I need to cast a few more bullet cleats . Because... I got a new old boat. 1946 Feather Craft 11' 6" Only one other '46 is known to exist. The rivet gun is going to get a work out!
No windshield on this one. First thing I have to do is replace the fore deck. I think the boat spent decades upside down on the dirt and there's severe corrosion on the fore and not so severe on the mid deck. I'm hoping to save the mid. The rear seat pan will have to come out too so I can replace missing rivets on the hull under it. Gotta get the garage cleaned out before winter.
This is my '54 Deluxe Runabout. It's the larger version being 12' 6". And my '59 SkiBo model 15' Feather Craft didn't produce any tumblehomes after '58. And this was the next project until the '46 showed up. '56 Ranger III 14'
I like the tumblehome on the Deluxe and the step-through and overall flow on the Ranger. I know precious little about any of those boats from that era, did get to borrow one from a buddy a few years ago to run up in northern MN on one of the larger lakes. I probably would have bought it from him had my tow vehicle not been clobbered by a large buck on the way back from another lake.
DeHavilland marine made a lot of boats in Australia using similar construction from 1959 to 1982 using surplus aviation hardware and techniques.
You have the best taste in classic boats! Ebay is the place to pick out your favorite cleat! We know you can make many more after that!
I've traced the boat back to it's original owner (deceased). Was told the boat laid on the ground for around thirty years. I'm glad they had it upside down because it would have rotted the bottom out and would be scrap metal. Pulled the patches off. Will do a flush patch on the bow deck and maybe the mid deck. Ordered a 12' sheet of aluminum, cheaper than having a 4' sheet shipped in. Was told it didn't leak a drop so had to find out why. The small patch on the left was probably a leaky rivet. The right patch I found a small puncture in the hull plus seven headless rivets. There's corrosion too but not bad, that's the black spots filled with resin. Probably left a rag laying on the hull and more garbage thrown on it for years. I think the patches are fiberglass resin.
Once you cut out the bad section and fit the patch a backing strip is riveted to the underside of the deck. The patch is then riveted to the strip. The backing piece is supposed to be one gauge thicker but since it's not structural, I'll use the same gauge. I sketched out the cut to follow the hull.
I bet that fetches a pretty penny on fleabay! Make em! Pour a few of them and bury them in the back yard in some dirt and hay. Each day, walk by and take a piss on them. Dig up 3 months later and you'll age them 70years. That's when you can ask $285 a pop for them. I won't tell a soul, I can be bought off cheap!
Those are cool. I've seen them before in brass/bronze, usually quite large. It would be fun to scale them down to a smaller footprint. Our Feather Craft group is having their bi-annual meet this week at Watts Bar Lake, Tenn. I'm missing out. From a couple years ago.
@Jason , would that be called a pee-tina? @FishbonzWV Boat gathering looks fun. I want to say the grid on the picture is 1/2" [12.7mm] so that is like a 4" [101mm] base and an 8" [203mm] cleat. I may try to CAD it up. Is there anything to be done about the grinder marks or just live with them?
