Bottom up (or off)

With the boat rolled over, it's time to remove the original 9 mm (3/8") molded, one piece plywood bottom. There are some old repairs to to the bottom, with sheets of plywood riveted to the inside. There is used epoxy as well for this repair, and there is rot around the frames in this area.

First business, find and wire brush all the screws holding the bottom to the frames:

The keel may look good on the picture, but it has a big bow in it where the engine is placed and will be replaced. The chines are in OK shape, and I will keep them.

Here is the "dutchman" repair to the frame, and where the bottom was repaired.

About 2/3 of all the frames will be replaced. mainly because splitting and cracking of the frames.

Rolling over.

Always exiting rolling a boat over. My barrelback I rolled over with two chainfalls from two A-frame structures. In this workshop I have a 10 foot/3 meter ceiling height and a steel beam to hang one chainfall from. Used an engine hoist for the stern end. With help from my father and a friend we rolled it over slow and safely.

 Now the fun begins. Off with the old bottom and see what surprises there are....

Getting started

This summer the previous owner delivered the boat to me. Is a little strange really, of the very few Riva projects available in the world, of the 426 Florida's built and with only 80 remaining, I stumble into one a half hour from where I live.

First thing was to remove all the trim, windshield and interior fixtures and give the bilge a good power wash. It had a good coating of oil and grime.

Moved into the new workshop and getting the hull brazed for the roll over. You can also see the "zebra" stripes across the sides. This is a 1958 model Florida, the first year they used molded plywood sides. The theory is that they did not get the seems in the core layers of the plywood completely tight, during the form pressing. And when presented with humidity, the lines appears. My hope is that a complete stripping and rough sanding, followed by bleaching of the wood will remove these. We'll see...

An old Riva in a barn.

Welcome to this journal documenting the restoration of a 1958 Riva Florida, an Italian mahogany boat. With a 1940 17" barrelback project only half way done, it's somewhat crazy to start another one. But I have always wanted a Riva, and I just could not pass on this opportunity.

The boat had been with the same family since 1987, and is a well used boat. Somewhat tried but all complete, except one bow cleat and a oar-pin. The boat had the leaky original bottom, and took a dive 4 years ago. The engine was removed and preserved, and the boat was placed in a barn awaiting better days. 

My plans are to restore the boat to a correct but "user" condition, no trailer queen. I want to take my kids out tubing and have fun. It will be back to original colors and interior for 1958. It needs a new bottom, keel and frames, and I will do this the original way. Single piece molded plywood bottom and copper rivets in the frame knees.

Check in for updates!