December 1-8, 2018

Now that the skylight bases have been assembled, Hashimoto is turning his attention to the frames for the glass. The frames had been originally assembled using natural products like linseed oil and red lead, so they were easy to take apart. We clean the pieces that are salvageable before making local repairs. Meanwhile, the joints are cleaned and reassembled. We could have used epoxy but decided not to since that would make them irreparable in the future without breaking them apart. We could have used liquid rubber adhesive but we’d have to wait for it to arrive. Instead, we used the old method of lead powder, linseed oil, wet varnish and calcium carbonate so the joints can be easily serviced in the future (if necessary).

Hashimoto is cleaning up after a local repair in the frame. The sashes have copper drain holes that allow rain water runoff from the glass to drain from the inside of the frame and out through the molded edge on the lower edge of the frame. These pipes had corroded and so the holes were bunged and new copper pipe fitted.

Graham tackles one of the large laminated frames that make up the counter stern. There is a lot of curve to these frames and our oak stock does not carry the crooks and bends in the grain that would accommodate them. The single frames in the stern, stem and some of the more shaped futtocks in the tuck of the hull are laminated oak. This is a little extra work but will make a very strong structure.

December 8-16 , 2018

Now that framing is almost complete, the double bilge stringers are being fitted. Mattis and Richard fit the first of the 6 ¾” x 2 ½” oak stringers. A second stringer will be fitted alongside. These are riveted through the frames and planks together. The stringers provide longitudinal strength along the center of the hull structure between the deck and the keel. Stringers are important structural components of any boat. With these installed, the hull will become much stronger in withstanding a possible side impact, such as a collision at sea. Also resistance to longitudinal hull twist will improve markedly at a cost of very little extra weight.

We attached a lifting eye in the stern chock making fitting and removal easy. Now the chock is permanently fastened to the horn timber that helps support the weight of the chock. More material will be removed from the chock to accommodate the deck planking and a final fairing will be needed after the planking is complete but for now, the chock is bedded onto the horning timber with lead putty and a bolt through the center.

Paul did a trial fit of the name and home port to check the font and the positioning. It’s obvious here that it is positioned too low on the chock. After consultation with the Mr. Watanabe, we decided to change the font. The coat of paint helps seal the exposed end grain of the teak and prevent any checking of the wood. It also shows the name better for positioning. Although this part of the chock is finished, some further fairing will be necessary after planking is complete.

An action shot of Mattis mid-rivet. 5/8” naval brass rod is used for the rivets on the stringers. The two smaller copper rivets seen are to secure the scarf ends where the old and new stringer sections meet.

Framing of the aft section is almost finished, with only one pair to fit.

December 20 , 2018

A temporary pine frame is fitted across the area where the last of the counter stern hull frames are to be fitted. Graham was getting some unexpected readings from his measurements in this area. We discovered that the ribbands had a flat spot where they spanned the gap either side of the frame he was measuring. We had to push the ribbands out by a few millimeters to restore fairness. The shape in this area is very complicated and maintaining fairness is crucial. A flat spot in the ribband would have meant a flat spot in the planking when attached. Or equally as bad, a plank with a gap between its inner surface and the frame face.

Ben takes a look at the engine mounts on our re-conditioned Yanmar. New mounts will be fitted and measurements are needed to set the new wooden engine beds correctly.

This iron floor dry fitted at the stem needs to fit snuggly against the timber. There will be another stringer under the end of the tang that’s floating mid-air. The original shipyard of Camper and Nicholsons would have had blacksmiths onsite or at least very close to hand when Cynara was built in 1927. But our iron workers were in the UK, thousands of miles away. The old floors had been sent to Topp & Co with patterns, and we trusted that they would fit when returned. To our relief they did. Most fitted well but there were a few discrepancies, which was inevitable for such complex shapes. In those cases, wooden shims are fitted to fill any voids.

Sometimes it’s necessary to bite the bullet. We are not sure what went wrong but to our disappointment we found that the top coat had not bonded to the primer and the paint was easily knocked off. We left it for some time in the hope that it hadn’t had enough time to completely dry, but it was soon clear that there was some other issue. The primer bonded to the timber and so it was not a contaminated timber issue. We had no choice but to remove the top coats and start over. This was a good lesson for all of us.

