THE CABIN ROOF IS GLASSED AND EPOXY COATED
(JAMIE IS REMEMBERED)

 This week, the covering of the roof with fibreglass and epoxy began.Due to the heat this week ,the glassing needs to be done quickly as the epoxy goes hard swiftly.
So both Daves worked together.

 Today,   Ellie Roddick the daughter of  Jamie  Roddick in whose memory the boat was gifted, came to see progress with her mum Claire Roddick. Both were invited into the boat.





As we were about to glass part of the roof, Ellie was invited to write a message on the woodwork. 

She wrote a personal note in her dad's memory.
This was then epoxied over and will remain on the boat for its lifetime.

 The roof was covered and will be left overnight to set hard before sanding down.


Wednesday Phil and Sandy continued caulking after a big tidy up in and around the boat.
Several trustees came to see progress prior to their monthly meeting.None noticed how tidy the yard was ! HUMBUG!!!

THE WORK SEEMS SLOWER BUT IT'S JUST MORE DETAILED.

There seems to be a stop start progress at present as the jobs become detailed and need preparation work .

Apprentice Dave has prepared the ceilings (side planks) to fit on the starboard bunk.These are painted and ready to fit, but first he has sealed all the joints behind these planks with red lead to stop any condensation getting in to rot the wood.Click on the picture to see an enlarged view.

Shipwright Dave has set in two new half beams at the stern to take a fiddlestick (flat beam) to sit the rear part of the well on. This is where the crew will sit .
The work is precise and detailed.




An observer may notice that Wednesday Phil and Sandy have been busy painting all the interior and half beams in grey primer... or where this has already been done we have used white undercoat.

Both emerged spotty but happy to continue caulking!!!!!!

 Wednesday Phil spends a lot of time with all new volunteers showing them basic skills .Many seem to think the idea of working on the project is somehow romantic and when they realise it is often repetative and hard work ,they soon disappear !
One gentleman lasted half a day.
Sandy seems a " goodun " as she repeatedly returns on a regular basis and is always smiling and positive.

This week Shipwright Dave has also been working out the angle and position of the propeller and shaft while going "brum brum  brrrrrrrr !"
This will help with the positioning of the engine.
Well that's what he told me ! 
Wednesday Phil is very concerned about this as he thought most boats had metal propellers.

WORK CONTINUES WITH THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS IN FULL SWING.

.It was a busy day on the quay with many people stopping to ask questions
 






Alan Sharp ,one of the trustees came to view the progress and practice his "hello Sailor " technique.

Shipwright Dave made the corner posts for the well.

 Wednesday Phil took some time off from caulking to paint in the cabin space as this is another priority and he got back ache from limbo  dancing under the waterline area.Notice the joy in his face!!

  

Then the planer blades became damaged by a hidden nail and they need replacing before it can be used again as it leaves marks on the wood. So at present all planing is by hand.

If you click on the picture,  you can see an extra  half inch  piece of wood added to the deck beam  and faired in . This is because the beam dropped after drying out and would have left a space when the deck was added.
Well that's what they told me !

The view  aft at the end of the day.

THE NEW ENGINE ARRIVES

 The engine is a Yanmar 45HP donated by Llandrillo College.
Many conversations were had about whether the engine can deliver enough power for the boat.
I am told the rule of thumb is 4hp per ton of boat and we reckon she will be about 10 tons in weight.
If she seems under powered ,apparently the HP can be raised to 70ish by adding a turbo charger at a later date. (well that's what they told me.)

It has been run for only a few hours for fault finding tests at the college.The exhaust at present points inside our hut.and makes coffee breaks interesting when being demonstrated for trustees.It certainly makes the coffee taste different !

 The two Daves and Duncan conducted an eye test today to see if they could see the new whoosh of the cabin side at 50 yards .

They were pleased with the effect before hitching a lift back.
 

Later Murray instructed Duncan in the use of a new tool he bought at a car boot sale and gifted to the project.


Volunteer Sandy returned for a third week and under Dave's supervision began making bunk slats for the port (left) side.



So due to limited space on board, guess who finished up caulking.......again?

