Welcome to Britannia Heritage Shipyard Society
December 2009 Blog
Friday, 8 January 2010:
Councilor Steves plugs Britannia: "When visitors come to Richmond we take them to the Britannia Heritage Shipyard and other heritage sites..." See complete article in hte Richmond News.
Saturday, 12 December 2009:
Significant progress on the Iona this week. Here's Al's report:
Great progress on the project! Glad to see the concrete is removed although disappointed to see the degradation underneath.(the horror). Looks like we need to reassess the work plan somewhat. Good work on the transmission(Gerry H. Jim J and Bob) and the pillow block support is well underway(Richard) Many thanks to all. I hope to be able to connect with everyone his week (Thurs?) to plan our next steps . If anyone needs some parts or supplies please let me know and I will endeavour to get them. See you at the potluck on Sat if not before.
Richard is laying out the new beam/pillow block for Iona here. The old fishhold bulkheads have been removed as they were incompetant due to a combination of rot & previous work. The new beam will be built up from 2" air dired fir to a thickness of at least 4" and will be carefully shaped to the inside of the hull with the help of this cardboard template.
Jim got some more licks in on the Mukai's cabin. We expect to see a crew of three or four on her once the holiday season is finished.
Phil is hull sanding on the Fleetwood but can only handle a couple of hours on these cool days. The Shipyard, where Fleetwood rests on the ways, is always 5 degrees cooler than the outside. Nice in July and August but downright uncomfortable in Decemeber and January.
Merrriee II had blown a fuse; one string of Christmas lights and the heater had gone off as a result. Al & I restrung the lights & re-arranged power cords to use a different circuit.
Saturday, 5 December 2009:
The guys got most of the concrete out of the stern of the Iona this week. Only a very small amount
left. Hydraulic cement makes a great quick-fix for a variety of problems. It sets quickly underwater
and so is just the ticket
for patching a leak when there's no time or opportunity to haul the vessel.
But, there's a cost. Of course. Concrete & wood do not get along all that well. Concrete against wood acts as a moisture barrier and holds the water in. This allows natural bacterial and fungal processes to go to work and consume the structural timber.
Here Al inspects the damage rot has caused to Iona's keelson. He reports that the demarkation between sound timber and the rot is a sharp, clear line - exactly where the concrete was.
Now to figure out how much of the structure must be replaced.
Iona was originally constructed as a 'double-ender' meaning she had a pointed stern. This design was popular on the coast in the 20s & 30s because of its sea-worthiness. Very good in a following sea. But, as nets grew larger and net handling equipment became bigger and more powerful many of the double-enders were converted to a blunt, or square transom to accommodate net handling operations. The upgrade was not always perfect and frequently became a point of weakness in the vessel. That, and the natural decomposition of wood when in water have combined to require the current refurbishment.
Seized by the Christmas decorating urge, Deb gingerly installs strings of red Christmas lights on the Merrilee II.
This fond gesture of vessel beautification also acknowlecges the Olympic "Paint The Town Red" program.
Merrilee II is undergoing some minor upgrades at dockside. She has a few minor leaks in her topsides. She's recently received a new shore power cable and recepticle and a new starting battery. The house battery is also needful of replacement as is the charger. Old charger technology allows the charger to be on or off, nothing in between. More batteries are destroyed due to over charging by "dumb" chargers left ontoo long than any other reason. All our vessels will be getting "smart" chargers that sense the state of the battery and cut back to a trickle charge when the battery is fully charged. Other work items will include paint touch up, installation of a sanitary holding tank, a new smart charger and some adjustments to her propane installation.
Saturday was one those truly beautiful days at Britannia.
I lost track of the number of times some one
said to me "What a fantastic day!" Besides Merrilee II and Iona we got a few plant things done. Phil and
Richard pulled the dust management system apart to learn why the cyclone no longer precipitates sawdust
into the hopper. They were only partially successful - the unit is better but not perfect. We also finally
managed to complete the long threatened scrap metal removal. A few tons of scap metal, including two engine
blocks, some old spars, many castings, fuel tanks, fence posts and more landed in Luis Gagnon's truck. A small
amount of cash landed in our bank account. A good deal all around.
Particularly inspiring in the late afternoon sun were the vessels of Britannia at the floats. Seen here: the Master, owned and operated by the MV Master Society, the Silver Ann, owned and recently restored by the City of Richmond and the Shuchona IV, the Society's largest vessel.