Randy’s Thistle
Resources
Restoration of
1987
Rebuilding Schock
Therapy
By Randy Beck
After leaving the Navy,
I learned to crew a Thistle in Austin, thanks to Rich Hlista, the Fleet
Captain. Recently, my fiancee, Jenn,
told me that of all my interests, sailing was the one she was most interested
in being a part of. During our
conversations we decided that our use for the boat was a combination of club racing
and pleasure sailing, so the Thistle came back to mind as the obvious
choice. Although the design dates to
1945, it remains a high-performance boat with a rig similar to the fastest of
the new boat designs, and has enough seating capacity to take some friends out
for a comfortable day of sailing. Rich
was right all the time - it is the perfect all-around boat.
We began the search for
an inexpensive boat to introduce Jenn to the sport. Through the Thistle Class
Association web page I made contact with an owner of an older Thistle in
Massachusetts. After some brief
negotiations over the phone, we drove up and purchased his Thistle in September
0f 2001.
When we got there, the
boat was in poor condition. I knew from
previous work I had done what could be repaired, but Jenn was a bit put off at
the sight. We carefully went over the
boat and I explained what had to be done.
The wood rails were delaminated, and several rigging parts were
missing. The hull and the trailer were
serviceable, though, and the hardware on the boat was usable, so I gave him the
money and drove it home. There are some
“before” photos listed below.
I have documented the
project with photos and text below - the steps, the lessons, and the photos
from the restoration so far. I will
keep this page updated as we proceed, and will include a list of items required
and the associated costs. I hope this
turns out to be a helpful page for all of you out there who want to enter the
sport on a budget.
Rebuilding the Boat
When we arrived home
with the boat, we began a thorough clean-up.
There was extensive dirt, mold, and some wood rot in the rails. All the wood was weathering and turning black. I hosed the boat down thoroughly and
scrubbed the entire boat with “Simple Green” cleanser to cut the algae and mung
off it.
To determine how much
life was left in the wood, I used a belt sander to take off the gray layer and
look at the “live” wood underneath.
Most of it seemed solid, though old, and it was a pleasing color. I decided at this point, rather than replace
all the railings and wood, to reuse as much as I could.
I began the belt sanding
and stripping of all the solid wood. I
purchased ash cut to the correct railing size from Condon
Lumber in White Plains, NY (914-946-4111). They advertise in Wooden Boat, and can provide nearly any type of
wood cut to size. Railing sizes, types
of wood, etc are listed on the Thistle
Class website and on Dan
Winchester’s page.
Next, on a weekend when
I had no other projects, I used a stripping wheel to remove most of the rust
from the trailer and painted the trailer deck gray. I used a roller and a foam brush to do this.
After that, we bought a
load of paint in our preferred colors, and painted the interior of the
boat. I used Interlux one-part
polyurethane paint, which is readily available at West Marine and other marine stores. The inner hull is white, and the deck is
gray.
Since the centerboard
drum and lines under the grating were in the way, I removed them. This put the boat on about a 15-pound
diet. None of this equipment will go back
on the boat. I made the decision to
eliminate this heavy hardware based on rigging ideas that I found on Dan Winchester’s page.
In order to facilitate
the woodwork, I removed all hardware from the boat. We then sanded all the wood to a “new” finish and painted the
centerboard trunk the same blue as the hull paint. Said it would be a nice accent.
She was right. When all the
paint is done, non-skid strips will be a final touch to the deck.
Now the real work
started. Jenn’s cousin and I lifted the
boat off the trailer and laid it on the ground. He is an FBI agent - we both work out and are very strong. This is a very heavy lift - at least 300
pounds - make sure you have enough muscle present to do the lift without
injury! MAKE SURE THE
CENTERBOARD IS OUT - it adds about 75 pounds.
Based on construction
details I supplied to him over the phone, Doug
Laber of Great Midwest Yachts identified the boat as a Schock. I did a web search for the Schock Company and contacted them. They confirmed that the boat was a Schock,
built in 1965, and sold to Staten Island Yacht Sales. So now the boat has come home to NYC! At this point, we couldn’t do anything else but name the boat
“Schock Therapy”.
