February 21,2021

We received permission from the British National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London to reproduce (in low resolution) some of the plans, drawn by the Camper & Nicholsons shipyard from the museum’s archives. They come from the time of the launch in 1927 and from when Cynara was refitted at various times over the years (including proposals). We found this one that illustrates something we wrote about in an earlier post. These are the plans for the galley, from 1957 and the right half shows the placement of the cooking stove with the chimney rising at an angle before making its way through the skylight. The center piece of the skylight had to be wide enough for the chimney to pass through, so it was larger than the other skylights. The new cooking range doesn’t need a chimney, of course, but as the skylight was in good condition, we kept it as is.

Above is Hashimoto in the process of making the corners of the fiddles for the galley countertop. Cynara’s galley is on the port side, which some sailors believe to be the preferred side. It’s true that a port galley is preferable on a starboard tack, since a cook would find it easier to be leaning over his work rather than having to work uphill. But the opposite is true on a port tack, so the argument is probably moot.

Crew members being educated in keeping the winches in good condition.

While we’re on the topic of winches in good condition, this is the windlass before restoration.  Despite its aged appearance, it was fitted in Japan in 1995, and built by Ideal Windlass based in East Greenwich, Rhode Island in the US. We had it restored by Deep Blue Engineering, in Cornwall, UK, and we’re happy with the result (below).

Kawashima has finished the cabinet and the shelf in the Captain’s cabin (above) and is now working on the drawers and doors under the bunk (below).

Saito climbed the last to touch up some of the varnish and took a short break to shoot Cynara from above.

Paul is fitting the bench seats with lockers in the crew’s quarters (above). He’s now turning his attention to the benches themselves, as he’s planing the bench tops to fair the beveled edge (below).

Pascal polished the stainless steel trim that will make up the splash back now being installed around the galley counter (below).

More of the washroom fixtures have been installed, including the soap dishes and toothbrush holders. Like the other fixtures, they are made by Lefroy Brooks the manufacturer of classic British bathrooms. Everything is hand cast, hand forged, hand polished and assembled.

February 18,2021

Sail Training

Weather: Fair

Wind: 6-16 knots, West, West-southwest

Waves: 1.5-1.8 meters

Destination: Zushi

February 5, 2021

Everything that could be restored or repaired on Cynara has been used or is now being worked on. But we’ve found ways of recycling parts that were beyond repair or restoration as well. These are the former futtocks from the frame that now are part of the signage of Riviera’s boutique Malibu Hotel, located on the grounds of Riviera’s Zushi Marina, just up the coast from where Cynara is being restored.

The boom gallows for the mainmast boom had been in the tent for varnishing (above) but has now been installed on deck (below).

Pascual (above) was expressing the complexities of fitting all the plumbing for the toilet, shower, and sink in the confined space of the crew’s head, and his pleasure at spending lots of time in the bilge area underneath.

Then he went back to work shaping (above) and installing the custom-built stainless steel shower tray and drain (below).

Hashimoto finished installing the ceiling lights in the galley earlier in the week. Now he’s installing one of the pattresses (above) for the lights in the captain’s cabin and the crew cabin. The wiring will all be hidden. The ceiling lights in the saloon and galley all feature the same shellacked pattresses, finely detailed metalwork, and textured glass (below).

Kawashima continues shaping the African mahogany cabinet over the captain’s bunk. While he works on other parts, it is given a few coats of shellac (below) before its final installation.

After finishing the shower door for the owner’s cabin, with its elegant door handle (above) Paul turned his attention to the desk for the captain’s cabin (below).

Tatsumi, who prior to this project was a furniture maker in distant Hiroshima, is doing the seemingly endless task of installing latches, this on one of the doors of the galley cupboards. Just to give some idea of the number of locks and keys on Cynara, there are more than 50 locks just for the cabins—doors, cupboards, drawers, lockers, etc. That doesn’t include the saloon, galley, and captain’s and crew’s cabins.

The most elaborate locks on the cabin doors have covered escutcheons, while the ones on lockers (below), drawers, and cupboards have a simpler, though still elegant design, all in the same motif.