Whimbrel Diary 2000
January – Dave Groom now working on Sundays-port side
garboard and 2nd planks fitted and bow made good .
Forward dead wood (mast support) fitted and bolted down. Paint
stripping started on inside from bow by Pam Stanbridge-welcome
addition to team. Brief appearance by Benedict .Now for the long awaited sheer
line! Water level made from plastic tubing and green dye –appears excellent for
mapping out sheer line
-7” rise at bow,neutral midship and 3.5” rise at stern. but
later tests shown to be inaccurate.Pity! Stern
cranked up several inches causing damage to some planks –but made good + new
frames fitted. Projected sheer line looking very fair –much patience
shown all round.
February- Port side deck beam stringer fitted three
times –first with 5mm studding – proud heads,then
countersunk and finally 8mm studding –proud. Lots of making
good –frustration ++ and time consuming. Final arrangement satisfactory.Then starboard deck beam stringer fitted with spirit
level laid across boat. Dave G now working on difficult
planks end at stern post. and replacement part of horn timbers. Portcabin
invaded by Vitalba’s mast for revarnishing.- all 39 feet long. Challenging road trip with 25foot trailer from
March- (strip Vitalba ‘s mast and revarnish using two
pack. Good result after 4 coats- very nice again (no rot either). Back on
trailer again –return to Fox’s –easy trip this time. Three faxes and two phone
calls then mast replaced in boat with new standing rigging –looking much
better). It’s great to have portacabin back again!
Internal paint stripping continues –slowly looking better- could it be lead
based?. New face –David Taylor –makes brief
appearance.
April- deck beam stringers in place except at transon –difficult to judge final height due to missing
planks etc. Time to start fitting deck beams-long awaited.
Various joint options tried but double dovetail appears best when possible
–alternatively –single dovetail with half lap + wedge on opposite end if
stringer are angled (otherwise it won’t go in!) Big push over Easter and beams
set up from bow to front of deck housing. Carlins for
fore hatch set in and also mast partners –tight joints –bolted and
glued-looks suitably strong. Dave has removed the transon
and completely rebuilt it from scratch –looks great –fits perfect. That guy is
seriously good! Time for internal painting and photos .Now looking really quite
good!
May-production line set up for deck beams- 2 or even
3 –fitted per session. Main carlins constructed from
remaining pitch pine
planks –set up very accurately –I hope. Deck beams laminated up
one day then fitted the next.Dave very busy tidying up starboard stern
plank ends.(+ much needed holiday to
June-what a lot of full length and especially half beams(for cabin and cockpit
section) for this boat.. Even this pleasant job gets monotonous after a while.
Big push to complete before late June holiday sailing trip in Vitalba to
July-much refreshed by trip to
August-epoxy sheeving is harder than it
looks- the real catch is the weather- woe betide if attempted in the afternoon
on anything less than a really hot day. Now I know all about blooming (the hard
way) and the remedy –a vigorous sanding and a top coat of epoxy to make good.Not at all good for good for the knees. Now for the
cabin and cockpit sides- beautiful Brazilian mahogany bought (unseen) from Goldbergs –colour too light!! Disaster –but careful
staining I am advised will make this good. Vitalba
retrieved from
September- successful return of Vitalba
to Fox’s (
October - cabin roof frames laminated
up from bits and pieces and fitted with difficulty due complex angles of joints
into carlins & cabin sides. Cabin roof panel 8 x
4 ft, underside carefully painted x 6coats and screwed into place. Stain
& varnishing not an option for roof frames due to different colours- so
painted a sexy crimsom instead. Looks fine! Bulkheads
for rear cockpit and
rear cabin made from patterns and fitted. Support frames for
cockpit bulk heads fit badly due to poor steaming- new steamer needed?
November- cockpit floor joists fitted then 3 panels
for flooring in 15mm plywood. Abortive trip to Goldbergs
to purchase matching Brazilian mahogany – NOT pleased!
Dave working on refitting propshaft assembly but bad weather etc make for
slow work and depressing progress. Large new tarpaulin – 20ft x 14ft with
wooden tent frame covering cabin & cockpit –great improvement for
protection from weather –also decent lighting and heater in cabin. Luxury
indeed
December-New Nanni diesel
purchased for £3500 (discounted by 20% by Fox’s –excellent)-housed in rather
large packing case- I hope the engine itself is somewhat smaller! Frantic work
inside cabin- bilge stringers fitted –original lower ones refitted after
remedial work but new upper fashioned from iroko
(supplied by Watford Timber:excellent) -1.24 “ by
2.5” glued from two strips. –bulk heads presented a considerable challenge –is there an
easier way? Fastenings through frames using 8mm studding.
A good job done –hard work –not to be repeated in a hurry.
Dave laid a beautiful iroko floor –dead level and
close planked –looks very nice! A very busy Xmas spent in completing the cabin
bulkheads –hatch way into forepeak off set to port -straight sided with hemispherical
tops/bottoms –very sexy shape! Many hours spent preparing cabin interior for
second coat of primer, then undercoat- top coat of gloss may have to wait –it
looks very white indeed –great improvement.
Happy New Year to all my readers.