There is one more thing I did before I put the Hewes in the cradle. Back when I first got the boat, I wanted to be able to model the restoration in CADD. I used a cheap Ryobi laser to establish horizontal and vertical control lines and then took measurements at one foot intervals along the hull.
The CADD file looks like this:
I was able to use the CADD information to lay out the cuts on the plywood that makes up the cradle.
Fast forward about 5 years, and I’m ready to go back to work on it. The first thing I had to do was set the cradle back on its casters and clean the dirt dauber nests and mold out of the inner hull. Pressure washing was the easiest way to get that done.
Before I move into progress on the restoration, I want to talk a little about some goals for this project:
- I want the boat to be as light as it can be while still being as strong as it needs to be.
- There will be no structural wood in the boat. The transom core will be Coosa, deck cores will be Divinycell, and stringer cores will be non structural polyurethane foam.
- The layout of the deck, casting platforms, and gunwale cap will be as close to original as is practical.
- Care will be taken to assure the boat's center of gravity is located correctly.
- There will be a focus on fit and finish. I want the boat to be functional, but I want it to look good, too.
In my next post, I'll bring this thread up to date with progress so far.
Dave