Shields #9

[MikeD]

Wow! Check out Tim's upcoming Fall project! Currently just below the Aphelion topsides project.

Shields #9

Man, is that one a beauty!

[Bluenose]

Well as the new proud papa to be, I can offer a bit more eye candy on old Shields #9.











More details will follow as soon as all of the logistics of having an owner in Washington, a boat in Connecticut, a trailer in another part of Connecticut and Tim in Maine are worked out.

Cheers, Bill

[dasein668]

Welcome Bill and congratulations! We're all excited to see the progress on this beauty!

[MikeD]

Yes, welcome, and thanks for the pics! I did a quick Google search a saw there's a fleet that races out of CT, Bolero being one of them. Wow, what a cool boat!
Is there cabin space below? Must be in a 30 footer...

[Figment]

And a gorgeous fleet it is! If not for the IOD fleet across the way (an embarrasment of riches, eh?), they'd truly be the Class of the sound.

Though I'm eager to see the upcoming work, I must admit a passing tinge of sadness to see the fleet reduced by one.

[Summersdawn]

That is one sexy looking boat! Can't wait to see more pictures/follow the work.

[Bluenose]

Thanks for all the great replies and support. I am momentarily blessed with two neat boats. Here is my Bluenose that I am trying to catch up on launching for perhaps the last time. She already has her new bottom paint and the topside is sanded and ready for renewing. I am also finally going to get around to boot and cove stripes.

Perhaps it is obvious why I have been drawn to the Shields.

[rshowarth]

Bill-

Congratulations! I just got back from Edgartown where they had their Regatta this past week.

They have a fleet of Shields. In over thirty years of traveling to the Vineyard my eyes keep returning to the Shields. They are beautiful boats.

On a smaller side note, they also have Wianno Seniors. Classic gaff rigged sloops. It is hard to know which direction to look in that harbor.

Enjoy her,

[Ric in Richmond]

Damn that is pretty.

I raced in the naval academys shields when we won the regionals for the sears cup in the late 80's.

It was such a marvelous boat and SO different from the usual dinghies we sailed.

I think that experience was why I am so drawn to overhangs.

What a boat.....

[Bluenose]

This is a picture that I have been waiting to see for almost two months. Bolero sitting on her trailer at Tim's house.



There has been a bunch of logistic hurdles but in the end they apparently went smoothly since Tim is still talking to me after driving to New Milford, CT to pickup the new Triad trailer and then to Mystic, CT to get Bolero.

Talk about customer service.

So here is some additional info if anyone is interested. First here is the link to Tim's inspection report:

(http://www.lackeysailing.com/bolero/survey1.html).

It includes many, many pictures. The written portion of his report is also include below.

Inspection Notes: Shields Class Hull # 9 Bolero
Inspection Date: June 27, 2007
Inspection Location: Masons Island Marina, Mystic, CT

The Hull

The black Awlgrip was in fair condition and could be kept satisfactorily if you like it, but wasn't in good enough condition to feel tied to it, depending on personal choice and other factors of the project. It is certainly not perfect, but with a little cleaning it'd look pretty good. There was the usual collection of minor scratches, scuffing from winter shrink wrap, and other imperfections. Some screw heads in way of the chainplates were breaking through the fairing compound over them. The owners have waxed it, which is a bad idea, but what's done is done.

I thought the green boottop was a poor choice with virtually no contrast to the black topsides and brown bottom, and the boat looks dead to me and completely lacks attractive detail. Obviously this is completely a personal thing, but the boat could look a lot better than she does with a new boottop and covestripe, or what have you. This is my opinion only, and these small details are irrelevant at this point. But I can't help mention it.
The main forward bulkhead printed through the hull, creating a hard spot that can be seen in some of these photos. If you don't see it, let me know and I'll point you to the correct photo. This is pretty typical, so I don't think it's a big concern. These boats are pretty lightly built.
There's a hump visible in the sheerline right at the chainplates on both sides. This may be indicative of the stresses placed here, as indicated in some of the Cape Cod Shipbuilding papers you sent me. (More on the chainplates later.)

