Maritime Midwives Spring Into action Again !

 Once the coffee has filtered .

Jeremy's list of jobs for the next two days.

We all love an optimist !

The Australian version of the crew table is stained and ready for oiling or varnishing. 

Tony ,whilst painting the rudder pillar ,listens for woodworm.

Holes appear in the hull for ..

Left black hole - speed and distance log

Middle bump -depth finder

Right brass hole -sink drain ( I think)

The fixing to hold the  bow sprit is now secured.

Paul continues being creative with the sink / cooker area and has made the doors to finish.

Mike and Gordon continue wiring the electrics ,fuse boxes etc in a mass of wiring beyond Wednesday Phil's understanding. But he enjoys turning them on and off when no one is about !

Tony has made and drilled the hounds which affix to the mast to provide a strong fastening for the wires holding up the mast. 

Malcolm continues to fit the hydraulic system as Francis has retired with a leg problem which we hope will soon improve and all will be well ! 

Progress continues apace with one more day to go until it's home time for the lads and a well earned rest.

Many thanks on a wet and windy day today.

 Tuesday And It's All Go Again.

Jeremy and the Maritime Midwives  sprung into action with little discussion today. Once the coffee machine was activated a sense of focussed calm ensued.

The mast ,spars and boom which Wednesday Phil thought looked perfect were again planed  sanded and oiled .

The engine now has the hydraulic drive attached 

and the hydraulic tank is awaiting connection in the stern.

Mike continues to make connections and isolator switches ready for fitting into

the battery boxes under the aft bunk. 

These were Jeremy and   Nick's doing.

The old donated table is being sanded and  modified to become the crew dining table

and Jay tasked with oiling the new top. He is instructed to oil all  smooth and shiny surfaces. ( Are you thinking what I am ?.)

Paul and Nick finalise the design of the hatch cover which will also house the gas bottle and be complimented with a seat on top  

for those who wish to live dangerously .

Andy continues squeezing into small spaces connecting more tubes and fastenings in loo of  his first flush.

Paul  first fits a redesigned sink and cooker area.

leaving space behind for useful utensils.

(It seems a big space for a can opener.)

There are lots of other goings on in a day but Wednesday Phil keeps getting in the way with the camera and so fails to record them from the naughty corner where he is  sent !

And Then Came The MARITIME MIDWIVES

(They've berthed more ships than they can remember !)

The team of volunteers, who have come to help finish the boat, have come from around the country under the watchful eye of team leader Jeremy.

The team is made up of  eleven volunteers, or as Jeremy puts it "conscripts"

Ian and Tony work together  as sanders and finishers .

Mike and Gordon are electricians

Francis and Malcolm are engineers

Jay and Andy are plumbers

Paul and Mick are carpenters.

They have volunteered for work together for 10 days to hasten progress on Helen II

 and have promised not to fall out , swear (much), and only stop for coffee or rum. (it's brown and in a big jug !)

Tony ,Alister and Ian began work on finishing the planing of the mast.

To achieve the necessary round shape they created a template to check thickness along its length.

Once completed ,they oiled the wood to seal it - only to find they needed to take more off as someone decided it was too thick.(this is called a learning curve )

Trustee Ron and the rest of the team had a long discussion re the positioning of  all the necessary internal items and once all was agreed ,they set to work in their own fields of  specialism .

Francis and Malcolm began final fitting of  the engine onto the beds and a lot of technical stuff Wednesday Phil didn't understand !

Paul set to making a new pair of steps for the entry to the cabin which will clip on to the cockpit  lip.

Meanwhile Mike and Gordon were building a battery system while Jeremy wondered if he could trim his beard with the oscillating saw.

There will be one engine battery with an isolation switch charged by the engine.

Two leisure batteries with an isolation system but these can be charged by solar panels or the engine.(well that's what they said !)

Jeremy found a better use for the saw and made one of the battery boxes.

Nick was" home alone" creating a box for the 120 ltr fuel tank which is to be housed in the stern section.

Jay got the unenviable task of filling the cracks of the drying mast with very messy putty but he didn't complain  'though, he did eat his sandwich with care as Phil didn't supply any soap !

.Wednesday Phil and Ron are so pleased with the pace of the work and are amazed and the daily  progress after only two and a half days..

On behalf of all the trustees its a BIG THANK YOU  to the  MARITIME MIDWIVES.

( KEEP DELIVERING !)

.

 THE BEGINNING OF THE END

As we have all now had two Covid jabs ,we are tentatively returning to work.

Wally and Wednesday Phil gave the boat a thorough clean to remove a year of pigeon muck.

Then Ron ,Phil and Wally, suitably masked, began to move the engine with block and tackle into its correct position.

This created room for Wednesday Phil to build the final bunk on the port side.

In doing so ,it became clear that there would be little room to reach the back of the engine due to the bunk so redesigning was needed.

The original frame was removed and a new  design constructed.

This time it was able to be lifted up to allow greater access to the engine.

Due to passing a building being renovated, Phil noticed a pile of  8 x 3 beams being removed and with the aid of  a mates trailer ,they were relocated to the compound 

AFTER FOUR WEEKS OF NO POWER, WE ARE PROGRESSING ONCE AGAIN

For the  past weeks the power in the compound has been off,but now all is well.
So here is the update.

 The chain plates  which will hold the mast ropes were galvanized and refitted. The holes for the bolts through the hull were firstly mastic filled  and then bolts pushed through and tightened by trustee Dave.

They look beautiful !









The metal fastening which holds the bow sprit , having been galvanized, was bolted back into the bow with screw bolts.
This proved a two man job due to the weight.

The metal  floor created to strengthen the bow was fitted after much contortion with stainless steel bolts.







 


A donated toilet was set up in the bow and as it needed to be at a comfortable height and position ,it was tested by Ron who was not expecting the photo !!
Wednesday Phil then built a plinth at home and first fitted the loo. Looks impressive and is now ready for relevant connections.

Ron has now finally fitted the hydraulic drive connected to the prop shaft which turns the propeller. He is now ready to fit the engine above this.

New volunteer Tony Scott fitted slats along the boat ribs to create a space between the hull and anything stored against it.This should create a good airflow and prevent dampness and condensation.

Meanwhile trustees Alan and Dave continue to plane the telegraph mast from 12 inches diameter to 8 inches - a long and arduous task .
( well that's what they told me ! )