Pond Yacht Restoration

In this blog I will describe the restoration of the latest pond yacht to arrive. This particular pond yacht at first glance seemed in pretty good shape so the remit was to re-do the hull finish and add a deck edging strip as well as make a mast base and cap plus a new goose neck for the rear boom. The first job was to make some notes and take some shots before carefully removing everything in order to start work on the hull. Once the hull was ready to start the first job was to prep the hull for re-varnishing which included repairing a few cracks as well as repairing chips etc to the surface of the hull taking care so as not to damage the original hull. This took some time to complete but then the four coats of gloss varnish could be applied rubbing down each layer before applying the next in order to achieve the perfect smooth high gloss finish. Once the varnish had completely dried the hull was checked over and then returned to its stand so the restoration could continue.

The next stage was to attach the new deck edging strip using 2mm square Mahogany to blend in with the hulls deck finish. With the deck edging now in place the next task was to re-do the deck planking lines which as you can imagine proved pretty fiddly but essential to enhance the model which was then finished off with a Satin varnish to seal.

With the hull now finished the next task was to make a new mast base and cap this was done using various pieces of tubing and plate which was then braised together, the same method was used for making the goose neck which also had a swivel joint attached as well. Once the new fittings had been completed they could be cleaned up and finished off ready to be re-attached to the deck, firstly the mast base was fixed in place so the mast could be shipped and finished off with the cap. With the basic fittings and mast now in place the sails could be re- fitted as well as new rigging and various other fittings including the rear boom and new goose neck all of which can be taken down for transport purposes.

The final thing now that the boat was complete was to check her over before handing her back to her owner to be enjoyed for years to come. Overall this restoration with all its challenges proved to be well worth it and most enjoyable.