The wooden toerail is minimal, and there is no rubrail. For appearance and deck safety for your purposes, a new and larger rail could be a nice choice, along with a protruding rubrail for additional protection as well as to enhance the appearance.

The photos pretty much speak for themselves. Without seeing many Shields on my own, I'd guess that the topsides of #9 are in as good or better condition than most, despite their imperfections.

If you wonder why I took a specific photo, please let me know the photo name and I will explain what I was trying to show.


The Hull: Bottom

The bottom was in fair condition. The paint is Baltoplate, favored by racers everywhere. It is in decent condition, but the bottom is not race perfection. If you want to use E-Paint on the bottom, I suspect all the Baltoplate and other coatings will need to be removed anyway, so the condition of the paint and smoothness of the bottom is hardly relevant. But the bottom was pretty fair and smooth, and certainly doesn't need a lot of work either way.

The rudder and fairing strips were in good condition with no particular problems to note. Paint and fairing compound were loose over the fairing strips, since water tends to get in there and cause failure. This is not a critical thing and is easy to fix.

The ballast-hull joint had wept, as is normal, and the bubbling and unfairness visible at the seam is the result of more fairing compound and paint failure. The seam itself looked tight and good, with no particular problems. The weeping is a fact of life, as this seam is rarely perfectly watertight and is dynamic in its stress. Baltoplate turns ugly green colors where small rivulets run when the boat is hauled, and these discolorations make things look awful, but it's not nearly as bad as all that.

The tops of the keel bolts looked OK in the bilge as far as I could tell, but the bilge was full of several inches of water, so there was only so much I could see. But there aren't any indications of serious problems there, or with the seam at the top portion of the add-on fiberglass keel just below the garboard.


The Deck

Cosmetically, the decks were in pretty good condition, with more or less original finishes. The deck structure is lightweight, and the wider expanses flex when walked upon, but this is not an indication of structural problems--simply of the lightweight structural nature of the deck.
I would expect to find some areas of water infiltration, but I didn't see anything horribly serious in this regard. I observed a spot beneath the deck under one of the cockpit coamings where there was a black spot, as if an old fastener had leaked through. (This photo can be found in the "Interior" section).

There is a repair to a large crack in the deck on the starboard side, running roughly between the mast partners and the rail. The top surface is patched with gelcoat (the hammer handle is pointing to it in the applicable photo below), and beneath the deck (photos of this part in the "Interior" section) a reinforcement can be seen on that side. In addition, the area around the mast partners is a little funky, with part of the collar area seemingly ground down lower than the surrounding deck; I'm not sure why this would be, or what the situation is.

Depending on the design and construction of the new cabin, though, all or part of this area may be removed anyway, so I didn't see this as a big problem.

The woodwork is fair, with lots of Cetol finish applied.


The Interior

In these photos, you can see some of the areas I talked about on the last page, including the black water-damaged spot, the long crooked patch beneath the deck crack, and the top side of the deck crack itself.

The backing plates for much of the hardware are minimal or nonexistent, and I'd suggest comprehensively renewing all of this anyway.

The aluminum mast step is corroded and should be replaced. The wooden understructure seemed to be generally sound, though.

The port chainplate area has been reinforced with additional fiberglass, and features a wooden backing plate with flimsy metal overlay (not sure why). The starboard chainplate has not been reinforced, and has an aluminum backing plate. I'd suggest new reinforcement of both chainplates, along with stronger and larger backing plates, mainly because it'd be easy to do.

The flimsy liner that's bonded to the inside of the hull in the cockpit areas was torn and damaged on the starboard side, generally beneath the chainplate. The liner is nothing special, and it'd be nice to remove it wherever feasible anyway.

The bilge contained some water, but to the extent visible the structure appeared sound. The forward compartment, forward of the bulkhead, contained some water as seen in the photo. Otherwise, both the forward and aft compartments were unremarkable, with no particular issues to note.

Again, if you're wondering what you're looking at in a specific photo, please let me know and I will explain what I was hoping to capture with the photo.


