Mark Settterholm Shows Us His Underthings!

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dsc09383Fellow Woody Boater Mark Setterholm is enjoying the process of restoring a wonderful U22 and we thought… mmmm ya know it might be cool to see some original canvas that’s sandwiched between the inner and outer planks on an original bottom. Also its cool to see how over the years a classic boat has been patched..poorly… and kept alive. YIKES! Thanks Mark for sharing.  Here is the note from Mark!

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I love the forensic side of disassembly.  I’m always asking questions like, “Why did this fail? Why is there rot here?  Was it because of a design flaw, or was it just a result of poor housekeeping by  the owner?”  This family boat was used originally in Ohio but ended up in Denver when the owner owner was transferred there.  Sat outside in the elements for about 10 years.  That’s when I found her and dragged her back to Minnesota.  She came with an MBL and factory 2nd seat.  She’s going to look beautiful again soon!  m

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Just shove some more caulk in there. No more..

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I fixed the back and its still leaking? mmmmm I wonder if its the stuffing box?

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Sans patch

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I see dead …boats.

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Mahogany underline to make a point. Like, See, its flipped!

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Maybe we can save the wood? NOT

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Cool Canvas Exposed for the first time in decades.

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There she is, in her underthings!

 

17 replies
  1. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    I have never really gotten the canvas between the boards thing. I am sure it was there to prevent water infiltration, but it seems to me that it would just get wet, keep the boards wet, and then create rot, from the inside out.

    Anyone want to set me straight on this one?

  2. Dan T
    Dan T says:

    The canvas created the original no leak/slow leak bottom. Canvas got wet along with the planks, but it also could dry out with the planks while on the hard and not trap rot causing moisture. Worked pretty good.

  3. Mike K
    Mike K says:

    it looks like a pretty sweet shop. quansit hut style? plenty of light. i think maybe we have seen this featured in the past.
    is it cigar friendly?

    mike

  4. Wilson
    Wilson says:

    I’m with Troy….these boat didn’t come out of the water that much and so seemed to spend little time “on the hard” Seems like that canvas would have gotten wet and stayed wet…at least all summer. I wish Chris Smith were on line..He’d see this and could answer…Maybe somebody will just call him.

  5. Rick
    Rick says:

    Well I didn’t expect to see Mark’s bottom exposed first thing this morning. When I found Panther she also still had some of the original doped canvas in place also. At the time I was told that CC expected those bottoms to last under 10 years before the canvas needed replacing. Not sure if it’s true but seems reasonable.

  6. Andy C
    Andy C says:

    I don’t usually show my underthings but here is my ’49 25′ sportsman. It too had some strange patches along the way.

  7. Alan Frederick
    Alan Frederick says:

    My U-22 sedan suffered from “seepage” over the years which which eventually turned into major leakage. Once the bottom boards were removed and the cracked frames, broken screws, powdered canvas, and patches were uncovered, you’d have to wonder why it even floated at all.
    We flipped the boat with the top still on so scaffolding had to be made to work on the bottom.

  8. Bob B
    Bob B says:

    I thought these smaller boats were originally designed to last about 10 years and CC hoped you’d buy a whole new boat, not just a new bottom.

  9. Mo Sherrill
    Mo Sherrill says:

    From what I’ve read and have been told Chris-Craft (and perhaps other builders of the 1920’s and ’30’s) imbedded the canvas with old paint they had laying around the shop. Of course this paint was a good source of lead which we all know does not dry out very quickly. They would paint the inner diagonal boards with a thick coating of this paint, usually by now a gray tint, lay the canvas and then paint another thick coating of the paint on top of the canvas before laying the outer longitudinal boards. Chris-Craft did not expect these boats to be around in 40 to 90 years and certainly were hoping customers would come back sooner for a new boat!
    As an aside, Chris-Craft did not recommend caulking between the bottom boards but simply let them soak up to tighten the seams. Any caulking in seams would crush the edges of the boards when soaked, causing the problem to get worse each year the bottom dried out. And, as others have said, Chris-Craft expected their boat to remain in the water all season long. Trailering and hoisting boats in lifts wasn’t much of an option of during the 20’s and much into he ’30’s. This my 2 cents for that it’s worth!

      • Mo Sherrill
        Mo Sherrill says:

        No, “Flash” was a 1926 footer I bought in 1969 and used as my family boat for about 35 years. Pictured is a 1929 28 footer I restored from a basket case to what you see. I sold “Flash” in 2004 and the 28′ footer in 2005. Right now I’m doing a story on “Flash” when I owned it. I’ve already completed a story of my restoration of the 28 footer which I’m debating about whether to send it to WoodyBoater — the problem is it’s a LONG story with over 170 pictures — much more than anyone would want to read or Matt would want to publish!! Pictured here is the old Flash running at top speed on Lake George, NY – I called it “Opus III.”

  10. Rabbit
    Rabbit says:

    You forgot to mention that the U-22 is Mark’s Birthday Boat: Made the same year Mark was born. ’54?

  11. Don Vogt
    Don Vogt says:

    Mo, I dont really know for sure, but I thought at least in the 30’s, CC used dolphinite with the canvas before putting on the outer planking?

  12. Mo
    Mo says:

    Don Vogt said:
    Mo, I dont really know for sure, but I thought at least in the 30’s, CC used dolphinite with the canvas before putting on the outer planking?

    That is a good possibility. I know Hacker used dolphinite for most all of the their bedding material and it’s very likely CC did the same. From my experience dolphinite was a more “lasting material” than the paint mixture I mentioned which makes that a really good possibility. All I know is Hib Hall, the original owner of Halls Boat Corp on Lake George and one of the first CC and Gar Wood dealers in the northeast in the 1920’s, told me about the paint mixture story. I tend to believe him and perhaps dolphinite was used by CC in the 1930’s, but not the ’20’s.

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