Refit of Good Expectation continues apace ~ Transom finished & hull planks going on thick and fast...

So over the past week Mr Cochrane and his second in command Mr Bowtie have made excellent progress with the refit. The transom has been completely rebuilt in treated white pine & is now closed up and ready for the next stage which is the caulking of the gaps between the timbers to seal and make watertight...

The Portside has had a number of planks replaced from the transom for'ard, when fresh water ingress occurs it will spread quickly, that is why constant maintanence is so important in these vessels, regular checks and licks of paint to keep the water out will make a world of difference to the lifespan of the timbers...

The Starboard side has had a similar amount of new topside planking inserted as well, its safest to replace quite a way past where any rot was found to ensure the soundest timbers are maintained.



This is a crucial stage the replacement of the Garboard planks including the Devil plank, so called because its the toughest to fit correctly! Garboard? you say! What's that? A definition for you from the The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company ~
gar·board (gärbôrd, -brd)

n.

The first range or strake of planks laid next to a ship's keel.

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[Obsolete Dutch gaarboord : possibly Dutch gaar, cooked, done (from Middle Dutch gaer) + Dutch boord, board (from Middle Dutch boort).]

 

So there you go the first strake laid next to the keel... A strake being a strip of planking in a wooden vessel or of plating in a metal one, running longitudinally along the vessel's side, bottom or the turn of the bilge, usually from one end of the vessel to the other. (as taken from Wikipedia!)

 

Mr Cochrane and Mr Bowtie undertaking the tricky task of attaching the devil plank, the devil being a seam where two planks meet, in this case at the junction between the vertical keel garboards and the rounded hull planks. Interestingly, this devil may be the one referred to in the old saying "between the devil and the deep blue sea"... So there, you learned something new today to amaze your friends over dinner or in the pub!

 

 

Replacing these planks takes strength, skill and patience, notice how the shipwrights have to contend with curvature over 3 dimensions following the gentle curve of the hull lengthways, vertically and laterally, its quite a task and not a moment to disturb them with inane questions. Maintaining the correct width is critical to ensure a tight fit, notice how the space is maintained by banging in thick wooden chocks towards the bow.

 

Once these tricky jobs are completed work will continue apace, so watch this space for further updates.