From now on, each coat would be monitored for the correct solvent percentage, and thermometers and moisture meters fitted around the workshop. Substrates would be checked for dust and grease. Painting would only be done if conditions were right. After this we had no further issues apart from small isolated areas. Sometimes it takes cleaning up a mistake to remember the basics. It’s also easy to forget that these planks are 90 years old and have been submerged in sea water and oil and grease. Happily, the repaint was successful and nobody wanted a repeat of this process.

November 1-4 , 2018

In order to replicate the finish of the interior mahogany-panelled bulkheads a small selection of panels were removed from various areas of the frames in various states of condition and sent to a lab in Letterfrack, a small village in Ireland. There, the panels were subjected to a detailed chemical analysis to determine exactly what finishes were originally used. The results showed that no stains were used in the finishing and the primary ingredient was pure shellac. An oil-based varnish had later been used over the shellac but was not original.

Some of the panelling and frames had suffered from fresh water damage from deck leaks, but happily the majority was salvageable. Large areas of original shellac were in remarkable good condition, but to get the job done practically and in a reasonable amount of time, we elected to strip the finish back to timber and start afresh. This would allow for localized repairs that would be easier to disguise under fine layers of fresh garnet shellac.

November 5-19 , 2018

Life inside the hull. New timber highlights the old as work in the lower bilge picks up momentum.

Short batons are nailed to the inside of frames to create footholds as work climbs out of the bilges.

 At the stem, framing is almost complete. Only one pair of single frames remain. the old wood stanchions that attach to the planking below deck and protrude above deck are temporarily refitted to show the height, spacing and position. With so much of the boat dismantled, the new stanchions cannot be absolute facsimiles of the old. Just moving them fore or aft an inch changes the shape but by comparing with the old we can see where adjustments are needed.

Jesper is working on a futtock on the exterior platform we built above the engineering workshop. The view is better and the air is cleaner than the noisy workshop just feet away. Our original plan was to cover this platform to create extra shop space but the tent company was concerned it could possibly be lost in typhoon winds, so we were left with our open air ‘viewing platform’. The space was useful but only on good weather days.

Hashimoto takes care leveling the dovetails on the passageway skylight. Not long ago the shabby deck furniture looked at the end of its useful life but now they are starting to look like the jewels they are. They have kept that ‘lived in’ look, or ‘patina’ that gives antique furniture it’s history and sets it apart from new furniture.

We feel that a “restored” yacht is just that. Effort must be made to salvage what’s possible so that the finished product can be recognized as a vintage yacht, not just a rebuild in the footprint of the old structure. This is not always possible or practical but each piece is carefully assessed for its condition and potential value to the overall structure if kept and restored. Deciding what to keep and what to discard was a difficult lesson for the young Japanese carpenters. It’s not something that is easy to explain and even experienced restorers can have moments of indecision when evaluating antique yacht furniture and its associated fittings. Scars and visible repairs are inevitable but as long as they don’t affect the function and strength of a piece then they can be accepted. As long as repairs are done well, an honest repair will not only blend in and disappear, it will become part of the story.

Unfortunately, the gutters on the galley skylight had suffered and had to be replaced (above). They had been scorched and charred from the heat of the iron stove pipe that once passed through the top of the skylight. As you can see in the photo below, the top (which Hashimoto is working on) was made wider than the others in order to accommodate the pipe. Though the iron stove in the galley and its chimney had long been removed and the top replaced, the charred gutters remained. Although the history was interesting the charred wood was no longer serviceable.

The underside of the top of the galley skylight and the crown of the passageway skylight are sealed with varnish before they are fitted.

Outside in the yard, Graham turns his attention the nose of the ballast keel. The end of the keel had broken where a bolt had passed through. We toyed with the idea of replacing with timber and discarding the broken piece but in the end opted to replace with lead. Graham cuts off the offending piece and cuts a small step in the keel.

Then a wooden form is made that will be cast in lead. The new lead piece will have a mating step cast in and so when the bolt is refitted, tightening the bolt will pull against the bulk of the ballast and lock the end of the ballast keel and the new piece together.

