Macatawa Bay Boat Works Premium Restoration 
Updated 06/02/2008
1950's Lightning Sail Boat

A very popular boat, this Lightning was brought to MBBW for a cosmetic restoration.  The all wood construction of this boat was well preserved.  The decks and hull sides are cedar covered in canvas.  Previous work has been done to the boat, it came to us partially disassembled.
factory photo (above);  MBBW customer boat before restoration (below)
MBBW has applied fairing putty to the hull sides to hide some old repairs and level things out. 
After fairing compound, the boat was sanded and painted with two coats of filling primer.  Sanded again, it is ready for the first coat of white paint, looking good...
The old canvas over the decks was not well attached so it was removed revealing the cedar sub deck below. 
Removal of the old deck in process. We removed the old sub deck made of cedar that was not attached with brass or stainless screws, but regular steel nails.  
Numerous frames will be repaired and reinforced before the new deck can go on. 
Bilge with fresh varnish 
Installing the king planks with 3M-5200 and stainless steel screws.  
Below is the ribbon strip mahogany that will make up the covering boards and king plank.  The undersides are sealed for protection and to prevent cupping prior to permanent installation.  
Screws will be covered with mahogany bungs from left over plank stock of the covering boards.  
The new deck installation is in progress and is made of book match ribbon stripe mahogany for symmetrical grain patterns.  It is attached with stainless steel screws and 3M-5200 adhesive.
Installing the new decks 
Beautiful book-matched ribbon stripe African Mahogany was used for dramatic grain patterns 
The inner decks are bleached blond and the king plank and covering boards are stained red-brown for a striking two tone affect 
Below, a detail of the inner decks:   B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L !!! 

This is surely one of the nicest Lightnings out there ...

Painting the red inlay hullside accent 
Installing the hardware 
Mast on and ready to go ... 

 

This project is complete and delivered to the customer in Memorial Weekend of 2008.  

Contact us today to see how we can help you with your restoration project.

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 Macatawa Bay Boat Works
297 S. Maple Street  Saugatuck, Michigan 49453
Phone:  (269) 857-4556  Fax: (269) 857-4218
e-mail:  sales@mbbw.com

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