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.
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| 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 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.
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| Showing off her very fine lines! |
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| Happy in their work! |
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