Pond Yacht Restoration

This latest pond yacht arrived in need of total restoration including sails rigging and much more, the first task was to photograph the entire boat and its rigging and sails etc for future reference during the restoration process. Once the photos were taken the first task was to remove the rigging and sails taking great care and to put to one side the various fittings which were to be kept. With the hull now clear of masts etc the hull could now be prepared for re-painting, this job involved removing all traces of the original paint and varnish. Once the paint etc had been fully removed the hull was checked over and any obvious damage repaired before the hull was sprayed using a plastic filler primer to build up the surface, this was then rubbed down ready for the paint to be applied. The hull was prepped using two colours of primer necessary to provide the best finish for the hull colours to be applied. Spraying the hull took around a week rubbing down each layer before re-coating, in all four coats of paint were applied of each colour then the gold water line was applied as well as a fine black line at the top edge where the hull met the deck. Once the painting was completed the final task was to polish the top coat to achieve a high gloss and very smooth finish.

With the hull now finished the next task was to sort out the deck area this was straight forward enough with just a few minor repairs and re-varnishing to complete the job. The next task was to now make a new main mast and booms, once this had been done the fittings were re-fitted to the new masts etc and the mast was shipped back into place. Now for the sails these were to be completely replaced so having taken some dimensions these were cut out and stitched (by my better half) before re-fitting the eyelets and masts rings etc. Once the sails had been completed the final task was to re-fit the sails and renew all of the rigging which although fiddly certainly enhanced the finished Yacht.

Overall this restoration was very rewarding and well worth doing to save this model so it can be enjoyed for years to come.