Restoration of 25ft Motor Cutter - 8

Progress on the Cutter has been slow, but I have been stripping off very thick paint on the hull's interior above waterline areas and priming with red-lead and then marine primer.

There was a big upheaval caused by the closing of the yard where I'd been working on her that meant I had to find new homes for both boat and a storage container that I purchased off the previous landlords.

The boat was lifted and moved around into the adjacent boatyard where she'd originally been lifted out. The engine was moved separately and put on a pallet alongside the boat. I had previously taken down the lifting gantry and have it stored away at home until required.

Work done since then has been preparation of timber to make new sole boards and their supporting timbers. A few cross beams have been made so far and a pile of selected sapele is now with a friend for planing and thicknessing to 3/4" for making boards.

During the hot summer of 2022 I laid old towels and sacking in the bilges wetted with sea water to limit how much she would dry out and open up.  This was only partially successful, but it did stop any new splitting of planking which was what I'm keen to prevent. I also hung white polytarps over her sides and transom to keep the direct sun off - this is a technique I've used successfully on the Finesse, too.

Planking seams opening up - unsurprisingly

Wet towels

Buckets of seawater ready for use.