When the virtues of a traditional wooden boat are extolled, we often hear how any part of the boat can be replaced when that part is no longer serviceable. Almost every boat has had some replacement parts; frames, planking, stems, and transoms are commonly renewed as a boat ages. For some boats, these projects happen over a long period of time. For the 1910 yacht TALLY HO, they happened all within a short span of her lifetime.
Leo Goolden, an English sailor and boatbuilder, has been restoring the 48′ LOA Albert Strange–designed gaff cutter since 2017 in Sequim and Port Townsend, Washington (see WB No. 267), and documenting the progress in his regular videos (see www.sampsonboat.co.uk and www.youtube.com/SampsonBoatCo). He has many hands working on the project, and he brought me in to replace missing or worn-out companionways and skylights—deck furniture, as the structures are sometimes known collectively. TALLY HO is a flush-deck yacht built as a racer-cruiser (she won the 1927 Fastnet Race), so her expanse of deck has only three deck structures: the main companionway at the cockpit, a foredeck companionway, and a large skylight abaft the mast over the main saloon. All three are minimal and low-profile.
Leo’s restoration has honored the yacht’s legacy by using materials and techniques matching the original where possible and practical. Like almost everything else on the yacht, the original deck furniture pieces were too deteriorated to restore, but they could be replicated with only minor changes. The idea was to give the yacht the same appearance she would have had when launched in England in the early 20th century.
The main companionway was in the best condition of the three principal deck structures. It was badly worn but had not been modified over the years, with the exception of what appeared to be anachronistic portlights. The forward companionway had only minor changes. Unfortunately, the original amidships gabled skylight—certainly the most impressive piece of the three—was lost long ago, possibly around the time the yacht was raised after running aground and sinking in the South Pacific. No one knows what became of the skylight.
Leo GooldenTALLY HO’s deck structures closely follow the original 1910 configurations but take advantage of some machined fits and epoxy adhesives. The author built the structures for Leo Goolden’s years-long restoration of the Albert Strange–designed yacht, which at the time of this writing was poised to be relaunched in Port Townsend, Washington.
The original footprints of all three structures were carefully measured and documented before the deck was removed. Leo and his crew replicated those openings when they built an entirely new deck frame and then planked it with a laid deck of Alaska yellow cedar with teak covering boards and kingplanks. By recording those measurements and examining the removed remains—along with Strange’s original plans and drawings, plus photographs dating from TALLY HO’s early years—we were able to build new deck structures very closely matching the originals.
1. The 4’6“ × 4‘6“ main companionway, like the one on the foredeck, was intact but worn beyond refinishing. Both were removed early in the restoration project. The fact that any of these structures survived as well as they did is a testament to the value of good materials—teak in this case—and good craftsmanship.
George Saris.
2–3. For the original main companionway, we first measured everything and examined details of the original construction. For example, the cornerposts were constructed with double rabbets to receive the 11⁄2“-thick sides and ends—a detail we chose not to replicate. Those joints were fastened with teak pegs, or trunnels, but the joinery of the reconstructions relies entirely on epoxy adhesives, so a single larger tongue, as shown in Photo 9, provided sufficient strength.
George Saris.
4–5. The opening portlights in the main companionway sides probably were not original; they appear to be later additions or replacements, because their style and fitting do not match the era of the yacht’s construction. There was no doubt, however, of their necessity for bringing light and air belowdecks, so new opening portlights from Davey & Co. were used.
Narayan Mahon (left), Pat Mahon (right).
6. The tiny shop at my home in Port Townsend was large enough to mill individual pieces for the deck furniture, and well equipped to do so. Some of the assembly could be done at the shop, too, but the largest assemblies were done either on the boat or in Leo’s boatshop at the Port of Port Townsend.
7. Here, the sashes for one side of the skylight are ready for glue-up. Their rails and stiles are joined with floating tenons, a variation on the mortise-and-tenon joint in which mortises are shaped in each piece and joined with a solid-wood tenon made separately. I used G-Flex epoxy on all joints, always roughing up the teak and giving it a good acetone washing, as recommended for teak, which is an oily wood. The three individual sashes that make up each side of the skylight were laid out full-sized on a lofting board.
8. The skylight and the coaming it sits upon were assembled, level and square, in the shop. Its outside dimensions are 7′ long, 2’11“ wide, and 1’7“ tall. Only the long rectangular central sashes open, with gutters at the top and ends to drain water to the deck; the forward and after ones are fixed in position.
9. For the forward companionway, the cornerposts were built up of two pieces, as shown, with rabbets to receive the tongues of the side and end pieces. This assembly, which was also used for the main companionway, made it easier than the double-rabbet configuration when notching the companionway’s lower edges over the sill rabbet. To assure a perfect fit, the companionway pieces were glued up in place over the sills, as seen here, making very sure that the sill edges and other areas that could be exposed to epoxy seepage were well masked-off. The companionways are both built to be removable, so it’s essential that they are not bonded to the sills.
10. One significant change from the original construction was the addition of coved raised sills, sometimes called grubs, as foundations for the structures, as seen here on the starboard side of the forward companionway. The original deck structures sat directly on deckbeams and carlins, to which they were through-bolted. The new sill configuration is intended to improve water drainage away from the joint at the base of the structures. The forward companionway also has a small, low skylight to starboard (which is also partly visible in Photos 11 and 12), and this cornerpost’s construction will remain visible when the sash is open. (At this stage, the splines along the top edge that fit into a dado in the sash to prevent water ingress had not yet been installed.)
