Repair of a Trojan 32 Miranda Leigh by Cruising Canada

The entire corner post, window frame and sub-deck was either missing or rotten.

Please remember the image to the right is only the latest progress, there is still a little plugging, sanding and varnishing... but the job is compleated waiting for finish instructions. The work was tougher as the corner had been out of the boat for three years.

If you have an older loved wood boat that needs saving check this mini site out!

Miranda Leigh is a classic wood Trojan 32 that has had a loving owner for the last 15 years, but developed a case of severe cabin rot rendering the V berth wet and uncomfortable. Overall the boat is in very good condition for her age and make. The boat itself has been in storage for three years now with various attempts to address the repair evident image left, while to the right is the current repair progress.

This is a very typical structural repair to be required on older wooden boats. Unfortunate a full correct "Restoration" is financially out of the question due to the market value of 1960's wood boats. Therefore the focus of this repair is to repair the major damage with very defined limits set as to where one grafts into the remaining structure of the vessel.All old wood boat owners should take note that I can save the old girl; and at a price that makes it worth your while. This repair will buy the owner another 3 to 5 years of use for not much more than I tell all wooden boat owners they should expect to spend on an annual basis.

For a look at the boat beyond this repair
visit the Miranda Leigh web page here.

The most current progress appear at the top of the list.
Please excuse the slow loading I am behind on my Internet duties. To see the earlier project images in sequence scroll down.

For a jig saw puzzle like this job has been I am very proud of the fit and the result. I point out the nice little fillet that joins the side plank to the upright and the overlapping bezel which will create the final cosmetic shape to the corner. It is all a little rough here but once I put the epoxy to it it will all come together as a single solid and long term piece.

Come on people lets get on with your boat repair or refit project before I have to start taking sub-contract work that you are going to be charged $75 per hour for by marinas. I can do a much better deal and am reasonable and will travel for the right project.

		The below deck knee has turned out wonderfully and look as if it had always been there. Originally the plan was to paint the interior, however we will now bung the holes, and finish it in clear Varathane to match. It will not be perfect, and the repair will show. But, at least anyone new can see exactly what was done.
		The window is fitted and the exterior plank in place. The window closes and the angles are right. The trim still needs to be fitted and exterior painted or covered as requested.
		April 13, 2006: The repair has now moved to a finishing stage with all the new components that can be finished before installing the windows completed.
		Work on Miranda progresses as I had the first big post grinding vacuum and got a first coat of primer on the new cabin corner. The forward knee fits beautifully and now has a first coat of varathane.

		April 8, 2006 The new knee was also glued up and fits nicely in place under the new deck and cabin frame repairs. This should take most of the strain of the repaired cabin/deck, distributing the load down to the frame.

		There is still sanding and shaping; but this was the big glue. The outer piece below the window fits perfectly and I managed to get a good build on the little corner of fill all at the same time.

		April 3: The final fitting of the wood is now complete with the small corner block for the front of the window track.
		April 1, 2006 I have made my visit to Miranda and am still pleased with the rough shape of the finishing bezel of the upright and the fit of the exterior window base. It all fits together like a nice interlocking puzzle. I will give the day a bit of time to warm up and do an hour or so perhaps getting the windows installed after giving little more thought as to what I "can not do", once I make the next move. My next step must be choreographed with considerable forethought as next epoxy will become nonreversible short of cutting the entire thing out which is unthinkable.

