Restoring Aslan

[Frank Hagan]

On 12/19/2025 at 2:58 PM, Oyster said:

Following this thread, Frank, it looks like you did a good job on it, since its lasted a lot longer than a couple that I have dealt with or seen in the past, when they were really popular with its own group.

I think most of it is how they are stored on the hard. If they are kept under cover, even with a cheap tarp, and rain water kept out they will last a while. I built it as a five year boat, and spent on materials accordingly, so it is surprising that it survived as well as it did/ 

[Brucel]

Happy New Year! I got some Aslan gifts this Christmas, various epoxy fillers, fiberglass, walnut shells, and a bowsprit! Fresh off the saw of the original builder Frank Hagan. Outstanding job Frank, and a huge thank you. The first two pics are of the mock up and transfer drilling and the last pic is a finished bowsprit mocked up but not mounted. I'll mount the bowsprit after the deck is repaired and painted. 

Happy New Year builders, may all you boats float and stay upright.

[Brucel]

I'm out to my desert property so no updates on Aslan, but I have scored a boat trailer. The price was right, "Get it off my property." from my neighbor. It's 17 feet from ball to tail compared to 20 feet for the trailer under Aslan. I think it will work with extended bunkers putting most of the weight between the axle and ball.

The major problems are the 8 inch rims on the tires (think golf cart tires) and the spread of the rear uprights (too narrow). I can get pre-assembled hubs for 12 inch, 4 bolt rims for around 65 bucks. I have several sets of 4 bolt 12 inch tire sets scattered around so that takes care of the 8 inch tire problem.

As far as the rear uprights being too narrow ; I can weld. I just might cut them off all together, I don't have the uprights on the existing trailer. Though it would be nice to have the brake lights high enough to stay out of the water. I'll wait to see how the boat fits before I do major modifications.

[Brucel]

The boat trailer is home. I replaced tires,wheels, and hubs out in the desert. I also added tail lights for the drive home. Now all I have to do in make the trailer fit Aslan.

The tail light uprights are too narrow for the boat, the spread is 5 1/2 feet on the trailer and Aslan is 6 feet wide. According to my calculations if i spread out 4 inches on each upright I'll have enough room and the uprights will match the angle of the sides of Aslan. I'll slice into the uprights from the center of the trailer, bump the uprights out, then weld up the gap caused by the cut. I really want those brake lights high where they can be seen. 

Not sure how I'm going to refinish the trailer. If it's not too expensive I'll have it sand blasted then paint it. If I don't sandblast it, I'll wire wheel the loose rust and paint it with rust converter then prime and paint it.

I'll be doing minor repairs on the deck of Aslan while working on the trailer. The deck is the biggest problem other than the spars. I'm thinking I will paint the spars rather than varnish them. I think it will be simpler to maintain the spars if they're painted.

[Frank Hagan]

Other than the uprights, a 2x6 with two 2x4s attached to it will make a keel holder. Then just adjust the side bunks to support the bottom on either side of it. You may have to move the bow roller forward as well. It looks to me like it should work. 

[Brucel]

I've included some pics of the old trailer showing the keel holder and the rot in the main rails by the axle attachment points. I will be making a keel guide/holder because the new/old trailer has rollers that are barely wider than the keel. I think it would be hard to line up 3 tiny rollers when you are retrieving the boat.

I'll be replacing the side bunkers (2x4s) because they are rotted and probably to small to keep the boat level. I'm thinking I need 2x6s because the board holders are as high as they''ll go. I do have higher bunker mounts on the old trailer that I can rob. The neighbor that gave me the new trailer wants the old trailer to make a gate so he won't be needing the bunker mounts.

[Brucel]

Started on the new trailer, almost completely disassembled except for the leaf springs. I'm going to use a rust converter primer. Since I've never used it before it will be interesting to see if it really works. If it works on this trailer I'm sure it will be useful on my Jeep. I'm using a cup and flat wire brush on my 4 inch grinder to knock off the loose rust. The stuff is supposed to convert iron oxide to iron something else and prep the surface for paint; we will see.

