1956 McChesney 18' Runabout Free

[SahSen]

Hey all moving up to Orcas Island and I'd like to give this runabout away...comes with trailer...needs lots of work but is a NW classic.... Trying this verses taking her to the dump...

Best,
Sahsen

[Nomad55]

I hope someone will rescue her. I can't take her but I may run down to take a look if still there this weekend. As to our Ye Ol McChesney I am working on the original twin 35hp Johnson outboards that were original to the boat. The hull will get painted sometime this late spring.

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

To the Rescue...

I would love to rescue the McChesney. I found the one that Melanie (Nomad 55) has, and have regretted selling it ever since it went down the road...although it's certainly been in good hands.

Please give me a call at the boatshop, (360) 301-6737, or send a personal e-mail to Marty@islandboatshop.com

Thanks,

- Marty

[SahSen]

This is excellent news for me...This was my dads boat and I didn't want to scuttle it...Will call tomorrow....
S

[Nomad55]

Yea,way to go Marty :cool1:

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

McChesney 18 Express

The project boat obviously needs a lot of work, but it's great that one of the McChesney 18 express cruisers survived...no matter what the condition.

Just fyi, here's a photo of Bud McChesney, the builder, testing one of the 18s, probably in abut 1952. The boat pictured is a bit different than SahSen's--maybe just a bit older--but it's the same basic model.

- Marty

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

McChesney 18 Retrieved

Well, the '56 McChesney is a beautiful design, at least to my eye, but you have to squint a certain way to avoid staring at the extensive rot.

This will be a big project, and I haven't even gone at it yet with an ice pick, but for starters the 'Harboard' ply used to build the hull has rotted completely through along the starboard sheerline; in lower corners of both side panels just forward of the transom; in the bottom aft near the transom, and most everywhere in the transom itself, including the transom framing, chine ends and who knows where else. The mahogany cabinsides are weathered but not bad, but the cabin's forward window-frame panel is rotted in the corners, so it's easy to imagine that the entire cabin (sides and front, at least) will need to be surgically replaced. The cabintop beams seem to be in excellent condition, but the upper windshield frame will probably have to be replaced. And, oh yes, the entire foredeck and side decks will have to go, since there's rot in a few spots and the rest isn't worth saving.

Other than that...well, gee, it'll be a snap to restore...(!)

Here are a few shots of the boat, taken this afternoon, along with a few brochure photos showing the McChesney 18 Vacationer model in the mid-1950s.

Sigh...

- Marty

[slo-mo]

elbow grease?

Thanks for the update Marty, that is one proud (and lucky) hull. If anyone has the knowledge, skills and fortitude to make it happen...your are the right one.

Greg

[Skagitguy]

Marty, That will be another super nice boat when you are done with her like a lot of your former boats have been ! Best,Chuck

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

McChesney Commitment

Thanks for the encouragement, Greg and Chuck...

If I make a serious commitment to the McChesney, I should probably be committed, but I'd absolutely love to restore the boat since it's quite unique, a nice size and well-designed by the office of naval architect Edwin Monk.

The project will require a major outlay of time and money, so you'll know I'm serious if I start selling some other project boats that I really like--and hesitate to release. (But there's only so much time, as we all know...)

- Marty

[Tim McCrain]

Go for it. Devil19 :BigHappy1:

[Helmar]

I didn't think you cared much for the MDO plywood??

Looks pretty close to the Lady Clipper design at first glance...
Nice design Ole. :GoodJob:

1 dollar says you sell it before you Boat it

I have two boats ready for the water and working on the third

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

McChesney

Joe -

I've got to do some research, but the McChesney boats weren't built with what I'd call MDO. (I don't use MDO for anything, so I'm no expert, but my impression is that the stuff has a core of pressboard...almost like glued-together wood chips...whereas the McChesney appears to be regular fir plywood inside of a smooth skin.)

But you're right--whatever it is, I don't like the way the smooth outer skin apparently trapped moisture inside and rotted the inner veneer layers.

