Thursday, August 22

Ben has started drilling holes through the 6mm thick stainless steel of the fuel tank to attach a fuel level sensor and air vents.

The cylindrical hatch to the anchor locker is now in the installation stage.

Monday, August 26

(Above) The base of the galley skylight that  we’ve been restoring in the neighboring tent has been moved for installation on the deck.

Paul began work on cutting the ship’s O.N. number (the Official Number found in the Lloyds register) into the beam at the crew companionway.

Tuesday, August 27

Along with the bases of other hatches, the deckhouse frame was placed on the deck, its position was checked and fine adjustments began. Suddenly the deck has become three dimensional.

Paul continues the engraving work (which we’ll show you in a later entry).

Wednesday, August 28

Coverboard sanding and hatch fitting.

Chuck (above) and Nat are returning home on September 6, so they’re storing much of their finished work which won’t be used until they return next year in time to set up the rigging.

Friday, August 30

We had a meeting with a domestic electric company first thing in the morning today.
From next week, work on the wiring will begin in earnest.

Wednesday, August 14 , 2019

The production and installation of the cover boards are proceeding smoothly.
Steadily, every day, long teak planks are sawn, adjusted and dry fitted to the ship.

Paul and other members of the team are setting out the heights for the main house sole, or floor. This has to be done carefully, as we will be using the original parts and the stairway.

Thursday, August 15 , 2019

Ian continues his piping work, which means working in the tightest corners and conditions.

Hashimoto continues his work on the cylindrical hatch. The new one will replicate the original, which was badly cracked, but without its iron fastenings.

Cleaning up the joins on the main deckhouse.

Ben continues to split his time between working on attaching the hardware to the mast and checking the condition of the engine system.

Friday, August 16 , 2019

The same three craftsmen continue with making the cover boards. All the teak planks have now been used.

Monday, August 19 , 2019

Work on the stairs (above) and the skylight (below) is ongoing, but varnish is being applied to keep it clean prior to installation. We’re in what is usually the hottest part of the summer but the days have cooled off a little. Some of the team were able to escape work over the weekend and enjoy a fireworks festival held nearby.

Tuesday, August 20 , 2019

(Above) Glue is mixed and spread along the deck edge to bond the cover board to the sub deck. This glue alone would be strong enough but we are also using bronze wood screws as this is the best way to hold the teak while the glue cures.

Hashimoto is stripping old shellac from a door frame with alcohol.

Wednesday, August 21 , 2019 

The coverboard is bonded to the sub-deck. Taping the stanchions helps keep the glue away from them as they will be varnished and dried glue will be difficult to remove.

Today, Lewis, Mattis and Richard are fitting the coverboards over the stanchions….

epair work on the interior fittings varies in size and materials. When new materials are necessary, teak is replaced with teak, mahogany with mahogany and poplar with poplar.

Wednesday, August 7 , 2019

Lewis and Richard began sanding the surface of the subdeck. Batons (long straight sticks that bend evenly) are used to check for high and low spots.

The floor has been fitted, though some panels will be lifted to access the pipe work when necessary. Stairs have been installed (below), which has improved access to the interior.

Chuck and Nat are winding the wire for the standing rigging. Chuck says that after 3 days, he needs a day spent on other work in order for his fingers to recover.

Monday August 12, 2019

The holes from the screws used to attach the subdeck were filled with epoxy this morning. After all the surfaces are smooth and even, the teak deck will be installed.

All the exposed edges of plywood, such as that for the circular sail locker hatch (top) are lined with teak which is epoxied in place. This prevents water penetrating into the end grain of the plywood. Plywood’s weakness is that water will travel in all directions as the grain in each layer of the plywood alternates at 90º.

Tuesday, August 13 , 2019 

Lewis, Richard, and Mattis are working on the coverboards. The teak for the coverboards is a valuable piece of wood about 7 meters long that was purchased last year, and Paul has been planning to use it for this since then.

Ian is working on the piping under the floor.

More interior walls, which are not in bad shape for their 90 years of age, but not quite good enough for restoration.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Preparing the interior floor, or sole, which will be laid in two phases. These 19mm plywood panels are cut, fitted and then painted before being installed. The painted side will face down toward the bilge so it can be kept clean and bright.

Sole bearers are the beams that support the flooring, and they are also painted. These are the bearers that span the tank area.

The subdeck (above) has been laid. The underside of the subdeck was lined with Canadian cedar to imitate a traditionally laid deck. The subdeck itself is 19mm plywood from Bruynzeel, Holland, which is one of the world’s best manufacturers of quality plywood. When the top layer of teak planking is laid, the deck will consist of three layers, resulting in a very strong structure.

The engineering-related parts have been grouped and labeled, prior to installment.

Friday, August 2, 2019

Mattis is installing the portholes.

Work on the inboard flooring continues. We had a meeting with a steelmaker today to discuss how to strap the tanks down using steel bands attached to the ship’s wooden frames and bearers that cary the tanks.

The priming of the bottom of the hull is done, and will eventually be painted red as before.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Hashimoto is repairing the window frames of the main deckhouse. Most of the original parts are of good quality and can be restored and used. The teak planking that forms the outer layer of the cabin top will be replaced, however—not because of rot or damage—but years of sanding has left the planking thin and uneven.

Mattis’ porthole restoration is proceeding. He’s working very methodically, making slight adjustments to make it perfect.

Tuesday, August 6 , 2019

Work on the piping has begun, and Paul was using a laser beam to establish datums for level and vertical measurements.

Ian started working on underfloor piping today.

The Japanese team members are removing paint from old walls to get a clear look at the panels and see if any were salvageable. It was decided that it would be better to build all new panels, which will give us the added advantage of making the panels to size and making any changes with having to adapt the original ones. The original frames were made of poplar so we’ll make the new ones of poplar too.

We discovered that the panels within the frames were made of Masonite, an early form of hardboard that was a precursor to modern MDF (medium density fiberboard) that was a brand new product when the boat was made in 1927. Amazingly, some of these panels are in good shape and could be used again, but we decided to replace them with panels made of Tricoya. Tricoya has the appearance of MDF, but it’s completely impervious to water as it’s flat and grainless. It’s also a brand new product, so we feel there’s a certain symmetry to the choice.

The completed subdeck can be seen in full (above).

Nat (above) is working on the rigging wires in the mast tent.