Partagas - Windsor Boat Works limited

Partagas

Partagas / Originally called Pacemaker is an 18 foot Gentleman’s racer that was built by Butson boats in 1997 . Original plan was to investigate the bad spot on the starboard chine plank , and make some Minet style vents for the hatches , The “little spot on the chine plank turned out to be worse than anticipated .

CAD model of new vents

Mahogany blank for new vent

CNC router at work

Lots of sawdust

Brass fins and holders

Brass fins and still a bit of hand sanding left to do on the mahogany

The start

Glued on name

Very gently removing

The tip of the iceberg

The canvas between the two planking layers kept things wet . Perfect conditions for rot

rot happening from the inside out

way too much stuff in the boat

engine comming out

roll over

bottom isn’t really that bad . There are just enough little rot pockets to make it impossible to repair the sections

framework isn’t too bad . but there is a bit of frame work to repair before covering it up

both layers held together with hundreds of copper rivets . Note the canvas rotting

the stuff in the boat takes up way more space than the boat

surgical removal with a skill saw

frames in pretty decent shape

Start of rot in the chines

To increase the integrity of the bond between the 2 layers of planking I like to add intermediate ribs to reduce the distance between “squish ” points between the two skins

These temporary battens are used to steam bend intermediate ribs between the main frames

solid mahogany re-sawn and planed down to 5/16″ for the new inner skin

The inner skin is bonded to the intermediate ribs with 3m 5200 and held in place with temporary screws ontil the adhesive cures

New chines at the aft end

the inner skin is fitted tight on the inside with a caulking relief at the top

2nd Layer of half inch thick mahogany planking is bedded in 3M 5200 and screwed to the underlying framework

2nd layer of planking is fitted tight at the inside edges , but a small expansion gap on the outside is left that will be filled with Sikaflex .

3M 5200 between planks

The planks are initially a series of flats

Screw holes filled

After sanding the plank seams are caulked with Sikaflex . these act as expansion joints

2 coats of penetrating Epoxy sealer

Next 3 coats of High build Epoxy primer

finally 3 coats of Hatteras White enamel

right-side up again

Waterline

inside of new bottom sealed with 3 coats of penetrating epoxy sealer

an extremely challenging feature to add to the existing varnished hull . 2 framed in boxes that run parallel to the center line of the hull and intersect sideways at 112 degrees and 3 inches tall

These cut ins will house the navigation lights

The engine ran alright , but after 20 years it’s a bit tired . Spark plugs are pretty black

old engine on the left, ready for the parts to be transplanted onto the new Mercruiser long block

The lenses needed retainers to hold them into the new pockets . I drew them on the computer , printed a patern with my 3D printer and then had them cast at the foundry

The new waterline was painted in a similar theme to the Partagas Cigar wraper . A red line with two gold pin stripes for an accent .— lots of masking !!

In this age of easy print vynil stickers it’s hard to find a guy who can do real Gold leaf by hand

vent parts back from the plater

New name on th wet-sanded transom

3 coats of varnish over the gold leaf . This means that down the road when the boat needs a maintenance freshen up sand and varnish , the name will be protected

This Post Has 2 Comments

neil honeyman
19 Jun 2019 Log in to Reply

Mike, What a great overview of your meticulous craftsmanship and dedication to perfection; It was a real pleasure to look at most of the boats and pictures you posted. Every boat you create or repair comes out better from your shop then when it was originally built except for your own design build. Thanks for sharing Brads boat and his motor work; I would recommend Mike to anyone looking for a restoration or a complete new boat build, Neil Honeyman
mike windsor
19 Jun 2019 Log in to Reply

Thanks for the kind words Neil

Leave a Reply to neil honeyman Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.