October 12 to 18

There was a hole in a saloon cabinet where a radio was fitted sometime in the past, most likely in the 1950s or 60s. We considered various ideas before deciding to place modern stereo speakers behind this grill (with the same elegant pattern as the air conditioning vents) and fit a small, modern radio in the cabinet beneath.

Kawashima has finished some of the 27 drawers for the cabinets in the various cabins.

Hashimoto is making a cover to hide one of the wrought iron knees in the cabin ceiling (below).

Tatsumi is making fiddles for one of the shelves in the aft cabins that completes the box around the steel engine room bulkhead.

October 19 to 25

Stoppers have been installed in the saloon cabinets to hold the tableware in place.

There are a number of sliding pocket doors that save space but require innovative solutions for installation.

Kawaragi came from Zushi Marina to check the engine, electrical systems and discuss future maintenance and inspection methods.

Tatsumi is adjusting the sliding doors before installation.

October 5 to October 11

The fixtures have been installed for the sinks (above) and showers (below).

Hashimoto has been cutting holes to install the electric switches.

Makoto is stripping and cleaning the old shellac from the door panel moldings.

Usui and Koiwai are stripping the varnish which was applied over the years on top of the original shellac. Removing the varnish requires some aggressive treatment to get down to the original shellac, which is removed more carefully. The finish of the interior is all being done in shellac.

This shows the surface before restoration with varnish added over the original shellac surface.

This is what the interior looks like after the surface has been stripped, cleaned and given a fresh coat of shellac.

September 14 to September 20

On the deck, we set up the table to check that everything fit. We’ll cut the legs to the right length accounting for the deck camber. We also checked the position to see how the chairs fit around the hatches. The table is designed to fold with the legs stored inside.

Animal fat is used on the leather covers of the blocks and stays.

September 21 to September 27

Samples of the tableware were placed in the cupboards to check the final fitting.

The cabinet door frames are lined up for shellacking.

September 28 to October 4

The legs of the deck table are being varnished by some team members.

Hashimoto began installing the sinks in the washrooms. These are new, but meant to blend with the overall classic look.

September 7 to September 13

Kawashima continues to work on the drawers that are going under the main house sole in the starboard guest cabin. There were lockers here (probably from the 1950s), but the original drawings showed drawers. So we took out the lockers and reinstated the sets of drawers.

The crew is giving parts of Cynara a thorough polish before taking her out.

Hashimoto is finishing up the cupboards that will hold the cups, and tests the cutouts that include space for the cup handles (below)

Tatsumi has completed making the doors for the cabinets under the washstands.

Hashimoto has the task of shellacking all the cabinet shelves (above and below).

Lewis is finishing up one of the compact seats that fit next to the bed in the two aft guest cabins.

The crew took the winch apart for maintenance, removing the old grease and applying new.