http://www.dca.uk.com/ . They cruise boats that look very similar to what you have. I'll bet they have all sorts of resources and may even know something about your boat.

Good luck and enjoy!

Adam

[kayakn]

I have an old boat that apparently is a Puffin by someone called Ian Oughtred. I would like to restore it to use with my daughter but have no idea where to start or what I need.. I'm guessing I should start with stripping all the old paint off it. I have lots of old reciepts and letters from when my friends grandad owned it in around 1960 something.. There are three masts and three sails with it and I am unsure which one goes with the boat! I don't know what kind of wood it is constructed from but it is VERY heavy! And I don't know if it leaks or not either! Anyway, here are some pictures taken when I collected it at the weekend.

Where she was sat since 1980's
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1031746-1.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/HammerMan_photo/S1033581.jpg


LUCKY! that's a nice looking boat and will look even nicer when it's finished!

[Tom W.]

Man, that collection of blocks (pulleys) and cleats are fabulous. I would not recommend trying to get it up to varnish standards. Looks like this was a work boat of some sort and was used hard and put away wet. Beautiful oars, by the way. Find some old sea salt guy there who might be able to identify the spars (masts and booms) and the rigging parts. The stem (forward piece curves up in the front of the boat) may have some rot issues. Stems take a beating when the boat is pulled up on land. This is replaceable by a boatwright. I doubt it would be dry when launched. Also, fyi, dried out boats need to absorb water into their planking to get to where they are not leaking, the planks swell as they absorb the water. This boat well may have other issues with leaking. Great find, this is a worthy project.
Tom