Doing the Charleston!

[Ben]

[robin3boats]

Glad to see the top man on it

[PeterCharleston]

Martin is doing a fantastic Job.
We have acquired some superb Wadkin Woodworking machines.
The latest addition, a Wadkin Planer Thicknesser has served time at the Bluebell Railway and now put to work on Charleston, that's a pedigree !!
When we set out on this adventure, i did not quite expect to get to the "Blank Canvas", but we could not get to a more stripped and empty boat (or is it now a canoe) i don't think.
As a tip, its a gamble but worth it, if you are going back to basics, blasting with a gentle media below the water line and inside the hull has exposed lots of nasties we may not have found and saved a colossal amount of time, but very very messy and lots of clearing up !

[PeterCharleston]

Hi All
Just looking forward, a few items I need some help with. Bilge paint ?I'd like to spray the whole of the inside of Charleston , we have the boat show coming up so any hints and tips on what I should be looking for/asking in terms of the Fairey Agba etc I would be grateful.
Also the windscreen and frame will require construction and ill need some contacts please. The fuel tanks are aero aluminium sheathed in glass fibre they are in a horrible gungy mess inside and the seals etc need replacing so contacts on that front please. Progress wise we now have coach roofs, most of the veneer repairs, waterline up are complete, internal hull repairs are almost complete, external hull repairs are commenced but she is sitting in a comprehensive steel cradle which we are reluctant to take her out of so very slow and laborious below the water line !! Engines and Gearboxes !! now that's a whole new story and needs some serious lumps of cash !!

[CharlesL]

Pete : there is a SS33 drawing with some windscreen dimensions, but sadly it also says "build screen on jig"!

Charles

[Ben]

International Danboline grey.

For the screen I would talk to two people, Precision units in Poole and Gordon Currey, I think the later can source the aluminium channels you need. What does Mitch say about the screen?

Engines, I would look for a high hours pair of M225ti, rebuild yourself with pistons and shells etc, then wire the waste gate shut and set the pump for 200hp and test on the Lancing Marine dyno. that should give very nearly 30 knots. M215C is the same base.

[PeterCharleston]

Fab, Cheers Charles and Ben, many thanks, I think you have sent me the Windscreen DWG Charles, Mitch is happy to knock up a timber windscreen frame, but I want the original look as per the 1972/3 pic in Charles superb book. I've still got my eye on 2 x M265Ti Perkins at Marine Enterprises , one needs work, but no gearboxes as yet (contra rotating if poss !)

[Tim Russell]

I would support the idea of using Danboline bilge paint, but if you want to be brave then go for white rather than grey. It really gives you an incentive to keep the bilges clean, and drips and leaks are more obvious and easier to find.

[Ben]

There is 2 versions of M265ti.

Bosch pump and another, I think Motorpal, you might find support better for the Bosch pump.

Certainly the Bosch ones can be wound up to the M300ti 285hp spec.

The M265ti is 240hp and would be lovely.

[PeterCharleston]

Hi, whilst we are looking ahead, what's the general consensus on painting prep, I understand the ideas behind the glass cloth on the coach roofs as the ply is very thin and needs all the help it can get. Not so sure about the ideas behind a resin treatment to cabin sides and hull sides. Would not a good paint prep and paint finish be the route to follow, my worry would be if we have resined the hull sides and we get a scrape its a lot of work to get back the finish, whereas if it's paint on primer any repairs are a tad easier ?

[Folly Reach]

If the superstructure or indeed even the transom are going to be dark blue then epoxy and cloth is definitely the way forward.
Otherwise your beautifully prepared finish will without doubt move and crack.

[PeterCharleston]

We've still got quite a bit to do but the plan is looking like blue transom , white hull, blue topside, essentially the colours from the pic in Charles L superb book , the coach roofs not sure they look a green/blue . The Peter De S colour was blue hull and white topside, I have not seen a pic of the tops. Very interested in other Fairey Owners painting experiences???

[PeterCharleston]

So Epoxy or not to Epoxy !!
We have spoken to several boat restorers, experts and amateurs, to say that opinions vary well that's a subject for a new Charles L book all of its own !! we are epoxy and cloth to the cabin tops and probably the cabin sides. BUT the Hull !!, i love the Epoxy finish to the Fairey Hull in the Fairey Owners News, there are so many fors and against's , i am completely stumped, had a lovely chat with Wests at the Boat Show, amazing info from the traditionalists at the entrance, Coppercoat sounds an excellent solution, guess what, completely confused !!
what have other owners experienced ! clearly a Fairey boat has some flex at speed, in a good sea, does resin work against its success in these situations ? assuming we get Charleston in the water, she WILL be used, hopefully not abused but we don't want to be ***** footing it in the troughs worried about cracking "the hull coating" , any shared good and bad experiences gratefully received.
ps, who'd have thought we would be looking at paint etc this time last year ! not me !!Very sad to not be able to make the Yarmouth doo this saturday, desperately tried to make the diary work but failed miserably. Hopefully make it to Thurleston if there are still spaces though. Kind Regards Peter

[Ben]

From an email between me an Pete.

Woggy = Gordon Currey, he converted a load of Spears to Spearfish, hence he had to build a lot of windscreens....
You need to look at a few other Swordsman ones to work out how to attack it.
I would start with a full size cardboard mock up.
My next step I think would be to make the bottom rail, with the rebate for the perspex.
Across the front I would machine up a cross section that worked.
Do you know I reckon I might do that in hardwood.
The sides would be easy.
The radii, you could take a length of the cross section from above, put saw cuts most of the way through in both sides, until it is bendy enough to get it round the corners, Would likely need some final fairing/finishing.
Then I might make another mock up, but with the curved sections in ali sheet, with some stiffening added, so they could become the bucks for Precision units.
Then use ali extrusion for the top and the uprights between the sections.

One thing to watch out for, how far aft the sides of the screen finish, if they come back too far it makes getting over the coaming from side deck into cockpit trickier.

I'll put this on the forum. Ian E will see it and he's just done a Spearfish one.

[CharlesL]

Pete, there some screen dimensions on drawing A3512 which I think you have.

I've checked out the new New Zealand drawings of the Swordsman, but they are pretty silent on the screen, except for the side panel, which of course was changed for the Super.

Charles