Above is the broken piece. Below is the wooden form that will be cast in lead to replace it.

Paul is removing the last of the excess material from the outer face of the chock. Before the first fit, a template is pinned to the face to check its shape in relation to the hull. This is far easier than hauling the chock up to check the shape against the ship.

The first dry fit. The triangulated timber frame attaches to one of the transom frames and the apex is securely fixed to one of the H beams that make up the roof of the tent. This helps keep the stern locked into position. Without the planking for support, the heavy chock is only held by the tenon on the end of the horn timber which could be easily twisted under the weight of the chock.

Above and below:  The chock still needs a final fitting and more material removed but after it’s fitted to the tenon in the horn timber and the profile checked, it’s a relief to know that the shape is on track.

Cutting futtocks becomes harder and harder as they get higher in the bilge. Temporary and precarious work platforms appear wherever a flat surface is needed.

After the laminates leave the container and are considered dry, they are machined to a final thickness. They are then moved to the office next to the laminating room where they can be stacked in a temperature-controlled environment. Here they are graded from good to bad depending on how flat they are and if they have defects. A defect or a twist does not mean they are discarded, it allows the laminating team to select laminates and spread any defects evenly. A small knot or even a small shake is not a problem as long as there are no other defects in adjacent laminates. Discarding laminates for a small defect in one part would mean scrapping most of the material. This is not an option. If we used only the best at the beginning the last beams would be riddled with defects. Some laminates are relegated to the ‘use only if absolutely no other options pile’ but we have enough stock of good laminates not to be concerned.

November 19-25 , 2018

Some of the last laminated single frames are trimmed and fitted by Lewis. The single frames can be the trickiest as they are long, have long rolling bevels and need to be cut to the correct length with no second chances. Any change in the position of the frame against the ribbands means that the frame simply will not fit.

Above, the moldings that secure the glass into the hatch windows are removed and labelled. It is likely they will be replaced, but the old ones are kept for reference, along with the brass strips that are part of the weather proofing.

The bilge area where the engine room will be. This is painted first so that the engine room can be set out and engine beds can be considered.

New teak stock arrives in preparation for deck work.

November 26 – December 2 , 2018

The prop-shaft lies in the bilge as plans are finalized for alignment. With the propeller offset to one side of the rudder, the shaft comes into the boat at a shallow angle. This means the engine beds will need to be slightly skewed or big enough to allow for the engine to sit slightly off centre to align the shaft. Below shows the offset from centre in the propeller shaft.

The stern tube is ready to have the stern gland and drive train fitted. With the bilge paint being applied under the engine area, the stern tube and propeller shaft are made ready. The next step here is engine beds and shaft alignment.

Meanwhile, Paul is doing some fine tuning on the chock (above) now that the first fit has confirmed the shape. The tent is minimalist in every way, and too small for a crane, so

any heavy object lift such as this one entailed long hours of strengthening and preparation of the roof beams directly overhead before attaching the chain blocks.

Once lifted to fitting height, the final shaping and pre-attachment smoothing of the chock by Paul was all done high on the scaffold. Even the overturning (above) was done here.

New tanks in stainless steel fabricated by a local manufacturer arrive.

They will be pressure tested and kept clean while awaiting installation of tank beds in the bilge.

October 1-15 , 2018

Kawashima is working on a plank that has had a new end scarphed and glued on. The scarphs are placed over a frame so that mechanical fasteners can be used through the joint into the frame. This ensures that should the glue ever fail, there would be a nail or a rivet to prevent the end of the plank from springing. We have confidence in the glue, but it’s always good to have mechanical fastenings to back it up. Kawashima uses a baton to check that the new plank section is fair with the old.

Deck beam laminations are now ready for the glue table. After carefully checking the moisture levels, the face of each laminate is scratched using a wooden plane with an old hack saw blade instead of a normal blade. The laminate face is scratched diagonally on both sides, creating a larger glue surface and allowing the glue to penetrate deeper into the wood fiber. Care is taken when setting the blade in the plane, because too deep of a scratch can break the fibers.

The first deck beams are in production

Graham Bailey, a highly skilled and talented Irish shipwright and experienced sailor has joined our team. Here he drills the holes through the frames that will take the copper rivets that hold the floors. The rivets will pass through the floor, the frame, and the plank—so great care is taken to miss any existing fasteners.