After flipping her over,
I filled scratches and dents with filler, and sanded. And sanded. And
sanded. And sanded. I used a power orbital sander to save time,
so it only took the best part of 3 work days.
I finished it off with light hand sanding. Power tools save a lot of time!!
The goal here is to have the hull fair (lines consistent - not wavy) and
smooth. I went down to 400 grit paper,
and then went back over the final time with 220 so there would be enough
“tooth” for the paint.
The glossy finish on the
boat definitely shows the value of hull sanding and preparation before
painting. The hard, glossy finish will
support some final polish sanding with paper down to 800 and 1000 grit. This will be a slick hull.
I also began filling and
fairing the centerboard and rudder.
This job uses lots of fairing compund and a belt sander and a finish
sander. Stay tuned for detailed info. It is still afflicted with leprosy,
though. This will probably be the
longest job on the entire boat. It will
be sanded and filled until smooth and fair.
I use basic epoxy filler to smooth out the hills and valleys. When dry, I sand with a belt sander until the
shape is right. Once I am satisfied
with all the repairs, I will reinforce the leading edge with a metal strip and
the trailing edge with fiberglass cloth.
Then more sanding and fairing.
The final step will be a coat of epoxy for a super hard finish, then
glossy white paint for appearance.
The next woodwork step
was to replace the bad railings. I
removed the rotten parts of the center railing strips from the transom forward
about 10 feet. These were the weak pieces
full of old holes and cuts. I replaced
them with ash strips milled to the same size as the original wood. I used serviceable pieces of the original
rails to replace the rotten ones, and added the ash strips where I needed them.
To hold the wood
together while sanding and working, I used 2” sheet rock screws through the two
inmost (center) wales. After sanding
them to a flush surface, I added the inner wale and used the same screws to
hold the assembly together. These
screws are not corrosion resistant, but they will be sealed inside the
epoxy-coated wood when completed. I
used less than 2 pounds of metal, yet the rails are now practically
indestructible. The outer wale was cut
larger than the others, similar to the diagram on Dan Winchester’s page. I used the same screws to attach it, so now
the rails have 3 sets of sturdy reinforcement running through them.
As I progressed with the
rails, the hull was beginning to stiffen up, although there was some give and a
“step” in the deck where the boat had sat on the trailer bunks for a long
time. I was concerned about this, but
didn’t know how to fix it. Dave Sexton
at Northwest One Design told
me how to fix it with heat. I began to
make plans for the project to take much longer than I originally thought.
I noted as the rails
were assembled, glued, and screwed that the hull was becoming stiffer. Doug
Laber of Great Midwest Yacht Co. told
me that the wood in the boat was the source of the hull’s rigidity. As I established firm rails, it became
obvious that he was right. The hull has
stiffened up to racing stiffness already, and a BONUS! The step in the hull where the boat rested
on the trailer bunks has disappeared.
Evidently the rails pulling the hull back into shape pulled the hull
straight enabled it to be rigid enough to counteract the effects of resting on
the bunks.
I finished the rails
with base coat of penetrating epoxy. This
encapsulates the wood and takes the place of 2-3 coats of varnish. The wood will get 3-4 more coats of varnish
in order to get a high “build” – a smooth, mirror-like surface.
Next, the transom was
cut down to allow mainsheet two-blocking.
I cut it down to the minimum transom height measurement allowed under
the rules. By cutting down the transom
cap, you allow the skipper to pull on the mainsheet until the blocks are
together, maintaining leech tension for upwind sailing. This will tend to bend the mast and flatten
the sail for heavier wind conditions, thereby preventing overpowering the
boat. In light air, two-blocking will
flatten the sail and help maintain attached air flow over the sail.
I measured the transom
height as described on the class website,
and scribed an arc for cutting the cap down.
The rulings on travelers say the traveler must maintain an arc as close
as possible to the original. Since you
cannot have the track extend beyond the outwales, and you would not want to
have it below the rails, I used the following technique (two people required):
1.
1. Measure to the cutting point at the centerline of
the boat and put a mark there. If you
drive a small nail in at this point, it will help scribe the line. I left about 3/16” extra to allow for
sanding down the curve and measuring errors.
