Ashley River Boatworks

Ashley River Boatworks Small Boat Repair and Restoration We build, repair and restore small boats. From hull and structural work, to engines, systems and electrical work.

From fiberglass to wood to cold-molded epoxy boats, we do a bit of everything.

Applying Nonskid for the Palm Beach 22I've been in painting mode for the past week. Now it's time to apply nonskid to t...
04/21/2026

Applying Nonskid for the Palm Beach 22

I've been in painting mode for the past week. Now it's time to apply nonskid to the engine compartment sole pieces. You can see me making the patterns for these pieces in this post from a while ago....

How to apply nonskid to your boat's deck or any other surface

Compound Bevels for Deck Beam Glue BlocksWow! That title is a mouthful isn't it? It occurred to me when I was making g...
02/15/2026

Compound Bevels for Deck Beam Glue Blocks

Wow! That title is a mouthful isn't it? It occurred to me when I was making glue blocks for some of the deck beams that this is a perfect opportunity to talk about how the proper use of a few tools makes cutting and fitting bevels easier than it looks. I used to think that the way pros got such tight fitting joints (when they weren't standard angles, like 90°) was by simple trial and error. ...

Compound bevel angles look hard, but if you break it down into two separate angles, it's pretty straightforward. This is how I approach the problem.

Deck Beams for the PB22It's time to start working on the deck. And the first step is to make the deck beams. You might...
01/19/2026

Deck Beams for the PB22

It's time to start working on the deck. And the first step is to make the deck beams. You might think the shape of the deck beams is a simple curve that's given to you in the plans, and you'd be right--kind of. You're given the curve of the deck in the profile view in the lines drawing, and from that you can derive the deck beams curves using your…...

Patterning and fitting the deck beams for a 22 foot mahogany runabout

01/14/2024

Remember long ago (by now it seems long ago to me) when I talked about the painstaking process of making patterns out of cheap 1/8" luan? My process was to use the 1/8" luan to make my original patterns because it's so pliable and easy to carve to shape. But by now, you realize how much time and energy is invested in…...

Patterning and cutting out foredeck pieces for a Riva Iseo is a multi step process. This is part 4 in a series of posts about that process.

01/10/2024

Having settled on the option of hand laying the deck, it was time to start milling wood. Take a look back at the first post in this series, Working on the Riva Foredeck. Look closely at the picture of the overall deck. See how the pinstripe holly lines are symmetrical about the centerline, and how they line up fore and aft from the outboard panels to the center panels? ...

Laying up a holly and mahogany deck by hand. We discuss milling the wood, and laying it up and laminating it to a backing of marine plywood.

11/13/2023

Working on the Riva Foredeck

I'm restoring the foredeck for a 2013 Riva Iseo. I talked about working on the swim platform in my previous post, where I said we'd discuss options for the foredeck next. I thought briefly about trying to repair those bad patches, but I decided against that option because I would have to strip the e...

One fine June day, a 2013 Riva Iseo showed up at the shop after the owner asked if I could do varnish work on a wooden d...
10/29/2023

One fine June day, a 2013 Riva Iseo showed up at the shop after the owner asked if I could do varnish work on a wooden deck. He had purchased the boat used from someone in Miami, FL....

A Riva Iseo comes into the shop for restoration of her woodwork. The boat originally lived in Miami, FL where the sun is particularly harsh.

Boat motors use the water they're floating in to cool them. Some, like most outboards, have what's called a "raw water"...
05/21/2023

Boat motors use the water they're floating in to cool them. Some, like most outboards, have what's called a "raw water" system. The water the boat is floating in circulates through the engine block, then exits with the exhaust. Most modern inboards have a "fresh water" or "indirect" cooling system. In this system, coolant like that in your automobile is pumped through a heat exchanger. ...

Boat motors use the water they're floating in to cool them. Some, like most outboards, have what's called a "raw water" system. The water the boat is floating in circulates through the engine block, then exits with the exhaust. Most modern inboards have a "fresh water" or "indirect" cooling system.....

I've done all I can to the hull from the outside. So it's time to flip the boat upright so I can start working from the...
04/02/2023

I've done all I can to the hull from the outside. So it's time to flip the boat upright so I can start working from the inside. To prepare for this, I've made 3 cradles to hold the boat in position once its upright. I used the patterns for some of the frames with one placed directly under where the engine will be mounted. ...

I've done all I can to the hull from the outside. So it's time to flip the boat upright so I can start working from the inside. To prepare for this, I've made 3 cradles to hold the boat in position once its upright. I used the patterns for some of the frames with one

At some point, if you're going to build a boat, you're going to have to put some holes in it. It just doesn't seem natu...
03/05/2023

At some point, if you're going to build a boat, you're going to have to put some holes in it. It just doesn't seem natural at first. But it gets easier the more you do it. Best to get it right the first time though....

At some point, if you're going to build a boat, you're going to have to put some holes in it. It just doesn't seem natural at first. But it gets easier the more you do it. Best to get it right the first time though. Boring a hole for the propeller shaft at a

Address

4541 Savannah Highway, Unit 3, Bldg 1
Charleston, SC
29470

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(843) 789-0511

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