‘Tis the Season of winter workshops – whether your chapter calls them Symposiums or Seminars, this is the time of year to get involved.
The Antique and Classic Boat Society does sponsor three major Symposiums during the year; at the:
- Sunnyland Boat Festival in March at Tavares, FL,
- the Antique Boat Museum in May at Clayton, NY
- and the International Boat Show in September, this year at Racine, WI
And Chapters are holding Symposiums, Workshops, Shop tours in various locations. Find one near you (near being within a day’s drive) and get signed up to attend as a guest or even a presenter.
DIVERSITY is a word that describes our membership. Many are professional restorers or builders. Some are shade-tree mechanics or weekend woodworkers. Still, others just love the smell of varnish or watching a classic piece of art cruising by. But together in this interesting mix is that common interest that encourages the exchange of know-how.
There are four chapter Workshops on the ACBS Events Calendar in the next two months.
If your chapter is also having one, please send us an invitation to post on this website. And then send us pictures and a report of the day.
Click here to submit Information for this website.
The materials used when our antique and classic boats were built were not meant to last forever. But with today’s new products, the effort put into preservation, restoration, and maintenance pay dividends in long-lasting finishes.
Fundamentals of maintenance for both safety and appearance are critical. But each year, we learn about emerging technology that builds endurance into finishes and precision into the tools available.
Here is a report from a chapter workshop just held by the Heartland Classics Chapter:
Well Attended Winter Workshop with Interesting Topics
Heartland Classics Chapter of ACBS held its 2017 Winter Workshop on Saturday, Feb. 18th. It was a beautiful day to travel (no ice, snow, or wind) and the great turnout enjoyed being inside Brent Howard’s spacious workshop for lessons to be learned and outside for the incredible lunch prepared by Chuck Gibbs and Kathleen Barrett.
Dan Diehl always pulls together interesting topics and dynamic presenters. Here’s a brief recap of the day:
Oils for Older Engines – discussion continued from last year. Look for ZDDP as an important ingredient to help avoid cam failure. Generally, older engines require higher viscosity oils. Good choices are Rotella and Valvoline VR-1. Synthetic oils seem to be working, Mobile 1 being a good choice.
Trailer Maintenance – Chick Wheat demonstrated how to pack the bearings on trailer hubs. Because boat trailers typically back into water, then drive just a short distance before sitting, often for a long time, metal parts start to rust. He had many examples to share. It is imperative to use Marine grade grease. He also cautioned not to over-fill with grease which forces the grease onto the brake pads where it defeats the purpose of the brakes.
Inlay Technique to Replace Damaged Wood – Dave Lundy, master woodworker in Brent Howard’s shop, demonstrated u
sing a 3-part router kit to create an inlayed replacement piece for a spot of damaged wood in an existing plank. Using the same pattern, Dave cut out the damaged spot, cut the replacement, slightly beveled the edge, and glued it into place. The key to making it appear seamless is to use wood for the replacement piece that is about the same age as the original plank so that they sand and finish the same.
Marine Upholstery – Jodee Winkle from MOSS SEAT COVER MFG AND SLS CO in Tulsa explained the process for reupholstering boats as well as carpet installation, making tops, and boat covers. Beyond resewing or replacing upholstery, she discussed the pros and cons of products used in maintaining quality vinyls and leathers.
Lunch – was mentioned above, but what a treat. Chuck Gibbs brought his big grill. He and Kathleen Bennett served burgers and dogs from the grill with all of the fixin’s. Seemed like a summertime picnic. Thanks, Chuck and Kathleen.
Marine Finishing Supplies – Paints Plus owner Bob Blonstein is a wealth of knowledge about products used at all stages of boat maintenance, preservation, restoration, even new construction. Bob brought tools and prod
ucts and samples. He discussed the advantages of newer products. Many of the sanders and sandpapers are now “dust free” composed of Cubitron and aluminum oxide for longer life. A new process from Awlgrip to finish wood provides 10 times the UV protection of older products. It starts with one coat of primer, two heavy coats of grain fill, and then six coats of clear finish. Clay Thompson agrees that it produces a quality finish.
Youth Projects for Show Events – John Platou from the Southwest Chapter showed slides and told about the Youth activities that are popular at the Keels & Wheels event each year at Seabrook, TX. The “Build a Boat” lets kids add two or more screws to the construction of a wooden boat made of pre-cut pieces of plywood. “Paint a Boat” has a completed wooden boat with “patches” designated for individuals to paint with grade school poster paint. Each kid adds their own design – later washed off for the next year’s crew. And the third activity is “Rebuild an Engine” where a gasoline engine is totally taken apart and then reassembled – many times over the weekend.
Fiberglass Repair – not exactly the elephant in the middle of the room, but the fiberglass hull of a 1971 Chris Craft Lancer seemed huge. Mike Yancey bought this boat because of its deep vee hull making it a good craft to handle in rough water. Obviously, hours have already been invested to sand of
f the original blue paint down to the fiberglass. Mike showed how he is reinforcing areas that need repair and showed the process for laying down the new layers of fiberglass. It will be interesting to watch the progress on this project over the next year(s).
And speaking of next year – Dan Diehl is already looking for topics of interest. What would you like to learn at the next workshop? What skill can you share when we meet again next February?