Restoration of Miss DeSoto
Chapter One

Jack Hines has started framing the rebuild.
 
 

His usual quality workmanship is back at hand.
 

All frames were temporarily clamped to the stringers and chine battens laid out.
We marked the bevels on each frame, removed frames and cut bevels. 
This step eliminated most of the cross grain cutting involved in fairing the sides of the hull. 
Frames were them bonded in, followed by chines. 
Started attaching keel and battens from stern forward, letting everything run wild over the bow.
 

Only about one-third of the bow was found with the boat. I had to project a curve based on the remaining piece and the width of #1 frame. None of the stock we bought was wider than 7 inches, to eliminate any cross grain weakness the nose was made up of short sections keyed together with plywood tenons. This photo shows the two curves as they were cut from the rough piece. The curves were joined with a plywood spacer and additional wood at the sides to make up the correct thickness. The total amount of lift in the hull was an unknown since the nose had not retained its shape. The rise in this hull is more of a curve rather than a straight line from the afterplane break. Anyways; after a bunch of measuring, try fitting, some hand-ringing and a few cocktails, 10.75 inches was the number.
 

Once the lift was resolved; pockets were located and pre-cut for all battens and keel, 
and the nose was assembled to the frame.

This view shows the framed bottom ready to be turned over.
 

All deck beams & battens are installed. 
Adjustments to the height of the deck beams was required to come up to a fair curve fore and aft.
 

Since the bow shelf was made up in several layers, I decided to install the side plywood starting at the centerline of the bow and work aft.
This will hide the tenons in the bow. Here the second piece is installed.
 
 

There's a whole bunch of lumber in the back of Lauterbach boats!!! 
This "H" shaped structure is a strut mount that ties into both stringers. 
Pieces are 2-1/4 x 2-5/8.  I added the mortise and tenons to provide more bonding surface.
 

Second turn over. 
Had to really modify our jig to get the boat to fit due to all the deck battens in the way.
 
 

Finished with exterior plywood and aluminum on the transom.

Chines from frame 4 aft required fairing before fitting plywood. 
This job was made more difficult by the fact that there was not a shear batten to help guide the line. 
The plywood makes quite a twist as it heads aft! Once the plywood was close, hot damp towels helped to relax it a bit.

After completing the afterplane extension and fairing the bottom, the first piece of bottom plywood is installed.
 
 

The hull is finally ready to mock up the engine and fabricate the front mounts. The rear ones are original as raced, but the front ones were missing.
 
 
 

Chrysler Hemi's massive size and weight. Almost 4 foot long and weighting nearly 1,000 pounds with gear box.
 
 

410 cu in  Hemi. The engine will be de-tuned from the way 'Buddy' ran her. Should be between 600-700 hp on alcohol.
 

The boat is currently at Steve Balcers' shop for sponson and deck work and all the other things that need to be done

Click here to continue reading on the Miss DeSoto's restoration.
Click here to read the story of finding of Miss DeSoto.

©2004-2007 Butch Bailey