AND NOW WE BEGIN ON THE PLANKING

Much discussion took place regarding the exact position of the sheer plank (the topmost one ). This gives the boat its shape above the water line and its gentle lines. I soon found this to be an artistic positioning rather than a mathematical one.Everyone and his dog had a view ( The quay factor ).
The two Daves spent a great deal of time perched on litter bins ,walls and ladders, much to the consternation of visitors,discussing a half inch rise or fall in the middle of the plank from a distance of 50 meters.
A Japanese gentleman took several pictures of Dave S. on a litter bin as he thought he was an "art form ".

Once we had fixed the sheer plank, the next job was the rubbing strake.(also painted grey ). This was a rounded piece of oak in 20 foot sections which is the first point of contact with quay walls etc.as it sticks out the furthest on the boat's side.
To bend this into place,Dave S clamped the front end of the wood to the frames (ribs ).Then Phil put the beam across his chest and hauled it in towards  the aft (rear ) frames .Dave clamped the bent bit to the next frame and we progressed along the beam's length. At the end Dave drew in the final bend with clamps and Phil found his  knuckles now dragging along the ground.
This is the only piece of oak that we have physically bent!........so far.

DAVID LOW JOINED THE TEAM AS APPRENTICE 
 MAY 2014
Dave came direct from Llandrillo College where he continues his course in marine design.He came highly recommended. He represented Llandrillo College at the Boat Show 2014 demonstrating shaping masts and spars ( big sticks!)

 
He was funded by a grant from The Pilgrims Trust which supports young people entering into boat building /design work.
He was especially welcomed by me as his name is also Dave and that makes it easy to remember at my age.
Dave cannot make tea nor resist humus ( which is defined as " decayed vegetable and animal mould" in Collins dictionary.) or was it hummus ?  I knew he must have a down side !
He is working hard on developing his skills and sense of humour.

MAY 2014 THE BOAT SHOW
OUR FIRST CHANCE TO SHOW OFF !
The trustees decided to have  fund raising open days,  during the boat show, to raise badly needed funds. HELEN II was in her finery.....



Is this a piece of art or what ?







Two of our trustees  MURRAY (the carver and knot wizard) and  ALLAN  Principal Property Development Officer ,Conwy Council, prepare to welcome our first visitors..
Murray (left ) wows an audience with carving displays and tales of nautical adventures.( well he fascinates me !)
Allan (right )  explains the aims, objectives and funding of the project and the part the council plays in supporting the work.

Wednesday Phil finalises our funding sponsor signs and shows visitors around and inside the boat. To the left is Scott our young volunteer who comes to help during his school holidays.I think that is brilliant !

Dave, the shipwright, sits  quietly preparing his talks on construction techniques with a certain sense of pride I suspect.

We opened for the three days of the boat show with all the team giving freely of their time.


The visitors were all very enthusiastic and impressed with the project.Many became "Friends of Helen II"and were very generous with donations.Due to the success of the days ,we decided that we would open again for Conwy Quay Day and Murray would take the lead in fund collection  once we could curb his nautical tale telling, which held everyone entranced.(but what a boost to the coffers!)
Tony our retired harbour master and trustee certainly got a lot from the day.

Tony informed the trustees that we raised 300 plus pounds  during the boat show .
BUT we still need a lot more to continue the work...
SO if you should pass the Helen II project and see the red buoy by the fence, please make a donation.

FEB. 2014 saw the arrival of our new shipwright
 DAVE SATTERTHWAITE
We quickly sorted out the pecking order and division of duties....

Dave, with a superb hair cut, got to work with the tools and Wednesday Phil got to work with the kettle.




The work on the frames (ribs) then continued as did the supply of tea and coffee.
SO HOW DO WE MAKE A NEW FRAME ?

First a wooden chain is laid along the boat's side and bent to the exact shape of the hull.

The chain is then drawn on to ply wood to give the hull shape and it is then cut out to form a TEMPLATE for the next stage.

Then a plank of English /Welsh oak needs to be found with the grain following the curves of the TEMPLATE. This is then cut out and fine adjustments made to make the frame a perfect fit.

These are some of the green ( unseasoned /wet ) slabs of oak chosen for their bendy shapes and supplied by Adrian from his saw mill (see below ) They may be slices of the tree's trunk or from branches.

The progress continues during 2013.
The process of frame (rib ) replacement continued through most of the year with many  visitors suggesting little was happening as nothing new was visible !

 At the time, we could not allow the public in to see the progress that was secretly going on within the hull.

The frames were then painted with red lead to stop any rot and this helps to seal the wood to lower the effect of water loss / absorbtion.
I
think !





Guess who got to mix red lead and putty to seal joints ? What a job !

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WOOD FOR THE JOB

 All the wood for the boat is carefully selected from a saw mill where it is cut from whole tree trunks.Selection depends on type of tree and desired shape of any bendy bits. Adrian, the saw mill owner, is very supportive of the project and has his own wooden Nobby boat.

The trunks can be sawn to any thickness with a maximum length of 30 feet on this mill.Dave, our new shipwright, and Adrian discuss the required cuts.He then cuts the slabs and delivers them to Conwy Quay.

The patterns taken from the boat are laid on the cut planks to check for fit and run of the grain.Adrian gives us a great deal of his time to select the correct pieces.  Thanks !

P.S. Notice the rough sawn beams Adrian made to build his barn . ( A wonderful building )

  This shows the new stern post and knee.
The diagonal bit is the stern post and the knee is behind it to give extra strength. Some of the old planks have been removed to allow fixing of the above.
When any new piece has been replaced ,the old wood has to be re-fastened to it  even though the old will be replaced later. The reason for this is that each piece of wood supports others and if the parts are not re-fastened ,stresses and strains can cause the hull to twist or warp. Thus every job takes a long time in preparation and completion.

The same proved true for the stem (the front bit )
The groove cut into the stem allows the planks to fit snugly along where they need to be fastened on.
 Again, no gap is allowed as water can then enter the space and cause rot. To stop this red lead putty will be put behind the join to fill any possible space when the new plank is fitted

Behind the stem is another large chunk of wood to give extra strength........That's another knee.

The red object behind the boat is the old Fairway Buoy now used as our donations box.
(We need all the donations we can get !.)
So if you come to view , ask questions,or simply take a photo please support our efforts.



Wednesday Phil