		The forward end of the exterior below window plank is let into the upright.
		The exterior plank is also fitted to the upright and below window beam.
		The aft section of the exterior plank had to be notched back a couple of more inches at the height of the window bas to allow the windows to slip in. Not a perfect task as I am sure that the originals were installed, then the roof put on.
		Wednesday March 29, 2006: The beams below the starboard cabin window and the interior full length sistering plank are now epoxied in place. The fit is quite satisfactory and now it is on to trying to recreate the window grooves and fit the track.
		The window look just about right with the planned. I picked up another short piece of Mahogany as by the time I fitted the window in the new opening between the deck and the top of the window I no longer had the straight 4.5" wide outside plank I had planned. There is almost 0.75" difference between the front and the back so I will have to make another piece that is high enough at the bow end to cover the AL track.
		You can't have enough clamps!
		Tuesday March 28, 2006 Today it is epoxy time for the below window planks. It has been 5 days of return pondering with small modifications and fitting each time, and I am finally ready to commit to forever.
		The wood is extremely complex in shape with the inner covering board having 13 facets, an no angle true. Everything is fit by eye.
		March 25: Each day now brings the project ever closer to completion. Now the window fits the rebuilt corner post it's is epoxy time in the shop. The entire structure did in fact twist a bit in the three years that the corner was out and fitting the window and supporting beams is more of a jig-saw puzzle than anything else. But it progresses and it is going together satisfactorily.
		March 14, 2006 I have now passed the turning point and the cabin roof and forward window are fully supported by the new upright. Fussy, a three dimensional jig saw puzzle that took many an hour and more than one template in soft wood combined with extreme care not to break the forward window have payed off. This was the tough section as it had to be fit around the remaining window supports so as to avoid breaking the window yet with enough bite on the original as to replace it.
		I am particularly proud of the joins where I grafted the new wood to the old structure. This was an extremely complex fit that was totally freehand. Yet it all went together with a nice full thickness contact join. The temperature is back below zero so progress will slow a bit, but the next step the side of the cabin that was below the window. The old rotted stuff has been cut away and notched and the face board rough notched with the softwood templates, which are all so important in this sort of a job rough fitted.I have the Mahogany ripped to width and once I get weather a lot will happen in the next 6 hours. In the picture the light wood is the untrimmed template.
		The most difficult piece to shape was the oak splint that replaced the window frame. Fitting it a exercise in patience. However it glued in so nicely with the "*epoxy/cabosil mud*" gently filling any voids. The entire structure is also bolted together as well as screwed.
		March 2 The replacement sub deck is now epoxied in place and ground flush. As soon as it warms up a bit more I will be moving on to putting in the new beams that form the bottom of the deck edge.
February 1/06		A new oak upright has been fashioned to fit snugly around the remaining wood, to fill in the missing area, without disturbing the windscreen. There is a roughly 1" square upright that will be epoxy glued to the inside of the remaining corner to beef up the window support.
February 1/06	supporting progress	The new main supporting frame is now rough fitted The mahogany is a 2" thick piece of thick piece. This temporally as far as I can take this step as the next step is reconstruction of the deck and fore-cabin face.
February 16/06		Here you can see the final form of the new base frame which was 3" wide (see the bottom plank in the above picture). The new section which will be epoxy laminated into the space and over the back face of the below window plank. The additional material that runs from the window down will strengthen the existing cabin face.
Saturday February 18, 2006		Reconstruction of the fore cabin face and deck support, including remedial supporting steps.
Saturday February 18, 2006		When it came time to attach the new under deck frames, another gremlin raised its head in the form of worse deterioration of the starboard longitudinal stringer. This piece of 5/8" plywood is roughly 3 inches wide and runs from the bow all the way back to the cabin opening stressed upward by the deck beams. This creates a high degree of rigidity to the fordeck. With the beam compromised any repair to the corner of the cabin becomes in jeopardy. There is only a small amount of sub deck gone and I can fillet in a small section to support the deck as it will be reinforced by the forward below deck frame.
Saturday February 18, 2006		In this picture you can see the new oak below deck beams in rough placement. You can see the gap created by the deteriorated stringer. The test knee or support is testing the position and attachment points for a new support for the below deck beams and deck. It will be of 3/4" Okumee marine plywood with a concave curve to both faces
Saturday February 15, 2006		The forward cabin base deck beam will be the forward cabin base deck beam will be lengthened and replace the bad stringer tip, Extending all the way to the shear. The current oak will beam lengthened and Cut in to replace the bad stringer tip. It will Extending all the way to the shear. The new support will then cradle this beam supporting It from below and braced on the solid frame.

