This Dunphy came
to us from Wisconsin. It was in very bad shape when she arrived but
had promise of being one of the sweetest little boats we have had
the privilege of restoring. Follow the restoration and you'll see
why this one promises to be one of our favorites.
Our first look at the Dunphy was from these pictures
sent by the boat's owner. We immediately liked the lines of the
boat, especially the narrow, very pointed deck with an interesting
crown to it.
When the Dunphy arrived it was in
pretty sad shape.
Two really good things were still
with the boat: the original Dunphy tag in the bow and the steering
wheel which has the embossed center with DUNPHY in raised letters.
When the registration numbers came
off we could see there was some really beautiful wood underneath
them. The decking needs replacement as do the rub rails and other
parts.
The splash rails were loose and
some rot was beginning. The finish on the boat will have to be
completely stripped inside and out.
The back seat had some big varnish
bubbles and the seat back was nonexistent. A new one will be
fabricated using the back of the front seat for a pattern.
This is the front seat that the
seat back pattern will be made from. The seat has a crack in it
which will be glued and kept as original.
The entire bow of the boat contains
rot. All rotted wood will be replaced. If not replaced, the rot will
spread to good wood near it.
Original bow with rotted keel
removed. Since it was so completely rotted away, the only pattern to
work from was the lines of the paint.
View of one of the center deck
rotted knees which needs replacing. All the wood was punky and soft,
and structurally unsound.
Center
deck framing to be rebuilt. The dashboard will be replaced.
Aft
transom corner knee to be replaced due to rot.
Old,
rotted deck trim combing. What looked good on the inside of the boat
was actually much like a rotted tree, bad behind the bark. About as
strong as burned toast.
New
outer stem laminated from thin strips of white oak. The curved piece
underneath was the old one. As you can see, there was not much to go
by.
