more work...

Day Two

Today work started in earnest on removing the rail, pin rail and starboard bulwarks.  With Sam having made a really good job of constructing this in the eighties, the work is hard as well as heart-breaking - the feeling being that it shouldn't have been necessary.  The good news is that some of the wood can be salvaged, and most of the rail can be refurbished.  Just need to be sure that all the rotten pieces of wood are removed.

Starboard chain-plates have now been removed and stored on deck.  There is a possibility that they can be reused, but they are in poor shape.  Some of the stainless steel screws have been saved and can be used again.

plateful of screws

The spars that had been suspended in the roof of the tent were taken down by block and tackle and are now safely stored on deck.  Some dead eyes which we had made in the seventies are still around and can be reused.  Sadly, the standing rigging which we renewed in '93 and had expected that it should have been good for fifty years because it had been greased, wormed, parcelled and served properly, was all gone -  most likely when her mast was cut down by ten feet. The current standing rigging which is bare wire, will need work if it is to be reused.  Her running rigging and blocks were gone which will all have to replaced in the future.

The day ended with the rail and palings being completely  removed from the stern.  The centre piece of the rail was removed in one piece, and most of the rail can be saved with some love and care!   Work began on removing the beautiful oak transit rail at the stern - not an easy task! One section can probably be used again, but the port side is rotten.

The photos may look rather shocking, but we are confident that the situation is mostly cosmetic - fundamentally, her hull and frames are still sound, due to her extraordinary builders, the Worfolk Brothers, and the quality of the timber used 100 years ago.  She still has 100% of her original grown oak frames, and 70% of her planking.  

Showing off her very fine lines!

Happy in their work!

Day One of Restoration work 2016

First day doing some positive work of restoration at last.  Feels good to me to be doing something practical instead of admin and funding bids.

Storm Imogen raging last night and still quite fierce today.  Very cold and windy - see video footage!  But a  very successful day with Gareth and Sam putting up scaffolding that has been loaned to us by James Youngman, owner of the yacht "Lutine" - thank you very much James!  So it took most of the day to find all the scaffolding, and get enough boards.  Had to be a bit creative at times - pallets fit quite well too.  So by the end of the day the stern and whole 60 feet of starboard side are now scaffolded ready for work to start in earnest.

Everyone feels happier to be able to start some restoration at last.  The last two years have been spent mostly trying to remove rotten timber and stabilise her to prevent any further deterioration. Also raising funds to pay for her storage.   Hopefully this week we will be removing the pin rails, bulwarks and rail so that it can be restored, salvaging most of the hardwood with which Sam built them all in Bristol docks over 30 years ago...

Britannia's stern was also raised up another 2 inches where she had dropped and remedial action to right her was not taken, so she has been that way since the new deck was laid a few years ago.  3 Acros and a lot of muscle went into raising her.  I guess she must be feeling better already with her backache relieved.  Off to the pub now to quench a thirst with a pint of Doom Bar!