Coronet1885

Posted By Tom Daniels on September 11, 2019

It’s been a year, and as everyone writing in has noted, it’s been way too long since the last update. I couldn’t agree more.

So, what’s going on? For the past year, Josh has been leading a crew of 4 (5 during the summer when an IYRS intern joined them) full time working on the hull. Let’s take a look.

What you’re looking at is the forward port topsides and bulwarks of the boat, very much obscured by staging. The bow is just to the left of the dark wood angled into the hull. The topsides and bulwarks are double planked with fir. You may recall that back in 2018, the team was working up the topsides. Here’a a reminder from late July.

And here’s what that area looks like now from a somewhat different angle.

And a slightly distorted panorama looking along the starboard side.

The crew has also been fairing the hull, starting up high.

You can see the difference between the sanded upper sections, and the darker lower sections where the glue around the bungs is still apparent.

The lower hull hasn’t been faired yet. The trunnels are still slightly proud of the planking.

You can really see how they are wedged in the last inch before they’re driven home.

Back up top… Stepping onto the boat up forward, you can see how sharp her bow is.

The deck will be two layers of marine plywood, laid out to span the joints of the layer below.

Fiberglass cloth will overlay the plywood. Although not traditional, this type of deck is light, strong, very stiff, and quite watertight.

Looking aft, you can see that skylights and other deck furniture in place.

The chain plates are let into the frames and will be captured by the planking as it forms the upper bulwarks.

The crew has been very busy down below. A year ago, only a few hanging knees had been installed.

You can see how the frames are tenoned on top. Later on, the cap rail will be mortised to fit down on top of these frames.

Moving back aft, the crew has been building up the aft bulwarks.

If you look at the corner, you can see how bulwarks are built up in a brick-laid fashion.

You can see this clearly as the two sides interweave at the transom.

And then, here’s a view of this work from outside the boat.

The crew has been very busy down below. A year ago, only a few hanging knees had been installed.

They’ve all been installed now.

Every effort was made to save as many original knees as possible.

With the crew working full time, I’ll make sure to get up to Newport every few months now to keep everyone updated.

Category: Construction & Methods
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