My track is about 9/16” thick, so I will wind up being about 1/8” over
the minimum measurement. This should
account for any “Kentucky Windage” in measurers.
2.
2. Have your helper hold a flexible batten at one end
of the existing transom cap. Run the
center of the batten (I used the old traveler track) over the fastener at the
center peak.
3.
3. Hold the batten at the other end of the transom cap. The batten should form a smooth curve across
the three points of support.
4.
4. Scribe or mark a line on the underside of the
batten. This line gives you the arc to
cut the transom cap. You must make sure
that the peak of the arc, including the traveler track, is at least 2” higher
than the sheer at the ends.
5.
5. Cut the excess off. You will have an crescent-shaped piece of waste with about 1.5 to
2” thickness in the middle.
6.
6. Use a belt sander to smooth out the arc after
cutting.
7.
7. You will mount the traveler track to this new
arc. Make sure you seal the wood
underneath the track with varnish or paint or epoxy to prevent water entry and
possible rot.
8.
8. After installing the traveler and track, measure
the traveler track. If you have made an
error and mounted it too low, shim it up at the center with stainless washers
or plastic inserts to the proper dimensions.
Use progressively smaller shims as you go out towards either end.
I bought the traveler
and jib systems from Northwest One
Design. Dave is very helpful on the
phone and will make sure you get what you need.
After completing the
traveler, I began to put the hardware back on the boat. I am using various rigging ideas I have
found. See the rigging page for
details on this.
Summary of work required:
1. Initially, we cleaned the boat thoroughly.
2. Removed hardware - particularly loose items.
3. Evaluated mast damage. Doug Laber was very helpful for this step. He had great advice on wood restoration,
mast rigging, measurements, and parts.
Doug Laber, Great Midwest Yachts, phone .
4. Found a used mast and boom from a local fleet.
5. Removed rotten outwale.
6. Removed broken stern grates.
7. Removed all hardware. Removed transom opening covers.
Here is a shot of all the “stuff” that came off.
8. Belt sanded all the weathered wood
9. Ordered replacement wood as required
10. Painted interior of hull with gloss white - took 2
coats to cover.
11. Decide to remove all installed winches and drums on
boat and replace with block and tackle.
This took some contortions with tools to get all the bolts out and heavy
pounding with hammer to remove the wheels and shafts. Definitely the sweatiest part of the job so far.
12. Painted deck traffic areas in gray. (shows marks less than white). Non-skid strips will be laid in this area
when complete.
13. At this point, I have spent many hours with
catalogs and photos from websites deciding how to rig the boat. Attended Ossining regatta to see the good
boats and get ideas on rigging. Met the
fleet. Made detailed list of parts
required to do the rigging and parts on-hand from the boat. Will detail rigging later with some
cost-saving ideas.
14. Painted centerboard trunk same blue as hull because
Jenn thought it would be a great look.
She was right.
15. Flipped hull over for sanding and painting. This is
a 2-4 man lift depending on the strength and fitness of your crew.
16. Filled all grooves, etc.
17. Sanded forever.
18. Painted hull blue.
19. Placed boat back on trailer. HEAVY LIFT!
20. Install outwales.
21. Coated rails with penetrating epoxy to glue pieces
together and strengthen the wood.
22. All
fasteners and hardware put on the boat were sealed against water entry with 3M
5200 white sealer.
23. All seams where wood came together against fiberglass
were sealed the same way to prevent water soaking in through a seam.
24. The tank seams where the tanks met the hull were
also sealed with 5200 for an airtight seal.
25. Installed traveler.
26. Installed traveler rigging.
27. Installed jib sheet system.
28. Installed hardware for centerboard lift, spinnaker
halyard, and jib tensioner.
Winter Plan:
1. Sand foils thoroughly. Repair cracks, dents, gouges with fairing compound. Sand smooth.
2. Coat foils with epoxy and sand (2-3 coats)
3. Paint foils.
4. Install centerboard
5. Stripe and paint the boat name, etc.
6. Finish rigging the boat. Stay tuned - will post photos and
descriptions.
7. Take a deep breath - Launch it!
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