Blog — Monday , 25 January , 2021

January 25,2021

We’ve shown different steps in building and installing the table in the saloon, and thought we would bring everyone up to date now that it’s done. The table top is in three sections, and is newly made of mahogany after the old table top proved to be beyond repair and restoration. We chose some cross-cut (crown-cut) lumber that would complement the patterns in the highly figured original mahogany interior walls. At the moment, it is still a lighter tone than the original wooden walls in the saloon, but over time we think it will eventually be a seamless match.

The rest of the table—the base, the metal gimbal parts (above) and the box for the lead weight—is all original, as is the 35 kilograms of lead inside the box. The metal is brass that was sent off to the UK to have the nickel plate stripped and replated. Below is a better view of the weighted box that swings to keep the table top horizontal.

The wood grain in the mahogany table top.

Next door, a lot of progress has been made in the galley. Hashimoto is making the final adjustments in the installation of the oven range. Like the table in the saloon, the oven range is also gimballed (below) to stay horizontal.

Some blog readers might remember from an earlier entry that Cynara (or Gwendolyn as she was known at launch) originally had an iron, solid fuel stove with a chimney that rose up through the skylight  over the galley. The chimney is no longer necessary, but its why the galley skylight has such a wide central piece. The old gutters under the window frames next to where the stove pipe was at one time were slightly blackened.

Hashimoto is also making a ventilated shelf that fits over the microwave oven, and lets the heat dissipate.

Tatsumi has been making cupboard doors, which are mostly complete and waiting for varnishing, handles, and latches.

The stainless steel sink is in as well, so the space is is really starting to look like a galley.

In the captain’s cabin, Kawashima is building a small cupboard over the bed. It’s a more compact version than the original (below). Though it is very old, we think it was retrofitted at some point. It was cut through to fit around the beam, which made it weak, so we’re making the new one fit in the smaller space.