		Wednesday, February 1, 2006 There is an entire section of the original corner post that had to be removed due to rot. Unfortunately, one of the prime parameters was not to go further than good wood, and above all try not to break the window or expand the work area. The solution was a new corner post "carved" from oak and shaped to form fit the existing good wood and shape. See below.
		This photograph is a near finished softwood template used to create the new supports shape.
		The new oak upright is seen left, rough fitted, and in place. A little dressing of the original surfaces and a bit more fitting and it is ready for glue.
		From the outside you can see the intricate match required to require the inside edge of the frame. The trick will be getting it all clamped and glued without putting stress on the window glass. ....................< /END February 1 entry >..........................

January 27, 2005 below		January 27, 2005 below
		The "first try template for the new upright. This pine is only to get the rough form before I cut mahogany. The 2" thick section is now rough cut and the rest of the wood for the project on site.
		I had already prepared the 2" thick section is now rough cut, and will become the final piece for where the template is now. The rest of the wood for the project on site.

		When the removal of deteriorated material was complete the only thing supporting the roof became the forward glass. This stress on the forward glass will become a reoccurring theme in this repair as all hell waits if it breaks, which would be unreadably easy to do.
		The entire corner support of the cabin roof is gone, along with roughly 7" of the supporting wood below the bow window. The "below window plank" is badly deteriorated above deck level for several feet aft of the forward corner.
		The beam that runs longitudinally below the window was rotten for roughly 24" from deck level. This plank will be removed above the deck where the bad wood is and replaced with new mahogany.
		The exterior covering board, that forms the outside face to the window channel has rot along its deck/cabin base for roughly 24 inches aft of the fore-corner. This plank will be replaced with new deck.
		Inside the extent of the deterioration is also evident. What is important to observe here is the way that Trojan built up these fore-corners. The cabin base extends forward to a point roughly 3" back of the gaping deck opening. The main cabin side is attached to the butt ends of the deck beams and is solid below decks. In our repair concept we are not going to remove all of the beam but only the deteriorated portion.
		Then that section is replaced with new way, and a NEW full height interior backing board that extends from the bottom of the plank all the way to the top. It is epoxy glued and screwed to the original remains and new under window beam. This will maintain the longitudinal strength and satisfactorily strengthen the replaced section.
		Interior trim will be cut at the aft bulkhead and the new inside sections running all the way to the bulkhead. When repairs are completed and put back together this will hide the new repair acceptable.
		The forward corner post is the most crucial structural member that will have to be replaced. It is also the highest risk time of breaking the glass which is under stress already and prone to breakage. One touch too much and crack! Yet the post must be scarfed and strengthened in place as removing the roof is NOT an option.
		The window / corner support is a roughly 1.5" square section roughly 32" long from its bottom to the top of the frame. There are numerous facets that must be cut and shaped to fit. The repair objective is to attempt to scarf a new bottom section in, without removing the seat of the top corner of the window. That will break the window, and a whole new can of worms.
		The plan is to replace the existing interior window frame retainer with a full height piece of 0.75" mahogany to completely cover the existing window support. This will provide a structural member to back the original single under window plank's strength. The existing window support will be trimmed parallel to the deck slightly above (depending on rot) the deck back a distance of roughly 18" from the front corner. Finally, the outside plank will be replaced for 36" aft of the corner post.
		The picture to the left is below decks on the starboard corner when the corner post and side beams join. The original strengtheners are gone. The main cabin side plank can be seen and it is in good condition. It is critical to maintain the linear strength of the corner. The deck surface is still intact and parameters call for leaving it intact and making repairs from the underside. Below the deck the backings are all gone and the first step is to laminate a new strengthener of 1/2" marine ply over a anti-rot treated deck bottom. See the picture of the base of the port corner post detail above for what the missing supports look like. The under deck supports are in place on the port side.
		The top beam has already been ground to good wood in order to accept a new upright which is the new strength. When in place the new section will be be screwed and epoxied in place then ground to match the profile.

Miranda Leigh Repair April 22, 2006