Before the planks are refastened, each existing hole needs attention. The hole must be clean and the counterbore that will take the bung must be clean, round and of a consistent size. If necessary, holes are bunged and re-drilled. Some holes may be filled and discarded completely. Each hole must be identified as to its purpose, whether it’s a dump or rivet. The copper rivets holding the hardware are larger than the naval brass rivets used to hold the planks so they need to be marked. Holes that have been bunged and repaired with graving pieces are re-drilled.

At the stern, the new chock is taking shape (above left) to replace the old one (right). Its weight is too much for one person, so a lifting ring is fitted at each end so that the pieces can be swung on a chain. Trying to keep waste to a minimum is a challenge. Although there are several pieces in this log, only one joint will be visible at the end in the same place as the original. The original stern chock (or archboard) was two pieces securely bolted together. Although we have used glue to bond the teak, bolts will be used again to secure the two main logs, as relying completely on glue for such an exposed and structural piece would be worrying.

Although the original chock looks to be in reasonable condition, it had some problems that were not practical to repair. Many cracks and splits emerged over the years and many local repairs were made. The area around the mortice that attaches the chock to the horn timber tenon had water ingress. So many repairs would have been necessary that it was decided to start fresh.

Jesper is doing some caulking at the stern (above and below). Although the planking is not finished the caulking process is started on some of the broad strakes at the stern and butt joints.

October 15-22 , 2018

Paul has turned the stern chock over to cut away material and start the shaping process (above).  A chain saw is used to kerf waste material so it can be removed quickly.

With Graham joining the planking team, the speed goes up a notch.

Makoto and masa have a system in place for plank repairs. Each plank is numbered and stacked in order. As each strake is fitted, the next set of planks are laid out and the necessary treatments are carried out. Each plank has its own unique issues and it’s a skill to identify each problem and come up with an effective and fast solution.

Work on the deck furniture is moving forward as original deck hatches and skylights start to be re-assembled. The passageway skylight (above) is held with clamps to keep it square. Wet varnish, red lead and linseed oil putty is used in the joints. A 3/8-inch Naval brass rod will be driven down through the dovetail joints to keep them from separating.

Fresh oak arrives from the UK to replenish our fast diminishing stock. The amount of lumber that goes into restorations is always surprising.

October 22-29 , 2018

Paul at work on the stern chock (above and below).

The lowest curved section (with the wooden plane lying on top) will be at the finished deck height. At the top of the gentle slope up is where the taffrail will sweep around the back of the boat. The brown oxidized line through the middle of the of the freshly cut timber shows the joint between the two logs that will be visible in the finished piece. Freshly cut teak is pale compared to older exposed surfaces and will quickly get darker when left to the air. It does help show the grain in these pieces nicely.

The chock is flipped and more material is removed from the back. It gets lighter everyday but it is still a weighty piece. The old chock stands by.

Mattis (foreground) and Graham thread a plank through the scaffold.

September 10-17, 2018

Some of the approximately 5 tons of lead ballast (above) that was removed from Cynara’s bilge. Internal ballast would be redistributed later to account for the new systems, the tanks and machinery layout.

As the planking work makes its way up the hull, the scaffold has made the work easier. There is a patter in the planking: each plank has two dumps and one rivet at each frame pair. The pattern is arranged so that the rivets are placed alternatively on the forward and after frames, and top and bottom of the plank. Each rivet is also arranged so that it alternately passes through the forward and after futtock in the vertical direction as well. If that sounds confusing, it is, especially when we use existing holes.

The oak transoms are now finished and fitted to the new horn timber section and primed. They still need final fairing into the hull and deck, but now the after end of the ship starts to take shape.

The new horn timber section (above) is housed into a temporary pine log to hold everything, including the ends of the ribbands, in position. Several of the single frames can be seen poking above the sheer line.

The new stern tube has been fitted and the alignment of the engine beds can begin.