Mast and Rigging

I was disappointed in the rigging. The "new" (2000) mast and boom are in good shape, with no particular issues, so that's a plus. But the standing rigging is in only fair to poor condition, in my opinion, as is the running rigging. In addition, I was unimpressed with how the mast was stored on this boatyard rack; the storage was sloppy, with wires hanging all over, last summer's weedy vines wrapped all around the stags (the brown stuff in the photos), and just a general lack of attention and care. I say this only because it's clear to me that poor care and maintenance is responsible for the condition of the rigging today, not its relatively young age.

The mast was on an upper rack on the mast rack, and I couldn't get up close and personal. But I could reach the rigging, and could perform an adequate inspection. At least two bees nests are inside the mast (white-faced hornets), so some Raid is in order.

In any event, I thought the standing rigging looked cheaply made. The swages looked to be of lower quality, with uneven tops and other indications of less-than-perfect mechanical swage construction. There was surface corrosion visible in the wires at the tops of the lower swages, as well as in other areas. Wire in good condition should not show this. The owners used plastic turnbuckle covers, which tend to hold moisture within and exacerbate corrosion from normal amounts of water that gets on all rigging.

The turnbuckles were all stiff to turn, but are not beyond saving with a small amount of work. Someone's used serrated pliers to hold the swage while tightening the turnbuckles, scarring and scratching the swage--yet another reason to consider the rigging to be fairly poor overall.
The running rigging on the mast was stained green from algae, again pointing to a general lack of care since it was installed, but otherwise it looked serviceable.

Otherwise, the mast and rigging just need a good once-over to inspect all areas, replace old tape on certain areas, and that sort of thing. At least the extrusions are in good condition.


Rigging, Sails, and Equipment

These photos mostly show close-ups of deck hardware, which is of several brands and various age. All is serviceable, however, but some upgrading might be desirable. Again, there is nothing special here, and certainly other Shields have better equipment than this. But everything is there, and it all works.

A couple of the photos show the specifics of the deck chainplate fittings. Note how the angles of the port chainplates (img 5508) are completely different from the starboard ones (img 5509); I'm not sure if this is the result of damage from the dismasting, or if they were fabricated improperly, or something else.

There are three complete sets of three sails each: class main, jib, and spinnaker. The newest set, seen completely unfolded in the photos, is in good condition with 2 seasons' use on them (reportedly). The main in particular is excellent; the job shows quite a bit more wear, and may actually be older. But both are ready to go as is. Likewise, the newest spinnaker is in good condition.

A second spinnaker is blown out; whether or not it can be repaired is unknown. The third spinnaker is fine and usable as is.
The other two sets of working sails definitely show more age, but are in usable condition. The mid-aged set requires new plastic windows in the sails, and some minor spot repair, but are otherwise quite sound. The oldest set is well worn, but still in viable condition. I didn't inspect the other two sets very closely, but only enough to give you a general idea.

I can't thank Tim enough for his efforts so far. To most of the forum Shields # 9, Bolero is Tim's "new" project. But he and I have been discussing this project since January. He supplied both encouragement and the labor to get it done. No way this project would have happen without him.

Bill

[David VanDenburgh]

Thanks a lot for sharing all of that with us. I enjoyed looking through the pictures and reading the report. I wish you years of happiness.

David

[Shark]

Bill,

Thanks for taking us along for the ride. Bolero is very handsome even now and I'm sure she'll be fantastic when Tim has worked his magic!

[Peter]

Bill, she's a beauty.
I look forward to seeing her in Fisherman Bay!

[Bluenose]

Bill, she's a beauty.
I look forward to seeing her in Fisherman Bay!

Thanks Peter. So do I.

I thinking it was last summer there was a Vega in Fish Bay and I talk with someone a bit about their boat (pretty quick as I was sailing by). Was that you? They are great little (and I mean that as a complement) go anywhere boats.

Next time you are anchored in the bay give me a heads up. Maybe we could flip a coin and pick a boat and go sailing.

Cheers, Bill

[Peter]

Next time you are anchored in the bay give me a heads up. Maybe we could flip a coin and pick a boat and go sailing.

You're on, Bill. I'll drop you a pm when I next head that way!

[rshowarth]

Bill-

I just, finally, clicked on your link to your blogspot.