I got bids for sandblasting and they came in at $1,000 and more. I watched videos of guys sandblasting their truck frames and if they were doing it in a garage the sand and dust got all over everything. I don't have the equipment for large scale sandblasting. I figure $62 a gallon is a lot cheaper than one thousand or more for the equipment.

[Brucel]

The major modification for the trailer is done. I had to spread the uprights from 68 inches to 76 inches to allow for Aslan to pass between them. I sliced the uprights from the center of the trailer to the outside leaving the outside part of the upright uncut. I then bumped the uprights to the outside of the trailer and stuck a screwdriver in the gap to hold the gap while I bridge welded the tubes back together. Even though I had a wedge in the gap it closed up about 1/2 inch on each side. Now the distance between the ends of the uprights 75 inches instead of 76 inches. I'll pad the uprights with a pool noodle in case Aslan rubs on them when retrieving the boat. Aslan is 72 inches wide at the maximum beam which is close but I think it will work.

[Frank Hagan]

Some trailers use rollers on the uprights ... just pieces of PVC pipe slid over the uprights, with a stop welded under them, so they "roll" when the boat goes on or off if contact is made. It all depends on if you're lucky and the OD of the uprights fit loosely in the ID of some PVC or black ABS pipe or fittings. 

[Brucel]

Good thought Frank but I don't think I'll be able to do that on this trailer. The brake light mounts are welded on (see last pic) and I would have to slit the PVC pipe along the length to slide over the mounts. I should experiment with that idea.

I've included a before and after pic of the springs. The after pic is after two coats of rust converter and two coats of acrylic paint. The whole trailer has been coated with two coats of rust converter and two coats of paint. With a brush. By hand. Way more time than I should have spent for a boat trailer. But if it keeps the new trailer from rusting as bad as the original trailer maybe it was worth it.

I'm hoping to begin final assembly of the trailer today and I'll post some before and after pics when it's finally finished.

[Brucel]

I should look at my pics before I post them. The pics of the springs are with two coats of rust converter and without painting. I took the pics to show the effect of the rust converter on badly rusted parts. I think the rust converter worked well, at least visually. Time will tell if the rust converter truly made iron oxide into something else.

[Brucel]

The new Aslan trailer is mostly done, Ta-Da! I still have to run the wire loom for the lights as soon as I can find my fish tape. I've posted some before and after pics so people can see the difference. 

The rust converter worked well I think. I still have trouble with magic chemistry promising to cure all ills and make your life easy and wonderful. I guess that's because I spent my teenage years in the 60's. I've got a bunch of pics using the rust converter, maybe I should post my experience in the tools forum or something.

The next trick will be winching the boat from one trailer to the next. The plan at this point is to drop the old trailer tongue to the ground, back the new trailer over the tongue, and winch the boat to the new trailer. Sounds simple but I'm sure there will be lots of fussing when I get started on it. Can't wait.

[Hirilonde]

I think you will find that paint works reasonably well on the frame, but does nothing for the springs. The paint does not get between the leaves, but water does. Springs are often the first part to go, or hubs/bearings if they are not maintained.

[Brucel]

Thanks for the heads up Hirilondie. This whole trailer refurbishment is kind of an experiment because I've never used rust converter before. The springs were so rust clad I wanted to see if the converter really worked and if it would hold up to paint and water soaking. Springs flex under load so even if I rust converted and painted each leaf it would soon rub the paint off and be bare steel again. The springs are nice and flat and easy to see when what ever I do to them starts to fail.

All the moving parts on the trailer are subject to maintenance and I will keep an eye on the moving parts. I'll also keep an eye on the frame and parts that are solid, I don't want any holes in the frame like I have in the old trailer. I'm even going to have to do maintenance on the old trailer. I have to tow it 130 miles to it's final resting place and I don't want it falling apart on the freeway. One trailer falling apart on the freeway is one too many for me.

[Brucel]

The trailer swap is complete. The first pic is the line up, looks easy enough. First problem was the old winch tower, it was welded on. My sawzall took care of that in about 10 minutes. Unfortunately during the winching I got too busy to take pictures, things got a little hectic. I got Aslan half way over to the new trailer when the transom got really close to coming off the old side bunks. I still had about 7 feet to go before the hull would engage with the new side bunks, I had to bridge that gap.

