White Oak (quercus alba) : I need a selection of air-dried white oak to replace the keel and ribs. I'm looking for a grade called "Car Select" - straight grain, knot free and straight. The first piece listed, especially, has to be dead-straight and completely clear (it's the forward keel piece to which all the forward ribs are attached, and from which everything else is measured). I'm trying to find this as close to southern Vermont as possible, but I'm low on expectations. If I have to cut it, that's easy, but it'll take a year or more for it to dry...
These dimensions are what I need after planing, truing, etc.
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| Above is an Chrome-over-bronze cleat; it is 8" long. It's a Perko cleat, and has been out of production for 25 years. Their original stock number was 544 008 CHR. The Endion had six of these cleats (you can see them in the photo on the main page), but only five were laying around in the boat when I got it. These were very common cleats, but I can't seem to find one laying around - if anyone knows of one, please let me know. Condition is not important, since the ones I have all need to be restored (this is the good one in the photo...). | |
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| Above: The dash panel has way too many holes
and dings in it, so I'm
going to replace the metal panel, as well as the mahogany board behind it. The Endion had a three-hole Stewart-Warner instrument panel with SW "Wings" gauges (Tach, Oil Pressure and Water Temp). Later on, an Amp gauge was added outside the main panel, and the hour meter was off to one side. The extra hole in the upper left was probably for the key (?). I'm going to replace this panel with a five-hole Stewart-Warner "Ensign" panel, using SW "Big Block" gauges. The frame of the Ensign panel I have needs to be re-plated, and I want to duplicate the unusual pattern on the panel insert I found on the Endion. What you're looking at above is a piece of 22gauge brass plated on one side with chrome. The chrome was then "pattern-polished" with a series of 1/4" vertical and horizontal lines, spaced at 1/4". The most cost-effective thing for me is to find a piece of material like this, then cut out the holes. However, I have had no luck at all finding anything like it. I know how to replicate the pattern, although it's a lot of work to set up tooling for the process. I could use a piece of stainless steel, but it will be surrounded by a chrome frame, and I'd rather use chrome. Again, I can get a piece of brass chrome-plated, but it's a really expensive process. The blank sheet I need is 12" X 6" - if I'm going to pattern it myself, I'll want a few pieces so I can screw up.
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| Above/Below: This is sort of tongue-in-cheek request -
"Does
anyone have an electric-motor and attached gearbox for the Endion?" It is
shown in the circle above, and a close-up machinist's drawing for the
gearbox itself is below...
Although no other drawings or data for this mechanism exist (to my knowledge), the original specifications would have created by the Zenith engineers and Bill Lyman, who worked as a team to modify the boat. It was likely made in a machine shop in Sandusky, and if I can even get a guess at the name of the shop, there is a chance I can follow that lead. Please let me know if you have any ideas! I will put up a page on this one-of-a-kind system soon.
I learned from Jimmy Ferguson that this was removed (by Bud, I think)
because it was thought it would cure some problems with the gas engine -
whether or not that was successful, I don't know. What happened to it is
another mystery; maybe it's turning the spit on a BBQ somewhere...
Only the mechanism was removed, the mounting points were left behind and I
still have them. |
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Grant Turner,
P.O. Box 809
Manchester Center, Vermont 05255-0809
Ph. 802-362-7318
Fax 802-362-4956
EMail grantt@sover.net