Starting the rebuild

I had to pick somewhere to start. The transom is it. I installed one new mahogany board and am building it up with 5200 between boards.

More "before" photos

This boat is 1959 15 foot longCentury Palomino Outboard It's built from african mahogany planking and white oak frames.

Here are a few more photos of the boat "as received"

My plan is to preserve as much of the original wood as possible with the exception of the bottom planks. I will be replacing them with 2 layers of plywood bonded with modern adhesives

I have not made a final decision on the specific adhesives but my thinking at this point is

using epoxy to seal the plywood. Use 3m 5200 for wood to wood bonding where strength is important and PL urethane caulk for areas of larger surface which do not require the (expensive) capabilities of 5200.

My basis for using the PL caulk is a test I have been running. I just removed some mahogany strips from a jar where I kept them in water since january 2003. These were bonded together with the PL caulk and still seem to have full bond strength.

Starting the Palomino

Here are a few photos of my boat challenge: I got it cheap! (Betty thinks I overpaid)

I figure this is a challenge to my mechanical and woodworking ability so we'll see what happens

1. The boat is in about as tough shape as a wood boat can be

2. The motor is the Edsel of the Kiekhafer corp: the renowned Mark 78 aka the Dockbuster!

Hence "the challenge"