boat at the beginning with old paint and holes and rotten wood in the middle Sanding Leo
Idea: This is an attempt from Leo, Leon and Micha to restore a unique old mahogany boat from Croatia and fit it out according to our own vision. Our inspiration are the classic Riva boats from Italy.
Creation Steps / Process: First of all we had to dry the boat from inside because it was standing outside a while without any protection. Then we had to remove the old varnish and all chrome parts of the boat. In the next step we had to remove all rotten wood parts. Especially the ribs in the middle were completely rotten. At the moment we build new ones out of high quality oak wood. Oak wood is water resistant and used in historic wooden boats. We make them a little bit thicker then the older ones to have a better stability. We have to fit them perfectly to the hull; this requires a lot of time and patience but is important for the boat´s basic stability. Next step will be to attach the ribs in a safe way and thereafter we will seal the floor with varnish, special Marina Sikaflex epoxy resin. We also used epoxy resin mixed with sanding dust from the boat to fill holes and cracks. We will built indoor furniture in the future. Our model for this part is the Riva Florida. So - there is still a lot to do and we are looking forward to our next steps and of course: We are happy to be captains on this `ship`next summer on the Nackar. :)
Learnings: Grinding techniques, working with mahogany wood, source high quality wood, stability considerations, structure considerations (how to build the new boat ribs), rotten wood replicate with new wood, epoxy resin and varnish, How do we make everything waterproof, Antifouling, How much PS needed, which engine required,....