Thank you,

[Bluenose]

Bill-

I just, finally, clicked on your link to your blogspot.


Thank you,

You are very welcome. This is my first attempt at blogging although I have put together a few websites. At first it seemed a great way for me to host the photos that I end up posting here. But now it is also a great online storage system for my ideas (read rants and ideals) and progress on the Shields Bolero project.

Bill

[keelbolts]

Holy Cow, is that a beautiful boat! If I had found this site 20 years ago, I might have never owned a wooden boat. I looked around marinas and saw a few old, elegant wooden boats and a bunch of new butt-ugly plastic ones. I thought those were my options. Had I seen a Triton, a Ranger, or a Shields I would have known there was another choice. It's too bad that the current batch of plastic boat makers don't get into the 'retro thing' like some of the auto manufacturers have. Plastic makes sense to me now; butt-ugly still doesn't.

[Jason K]

It's too bad that the current batch of plastic boat makers don't get into the 'retro thing' like some of the auto manufacturers have. Plastic makes sense to me now; butt-ugly still doesn't.

There are a few out there that meet that description. For example, I really like the Morris Yachts M Series:

[keelbolts]

Yeah dats wat I'm talkin about. She is sweet.

[Tim]

Classic style with modern construction seems to be the latest trend in boatbuilding.

Unfortunately, virtually all of the new boats available in this style seem to be at the high end of the market, pricewise. I don't know of any new, reasonably priced boats that also have this sort of classic styling. Most are more in the realm of the Morris above.

[Bluenose]

Way back in the 80's I was into old British two seater convertible sports cars. I had a vintage TR6 that came with an eccentric personality and I use ask why or why doesn't someone come out with a modern two seater convertible sports car. And low and behold the Mazda Miata was born.

But I haven't found the equivalent in modern sailboats. Sure there is plenty of eye candy for the deep pocket crowd.



In my opinion the Alerion Express is pretty close since they can be had for less the 100k.



And even if I can't afford the the high priced eye candy I sure enjoy looking.

[MQMurphy]

Ahhh the Morris boats - I have to attach the drool cup when I see a picture of one of those. Haven't seen one in person yet.
As to the retro thing, they're doing that with Triumph motorcycles now, too.
Always loved the way they look, heard they were not so dependable. Now solved with modern technology.

[Allen]

When you look at the price of these new boats, restoring a Triton or some other classic plastic boat seems much less frivolous.

I feel much better now. ;)

Bolero is a thing of beauty isn't she. I'd dearly love to go for a sail on her. I'll bet she sails as good as she looks.

[Bluenose]

When you look at the price of these new boats, restoring a Triton or some other classic plastic boat seems much less frivolous.

I feel much better now. ;)

I will be using your words as my mantra as Bolero continues to make her present known to the checking account. But I completely agree. I am actually quite grateful that this loophole of restoring old boats into classics exists.

Bolero is a thing of beauty isn't she. I'd dearly love to go for a sail on her. I'll bet she sails as good as she looks.

Thanks Allen, I obviously agree. I am a bit envious since I haven't seen her in person yet. And about getting a chance to sail on her all you have to do is be in the right place at the right time. My only Shields sailing happened on a Shields in Newport Harbor where students sail a bunch of them on and off the dock.





It was primary my wife's first sailing lesson but I did manage to sail back in. I remember her being a joy to sail but it was a preciously short test drive prior to committing to the Bolero project.

They were also restoring one during our visit.









And one more classic boat picture. One of my major inspirations for the Bolero project is the Dark Harbor 20. I never get tired of looking at them.



Bill

[Tim Mertinooke]

Sweet looking boats!

[Allen]

Bill,

Thanks Allen, I obviously agree. I am a bit envious since I haven't seen her in person yet. And about getting a chance to sail on her all you have to do is be in the right place at the right time.

When I visited Kaholee (and Tim :) a few weeks back, Tim caught me fawning over her in the shop. I took a couple of pictures and will post them as soon as I can (my laptop A/C adapter died and I'm awaiting a new one).

As to being in the right place at the right time, I'll be back in Maine in April 08, through, probably, the end of June. :D

Take care,