Monday, July 15, 2019

 We started preparing for laying the teak deck today. Cleaning the entire inside of the tent and inside the ship. We’ll install the sole, or floor, this week so that we can proceed with the electrical wiring work.

We changed the height of the scaffolding so that a worker on the scaffold would have the height of the deck at his waist to allow painting.

And work on the subdeck picked up the pace.

Mast fittings are drying after receiving a coat of paint.

The wires that support the mast have arrived and Nat’s preparing to start work on them.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Takamiya is talking to Nico and Lewis about their work on the subdeck.

The sole bearers have joints in them where fore and aft beams meet beams athwartship, or across the width of the boat. They are half laps and a router is used to remove material and then the corners are squared off with a chisel.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Stainless steel brackets were custom made to carry the hot water tanks in the engine room. This is where the fuel tanks were originally but they are now in the main bilge.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Almost all the teak that will be used for the deck planks has arrived from the UK. While work continued on the sub-deck, Paul went to check on the teak from a local source that will be used for the coverboard and king planks (wide boards that run along the centerline).

Mattis has been working on the sole bearers since yesterday with Kawashima.

At Matsui, a local lumberyard, we had the teak material we bought last year cut for coverboards, king planks, capping rails, washboards, bulwarks and more. While we were there, we cut several pieces. Depending on the grain of the timber and what was revealed during sawing, we would sometimes cut one piece of teak into two separate items. The machines that Matsui uses are very old but still working perfectly. Large sections are placed on an iron bed which runs on rails and drawn through a large bandsaw.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Nico sets out the king plank for the cedar deck lining.

Kawashima and more sole bearers.

Paul and Ben praised the work Hashimoto has done on the deckhouse.

Monday, July 8, 2019

There are two teams—Lewis and Nico, and Richard and Michael—working on the plywood subdeck. They’ve made a table on the deck where they can cut the sheets of plywood.

Chuck is also on the deck, making measurements for the masts and rigging.

Back in the engine room, with Richard.  We are now working with steelmakers to manufacture mounting platforms for the pumps. Everything is at an angle and must be fitted level.

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

A cedar lining is being bonded to the underside of the sub-deck to mimic the planking that would be visible if the deck was laid traditionally.

Work continues on the sole bearers. There are many of them and they all have to be level and at the correct height. The sole is level from the engine room to the main saloon where it changes to a slight angle and rises to the bow.

Ben and Ian are discussing the fairing and the centerline at the stem. The bobstay (the part of the rigging that counteracts the upward tension on the bowsprit) must be fitted dead center on the stem. So the fairing must be very carefully or the leading edge of the stem will not be at the center of the boat.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Lewis and Nico are applying a coat of undercoat to the cedar lining of the sub-deck, a task that is much easier done now than when it is the ceiling after installation. The tape is to keep paint off of the places where the sub-deck will be bonded to the beams.

Leo is preparing long boards for fairing the hull. He pastes sandpaper on a long thin boards, which other team members are using on the hull (below).

Thursday, July 11, 2019

The deck is seeing a constant parade of shipwrights, carpenters, engineers, and steelmakers working on various parts of the boat.

Paul engraved the words “CERTIFIED BOATSWAIN’S STORE. 98/100 TONS” on a sail locker beam, tracing the letters from the original carving.  The boatswain (today’s “bosun”) is responsible for the sails and the rigging.

Nat is in the mast workshop, painting mast fittings.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Nico and Lewis are still working on the cedar lining of the subdeck.

While Paul and Ian are discussing fairing the hood ends of the planking into the stern chock. The hood ends are where the ends of the hull planks run into the stem.

Cynara is definitely beginning to take shape.

Monday, July 1, 2019

The tanks have been lowered to where they are sitting on the tank bearers in the bilge. Later, stainless steel straps will be used to secure them in place.

The deck beams have many bolts, rivets, and fasteners through them, and places that would show in the interior cabins are set below the surface and bunged (plugged). Here the team is going around and touching up the paint on those spots.

The first coat of undercoat has been painted on the port side of the hull. The seams between the hull planks have become completely invisible.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Ian and the Sterling and Son team have started on the final fairing of the starboard side. In the lower picture, the teak splines made from wood from the old teak deck and inserted into the plank seams can be seen. These seams are caulked with oakum the same as normal, but above the waterline splines are inserted to help hide the plank seams after painting.

Paul is holding a meeting on the deck, discussing the imminent sub-deck installation.

Nat is applying another coat of varnish to one of the masts. They expect to apply 12 coats of varnish before they’re done.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

These are the cut-outs on the main mast, which will take the internal load plates of the original wrought iron “Lower Doubler.” They support the loads transferred from the lower stays and prevent any twisting or rotation of the fitting on the mast.

Work on the main deckhouse continues in the interior restoration tent. This is the teak-paneled front with a central window.

The heat and humidity are high inside the hull, where the sole bearers are being installed. Fans help a little.

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Michael and Richard have begun laying the plywood subdeck from the bow back.

Lewis and Nico are lining the sail locker in the stern with wooden slats to provide something to crawl around on. It’s a cramped space for sail bags and lines. The slats stop sail bags, etc., from lying directly against the hull and they are clearly marked in the original drawings (below).

Richard is laying the sub-deck.

Friday, July 5, 2019

The first coat of primer is now being painted on the starboard top side.