11. The forward sliding-hatch companionway, with its little skylight to starboard, is a close replica of the original. The original dropboard was missing; we chose to build a louvered one for ventilation. The dropboard’s inboard face has an insect screen as well as a removable polycarbonate cover to block spray or cold air when necessary. The cast-brass channels holding the board in place are original.
12. A split brass pipe forms a drainage gutter under the hinged edge of the forward companionway’s skylight. The “thumbnail” edge profile detail seen here, and on all these structures, was worn completely away on the originals after decades of weather and use. Vintage photos showed that it was there when the boat was new, so we followed suit.
13. The rounded inside corners of the companionways are a detail copied from the original. The individual staves that make up the roof of the structure and the sliding hatch are edge-joined with plates, or biscuits, and epoxy-glued using G-Flex.
14. The main companionway at the forward end of the cockpit has the same cornerpost construction as the one on the foredeck. Some changes were made to the structure’s overall height by increasing the widths of the lower and upper sides and ends and using heavier runners for the sliding cover. This gave better access below and better forward clearance for the sliding hatch cover, as seen in Photo 16.
15. The main companionway’s original dropboard survived, so its flat-panel construction and moldings were faithfully copied. The cast-brass channels holding the board in place are original, as they are on the forward companionway.
16. The main companionway is built as Strange designed it, with side benches for topside seating; equally important is the headroom these structures provide in the cabin below. When open, the sliding hatch cantilevers over the deck; making the companionway slightly higher than the original allowed the sliding hatch cover to clear the dinghy that will be stowed on chocks between the companionway and the skylight.
17. The original gabled skylight over the saloon had been replaced at some time, first by a low deckhouse and later a fishhold. The teak coaming remained in place, allowing measurements and study of its details. Combining this information with an examination of vintage photos, we were able to glean enough detail to re-create the skylight. The four end sashes are fixed, giving strength and stability to the structure. The middle section is hinged on custom cast strap hinges. Crank-type lifters will be installed to raise and lock the sash. Bronze-rod guards are fitted to the cleats that also serve to hold the forward and after edges of the glass; lengths of bronze flatbar secure the upper and lower edges.
18. From the original coaming, we learned that the corners were built with unusual dovetail joints that were combined with beveled rabbets, as shown in Figure 1a below. In all likelihood, the corners of the missing skylight structure were built the same way. The advantage of this joint was that it provided the side and end pieces with some resistance to cupping and made the inside corner, visible from the saloon, clean and crisp. I hadn’t encountered this type of joint before, and I imagine it was a technique used when joinery was done mostly with hand tools.
19. For the skylight coaming and carcass, we chose to use a variation of the beveled dovetail joint, as shown here and in Figure 1b. This is a dovetail with a tongue-and-groove, sometimes called the “Duffy Dovetail” (see WB No. 92). This variation of the joint lends itself to machining with power tools, mainly a router and a variety of bits and jigs, but the pins and tails of the dovetail joints are still cut by hand.
20. The skylight’s tall coaming—the portion visible below the rabbet seam—is permanently bolted to the beams and carlins of the deck structure. The gabled skylight, which rests on a gasket, is removable to allow access when large equipment or stores need to be lowered below to the interior. The “Duffy Dovetail” creates a clean inside corner.
21. Fifty years ago, when I first started doing this type of joinerwork, a Maine boatbuilder gave me some advice on gaps between moving parts: “Make it so sloppy you’re embarrassed.” The point was that when making any part that must move—for example doors, hatches, and window sashes—there needs to be allowance for wood movement and drainage. For interior work, where wood expansion is the only factor, a gap of 1⁄16“ is standard. But for exterior joinerwork, we need to consider not only wood movement but an allowance for rainwater or seawater to drain away into the gutters. This requires a larger gap: 1⁄8“ to 3⁄16“. Even a 1⁄8“ gap can hold water in tension, in this case allowing it to just sit there waiting for you to open the sash.
As each unit was completed, all the surfaces were given a careful and thorough sanding to eliminate any cross-grain scratches and to even up the round-overs or quirks. I like to apply the first coat of varnish myself, knowing that it will highlight any blemish that I might have missed. After dealing with those, I sent the completed structures along to the finishers for the final 10 to 12 coats.
After finishing, the pieces were mounted on their sills. The forward companionway is secured to the deck frame at the cornerposts—five of them because of its unusual starboard skylight—and also with let-in bronze plates spanning the seam of the sills and side boards. The main companionway has large, coved inner corner pieces fastened to the cornerposts and extending down the deck frame, where they are also fastened. The skylight coaming is through-bolted to the deck frame, and the gabled structure is placed over the coaming with a gasket in the rabbet. Like the companionway forward, it is fastened with bronze plates let in inboard across the seam, making it easy to remove when access below is necessary for large items. And finally, each of the units had a 3⁄16“ × 3⁄16“ rabbet on its lower, outside edges to receive the same caulking compound as the deck seams.
When Leo launches TALLY HO later this year, her deck structures will be among the many things on the boat that will look very much as they would have when she was launched more than a century ago. 
Pat Mahon is a shipwright, marine surveyor, and educator living in Port Townsend, Washington. He is a regular instructor at WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine. For more information, see www.patrickmahonwoodenboats.com.