It's really impossible to say whether the boat's restorable until I get it inside the shop, let it dry out a bit, and start cutting away rot. If there's no boat left when I get to the end of the rot...well, nice try. But if the pockets of rot are somewhat isolated, it's really not that hard to cut and fit new panel sections, using butt blocks on the inside. In any case, the cabin is going to have to come off of the hull--hopefully semi-intact--so that I can turn the hull over, repair the bottom, replace sections of chine, replace the transom and at least sections of side planking, and then replace the decking before rebuilding the cabin structure. My guess right now is that all of the solid mahogany used on the cabinsides, cabin front panel and upper windshield will need to be replaced with new wood, but that's okay as long as I can get patterns off of the old stained/partly rotten pieces.

Overall, the boat is very close to overall length of an 18-foot Lady Clipper, but there appears to be a lot more room inside the cabin. And the cabin interior is totally intact...just a dirty mess right now, with the old canvas top and miscellaneous stuff tossed inside.

First step, which I might do before even dragging the boat over to the shop, will be to pull up all floors in the cockpit and cabin, so I can check condition of the chinelogs stem-to-stern. If they're okay, that'll be a big plus...but if they're shot from one end to the other, the boat might be a goner (since that would automatically mean you'd almost be building a new boat during the restoration--which is not a bad idea, come to think of it!)

No promises right now, except that I won't sell it because if it's deemed unrestorable, nobody in their right mind would pay a dime for the thing, unless they really want the nice cast-aluminum McChesney emblems.

- Marty

[Marty Loken (Norseboater)]

MDO Vs. Marine Mahogany Plywood

Joe -

I take back something I said (above) about MDO, which is a higher-grade 'engineered' sheet than the stuff I was thinking of.

MDO has a core of Exterior Grade fir plywood, using the same adhesives as "Marine" fir plywood, so it isn't bad stuff.

Here's part of what one of the Technical Guides said about MDO:

[B]M D.O. (Medium Density Overlay) was originally created for the sign industry to provide a
durable, smooth, paintable surface which could withstand the effects of weather- it consists of
a plywood substructure with a thin paper covering on one or both sides. The plywood is
exterior grade with the same adhesives as used in marine plywood. The paper Covering is a
fiber sheet treated with a resin formula for proper paint adhesion, which also accepts almost
any type of paint. M.D.O. is also designed to reduce warping when painted. The edges and
back of the board can be purchased primed or unprimed. The prime coat is usually light gray
in color and will take paint as well.
M.D.O. can be purchased in 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", and 1"thicknesses. Although 4' x 8' is
the standard size, M.D.O. can also be purchased in 5' widths, and 10' to 12' lengths The high
quality of this plywood allows it to be cut in a number of shapes and still maintain a clean
edge. It is Important, however, to reprime the cut edges of the material if it is to be used outof-doors.
For this purpose. any oil-based exterior wood primer will suffice.In the movie and
television industries, M.D.O. is used where smooth. non-grain paintable surfaces that require
no preparation are needed. This application has also been found in theatre, where the easily
paintable surface and high quality of material offset its initial cost by a savings in labor.

So, if you use MDO for boat planking or other panels (floors, bulkheads), the key is to thoroughly seal all edge grain with a good penetrating sealer, such as Mar-X-Ite or Smith's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES).

The big downside with MDO, and one of the reasons I've been prejudiced against it for boat work, is weight. A 4x8 sheet of half-inch MDO weighs in at 60 pounds, whereas the half-inch marine-mahogany ply we normally use (Okoume) weighs only 37 pounds...and it'll last far longer than MDO in a marine environment. (Okoume 1088 Grade mahogany ply is tested by an international government agency that has established that the stuff will sit immersed in water for something like 45 years--with no finish applied--before it starts to delaminate. That's way better than any kind of fir-ply product, for sure.)

Anyhow, MDO has a lot of great uses, but it wouldn't be my favorite for boats.

- Marty

[SahSen]

Thanks be to Marty for taking interest in her...At least I bought a couple of new tires to get it and Marty home safely...Also I just wanted to say that y'all out here need medals for doing what you do so well...Keeping the floating history alive by following the actual construction down to the materials....I tip my hat.
Best, S