Restoring a Dunkirk Little Ship. Episode 7: Stern Intentions

In this packed update, Dowager's stern section is cleaned and prepped, but more issues are found beneath so much flaking paint, and work continues into the night.
First launched in 1933 bearing the name Rosa Woodd and Phyllis Lunn before being renamed Dowager in 1973, she is a little ship whose crew saved 143 lives during her incredible career as an RNLI lifeboat. Yet it was her three hellish journeys to rescue stranded British troops from the deathtrap beaches of Dunkirk that made her a legend.
In December 2023, Dowager was found for sale after being abandoned in a boat yard. Her decks and wheel house had badly rotted from exposure to the elements, and her hull had flooded from countless rain showers. This channel serves as a record of the efforts to save, restore, and return her to sailing the sea once again.

[@alexbrauninger3687]

Any rotten ribs ought to be replaced really and it won’t be too hard to do. Ship happens have done loads of ribs on their boat and their videos would be worth a watch.

[@SavingMaverick55]

I second this.

[@morgan19811]

Scarffing time😂

[@ianrees3231]

vactan very good

[@colinritchie1757]

Excellent work on Dowager , what ever quirk of YT that led me here , thank you a really fascinating project good luck , and I'll be watching , PS What an "interesting" choice of entertainment while working!

[@evewilkinson9653]

Definitely replace that rib. I agree with Alex have a look at Ship happens.

[@sodoffxx]

Great editng, Good information, Voice over - awesome

[@usssaratogacv3lefevre978]

A little bit of progress, glad it worked out for you.

[@SavingMaverick55]

I would replace any rotted wood. Trying to use rot filler is like trying to heal a bullet wound with a bandaid. As for the sheared bolt heads, it looks like you have cast iron floors secured with bronze fasteners. Dissimilar metals attack each other in a salty environment, especially if you have stray electrical current in the boat.

[@oumenelabrise2155]

Be aware of minimum setting temperature of the epoxy when used with slow hardener. It may not be the best option for 4 deg C ambient. Good luck and keep posting.

[@MetalDetectingSwansea]

The oils in the teak eat the bronze was that bolt from the steel stiffening around the prop tunnels ?

[@superowl91]

bolts arn't supposed to be sucked off and you shouldn't neglect the nuts as well.

[@ve7cbh]

Those broken bolts look like stress fracture to me. Clean it up and put it under a microscope and compare it to pictures of various fractures that you can find online.

[@eyemstillhear]

Wearing a dust mask with a cold is like wearing ppe against Covid. And can you get Gibson ear defenders anymore ? 🤣🤣🤣

[@luckytoastsebastian]

Boats are sexy but not that kind of sexy ...

[@davidblackburn6569]

instead of replacing some of the rotten wood why not do epoxy injection and then it becomes a composite of wood and epoxy , just a thought

[@evewilkinson9653]

It might be hard but it won’t be strong 🫣Please don’t use epoxy on the boat, all the wood needs to swell and move, the epoxy won’t like to do that and it will crack. 😰