This section of galley skylight hatch (above) has been veneered on its inside face. Deep scarring and scratches were revealed when the paint was removed. Although some patina is desirable in a historic vessel restoration, ugly scarring and damage from previously careless work is not. The piece was rendered unvarnishable (which is probably why it was painted) but we’ve cleaned the surface and used a teak veneer to cover the damaged surface. The hatch itself is still original but the interior will look clean and fresh under the varnish.

September 17-23 , 2018

Laminates for the deck beams are accumulating in our mini-kiln. It takes several weeks to produce useful laminates.

A deck camber gauge has been made in plywood (above) to show the shape of the deck beams. The crown of the deck is about 6 inches over approximately 18 feet. That sounds like a lot but that’s the way it was drawn by Nicholson and after the beams are fitted, the proportions will look right with the size of the ship. The old deck beams couldn’t be used because their shape was distorted over the years.

Kawashima is fairing a plank edge. We refair the planks before they are refitted because the caulking process can create a groove and raise points in the edge of the plank. Sometimes a few millimeters are lost, so a new edge is glued onto alternate planks to avoid accumulated error. On some planks it’s easier to take 15mm off and glue a new edge on.

Paul is fitting a plank of new wood. Despite most of the planking being in reasonable condition, there were a few spots where there was a need for new wood. Cynara was built in accordance with Lloyds of London rules, which dictates the size of timbers, types of materials, size of fasteners, etc., for different classes of ships. Cynara is classified as Lloyds A1, which has rules about where the butt joints in the planks are situated. We’ve made sure that the butt joint’s locations follow the correct patter, which is two frames between each butt joint and three planks between each joint on the same frame. This is a factor in whether to replace an entire plank or not. It also leaves a pleasing pattern but these will eventually be invisible after the plank seams are splined.

Teak pieces have been cut and laid out for Paul to begin work on the stern chock. Smaller pieces are glued together to make up the full depth of the chock. Most of the wood will eventually be cut away as the complicated shape of the chock has no straight edges at all.

August 27-Sep 2 , 2018

With the new horn timber section in place the transoms can now be fitted. Only the lower half of the transoms have been laminated at this stage, so these are being checked in their positions against the timber ribbands fitted on the hull.

A view from the tent scaffold at Cynara’s stern shows progress, with fresh and painted new timber standing out against the stained and blackened old wood.

In the joinery tent next door, the engine room companionway hatch is about to get its makeover. Paul and Hashimoto discuss the way forward.

Paul and Ben on a visit to a lumber yard north of Tokyo, which had a good selection of teak. We take care to find pieces that can be most efficiently used, with the least amount of waste. Teak is rightly valuable (at least until new forests are planted) and this makes the selection stressful. We have to hope that there are no hidden defects hiding in the center of the purchased lumber, which will only be revealed after cutting.

Each piece is marked with its hopeful final destination (above and below). We need timber for washstrakes, capping rails, and coverboards and all require clean, long lengths. The perfect tree is impossible to find and defects in the timber are inevitable. We mark the defects and hope that we can work around them with careful planning.

August 13-19 , 2018

Richard makes minor adjustments to one of the housings or ‘boxes’ in the new stem section that will take the new frame foot.

Mattis starts to fit single frames in the counter stern. It’s difficult to see here but the centerpiece of the hull in the stern (the horning timber) has been removed and will be replaced. The end of the timber was distorted and had defects that had not stood the test of time, so the aftermost half was removed and a new piece attached with a large scarph joint.

Paul and pascal feed the new horn timber section up between the planks through the open centerline in the counter stern for a test fit. If the horn timber is not centered correctly the entire stern and anything built here in the future will be off-center.

An infill piece above the shaft log fills the space above the shaft log and conceals the rudder tube that passes down through it. It completes the skeg section that is the top part of the rudder assembly. With Cynara’s unusual offset propeller shaft arrangement, the top third of the rudder is fixed and the rudder operates below the shaft exit.

Cynara’s rudder swings below the shaft log (above), which places the propeller after the rudder.

With the stem now in place, plank lines have to be set to ensure that the deck line remains true to the drawing, and the original planks can now be refitted in the same position they were in before removal.

Now that the lines have been checked and established in the bow section, Ben fits the four short single frames closes to the stem head. These are the smallest frames on the boat.

The stem head is waiting to accommodate the future bulwarks and bowsprit.