Luckily Wednesday Phil had made his own caulking hammer with the help of a friend.
This became the envy of all....
 and being a generous fellow,
Phil offered to let others use it whenever they wanted for a nominal fee paid UP FRONT..

Meanwhile Jim and Jane Roddick came to view progress prior to a meeting of the trustees.
Jane is attempting to hide from the camera in the hatch while Jim is displaying his new slimline body shape achieved by strict dieting much to the annoyance of Wednesday Phil.

This was my final view today before the trustees meeting.
All trustees are very pleased at the progress being made by the team...
She's a beautiful lady.

TODAY WE WERE "MOB HANDED" WITH VOLUNTEERS!
Today we had 5 people working on the boat at the same time.

Sandy learned the skill of caulking and the "pull test" to check the solidness of her work. The cotton should prove difficult to pull out if pulled firmly.
By dinner time Wednesday Phil wrongly assumed Sandy was continually admiring the clouds above until he was informed her neck was feeling the strain of  this knew muscle usage and a rest was required. Different tasks were allocated.

Volunteer Warren was tasked with fitting the "ceilings" to the starboard (right) sides by the forward bunks. These boards ,fixed to the frames,will allow air to circulate behind them whilst keeping the occupant away from the cold planking.

Meanwhile the two Daves ,now working four days a week, continued  the skilled jobs.

 Apprentice Dave faired in the newly glued cabin roof while showing us his gunslinger technique and mumbling "you dirty rat "

 Shipwright Dave began chiselling  in the notches to fit what he called a fiddlestick. As he didn't giggle I can only presume this is a meaningful noun !

This is a plank on which the coaming is fixed to form a watertight seal.

 The coaming is the upright plank protecting the crew from water washing over the side of the boat.( a kind of protective box) 

On top of this plank will fit another with a gracefully curving arc  from the top of the  cabin side backwards.(as no one can remember the name of this, we will call it the SWOOSH )

Even local birds have now befriended the project.

Here" Bird Man" Dave feeds our Jackdaw and one flightless seagull walked in for company.

Views at the end of the day.

It's great to have such a busy workforce!!!!!

I'VE BEEN AWAY FOR TWO WEEKS SO WHAT'S NEW?

Both Daves were busy while I was away. The inside roof and cabin sides have been painted and varnished and look superb ! Although they tried hard to stop me, I had to stroke it as it is so tactile.

Today apprentice Dave created the second layer of  marine ply for  the roof prior to final fix and gluing of the two skins together.

 When complete, the roof will be fiber glassed to create a watertight seal.

Today a new volunteer came to work on Helen II. called Sandy .

 Others volunteers are absent..

She was clearly more agile than Wednesday Phil.... so Sandy was sent to the bow with a paint brush to do contortions while undercoating the wood.

Wednesday Phil took a less demanding task of undercoating the starboard (right) side of the main cabin area.
 Work was punctuated by groans  and mutterings as it is an uncomfortable task to reach all areas .
But the result is rewarding......

Shipwright Dave worked on drilling the shaft for the rudder .It proved difficult as he has had to improvise as always!!


At the weekend Apprentice Dave and Duncan opened the boat to the public for Pirates Weekend .Apparently the weather was horrible  but our thanks to both for the commitment !

But some one, with a sense of fun, decided to involve FANG the guard dog in the festivities.

He's still sulking but he's turned a blind eye to it.
 

 

THEN THERE WERE TWO.
Today only Apprentice Dave and Wednesday Phil were on site.
Shipwright Dave was away sailing and no other volunteers arrived .

The vertical unpainted chunk of wood is the samson post which is used for tethering the boat.It needs to be very strong.

Dave spent yesterday fairing in the cabin beams and is now first fitting (trial fitting) the cabin roof.

 The view from inside the cabin.
It really is beautiful.
Notice the gap in the roof above Dave's head .No-one is perfect.
When he screwed it down, it fitted like a glove! We all knew it would really !!!!!

 Dave has now drawn around the ply sheet and will cut out along the drawn lines for the final shape.

 Meanwhile Wednesday Phil caulked on alone, but gave a lot of explanations as to the process involved and the reasons for it. With the sunny weather the quay was full of holiday makers and most people stopped to watch and question..

 The final view this evening.












Wednesday Phil