I ran to Home Despot and got two 2x10s and clamped them between the two trailers side bunk supports. It was working great until the port 2x10 slipped its clamps and fell sideways. Working by myself I couldn't hold up the boat and re-clamp the board. The hull was just starting to engage the new bunk so I cranked through while grinding the port rub rail on the left tail light stand. Going to have to sand and re-finish about four feet of rub rail.

The next two pics show Aslan on the trailer before the final adjustments to the fore and aft position and the side bunks. The front view shows how tall the keel is and why it became such a problem to keep Aslan level. After the final adjustments the boat is rock solid on the trailer and seems like it belongs on that trailer.

The last picture shows why I spent two weeks fussing with a new used trailer. I just don't trust the old trailer with any kind of a load on it.

[Brucel]

Starting on the detail work prior to painting the deck. The cockpit details are done except for the rear hatch. The rear hatch is being re-glued before I do some heavy duty sanding to bring the lines back together. The hatch will take 2 days to re-glue then a day to cure before the belt sander.

The 3rd picture shows what's ahead for the cabin top. The grab rails will be scraped, sanded, and finished like the grab rails in the cockpit. The companion way hatch is a problem; I don't know if I'll be able to save the oak flooring on the top. If I have to replace the oak with plywood I will lose the bright work on the hatch. I'll have to do a edge treatment on the plywood and I'll have to find some plywood that would look good varnished. Worst case scenario I'll have to paint the hatch the same as the deck and cabin. It would look OK but I would rather it be varnished.

I'm determined to keep the hatch and door assembly that Frank developed. The door lifts and slides into the hatch and they both slide forward together to expose the companionway. You can just see the door inside the hatch as a white line. I really like that system, no door knocking around in the cabin when sailing.

[Brucel]

Another salvage job by me. The first pic is of the aft hatch cover before re-finishing the next three are after re-finishing. Because I do stupid things that hatch cover got finished on the morning of the third day. The first day I scraped off old varnish, planed the edges level, bondoed the crack and screw holes, and sanded. Then I varnished that mess and was ready to paint it the deck color. Bondo does not look good on oak.

Reset. Day two. I dug the bondo out of the screw holes and crack and headed of to Home Despot for wood buttons and wood putty. Installed the wood buttons and puttied the cracks and again sanded the hatch. Two coats of varnish and that was the end of day two.

Day three. Final coat of varnish outside and one coat on the inside. Assemble and mount on the transom, that's the look I was going for. Too bad I spent the first day messing up the looks of the hatch with bondo.

[Brucel]

More Aslan Salvage. The companion way cover. What a mess. I wasn't sure I could save it, I was thinking I was going to have to replace it with a plywood cover. I really liked the looks of it so I just got started on it hoping I could save it somehow.

Scraped off the old varnish and completely disassembled it. Put it back together after cleaning and truing up the joints. Went to the hardware store and bought some cans of wood putty and filled the joints with the putty. Disaster. Most of the joints developed cracks between the wood and putty. It's going to leak if I don't fix the cracks somehow.

Taking a cue from decks I've seen I decided to cut some mini dados along the joints and fill them with silicone. Looks pretty good and I cannot see daylight in the joints anymore. Still have to patch and sand the framework and then varnish everything. Hopefully the silicone will take the varnish.

[Hirilonde]

Oak stains easily and deeply, you would have had to remove way too much to get rid of all the black. If you want to keep the Oak bright, give it many coats of varnish and keep them up.

[Brucel]

The companionway cover is mostly finished, this is how its going to look. I still have work to do on the inside; some mechanical and a couple coats of varnish. I'll be painting the companionway door when I paint the deck as it will be painted the same as the deck. The joints have been glued and re-screwed and seems as solid as when I first got Aslan from Frank. All in all I think it's a good save and it looks good from 15 feet away.

You're right about the staining Hirilonde. Aslan sat outside under plastic tarps for about 10 years and you can see in previous pictures how bad I let it get. I've learned my lesson, maintenance is vital; for the boat and trailer.