Welcome to Britannia Heritage Shipyard Society

Activities at Britannia Heritage Shipyard - November 2009

<December 2009

Saturday, 28 November 2009:

Larry brought in a limb pruned, due to winter kill, from his sour cherry tree. Ferdie mills this wood into baulks, then blocks which he turns into all sorts of decorative objects: jewel boxes, fids, belaying pins, pen barrels and other beautiful items. Here, with Phil's help, the block is trimmed to an ideal size and shape to be racked for air dtying. Ferdie regularly weighs each block in his considerable inventory and knows that it has become properly dry when the weight stops falling. Ferdie commented that he discovered some rot within the limb; this is probably a hint as to why it died.

Now that the distractions of sumer & fall have faded and the November rains have attacked with a vengence the crew shows up a lot more frequently. The time log shows we had half a dozen or more intrepid volunteers on Tuesday and Thursday and one stalwart soul on Wednesday. All this effort os starting to have an effect. Vessels that have lanquished too long are now the subject of intense campaigns. We are now too many to sit simultaneously at the lunch room table. Elaine brought in one of her amazing apple pies, the last she says, saddly, of the Northern Spye Apples.

The weather affects us profoundly. Vessels are more likely to admit water from rain on decks and roofs than through the hulls. And rain water, that is to say, fresh water, is considerably more damaging to a wooden hulled vessel than salt water. Our biggest challenge these days is Schucona IV. Her decks are in serious need of replacing and even though tarpped she takes on a fair bit of water. Phil ran the pumps for 9 minutes today to clear her fish hold, not the worst we've seen this winter but bad enough.

Richard and rotted drive shaft block Excavation and clearing continues on the Iona. Her drive shaft was removed during the week to examine the guide blocks. These were well beyind their 'best-before' date. Richard examines the rotted remains of one of the blocks here. New blocks will be carefully shaped in the weeks to come. Richard also removed the remnants of an old fish hold bulkhead. The bulkheads had been partially removed during a previous renovation and, as they now serve no useful purpose, they will be removed entirely.

Dale has taken the pretty little sailing skiff, Glenelle, Dale repairing the Fibreglass on Glenelle under his command and is addressing the many deficiencies in her fibre-glass coating. Her hull is contstructed from strips of western red cedar. She is strong and beautiful as a result. But (and isn't there always a but) the cedar contains natural oils. This is a good thing as it lends longevity to the wood but it also has the effect of making paints and other coatings adhere poorly. Several large p[atches of fibre-glass has come off the hull.

Dale is displaying his patient, careful, artful technique as he applis fibregalass mat and epoxy resin to the newly sanded patches.

Yet another project coming up to speed is the Jim & Colin discuss repairs to Mukai renovation of the Mukai. This delightful litle half-scale vessel was built by retired boat builder Seishi Mukai in his driveway after he had fininshed his professional career. It is a wonderful exemplar of his craft and his style. It is equipped with a rather inpressive looking Volvo Penta inboard-outboard engine.

Jim and Colin are conferring on the best way to apply trim strips. Those these may look decorative they are an essential element in turning sea spray and rainwater away from the hull.

Saturday, 21 November 2009:

It was a dark and stormy day. That did not dampen the volunteers enthusiasm in the least, however. Al and crew were busy on the Iona. Engine coolant was drained in preparation ofr removing the cooling tubes. She'll need a new heat exchanger - the old one has become incontinent and has allowed coolant to enter the transmission housing.

The Merrilee II has been the subject of electrical activity. The standards for marine wiring are frequently Merrrilee II & Master at the floats on a dark day not followed diligently and it doesn't help that some of her original 59 year old circuits are still in place. Fortunately Jack knows his subject and is supervising (read doing) the work. The list of shortcomings is quite long: battery charger will kill a battery if not attended closely; many circuits served by wire that is both too thin and poorly insulated, incorrect shore power recepticle, shore power cable too light & wrong connectors. You get the idea. She's also showed up a few leaks which would not have been evident in her previous mooring where she rested under a canopy. Now that she's open to the storms that rage up and down the river we are finding lots of little puddles. Blue tarp for now, proper prepping and painting when the good weather returns.

Deb has used Youtube to run up a clip of Oz Zitek of the Brickhouse Band playing his saxophone on the foredeck of the Fleetwood, Britannia's infamous "Rum Runner."

Saturday, 14 November 2009:

What a fantastic day! We had FOUR projects on the go!There were so many volunteers on site we had to start a second time sheet!

Tool Sale: With the help of a dozen members and others Deb and Brenda created an amazing event in what has now, every one agrees, become the pilot for an annual event: The Great Britannia Tool Sale. Six huge tables, safe from the blustery weather in the Britannia Shipyard, were heaped with tools, material, and unusual artifacts from both the Society's collection and from generous donations by Britannia fans.

Ron Bradley from M&M donated hot dogs and the Society brewed a great urn of coffee and the hundred or so who braved the squalls or dashed between them found hot drinks, hot food and hot jazz to reward their courage. The tool sale swag, originally the object of the quest must have seemed a bonus.

Oz from the Vancouver based Brickhouse Band (catch them at the Yale or the Fairview) pronounced the accoustics "spectacular" and took full advantage of them to regale patrons and attendants with the haunting and compelling sound of his saxophone. His friend, Elliot, joined in with his flute for a couple of sets.

The tally has not reached my desk but Brenda, in charge of the cash box, had a great big smile on her face at the end of the day.
Iona: The crew has got well along with the restoration; raking the seams was top of the agenda. The seams subject to flexure (the garboards, the turn of bilge and the stern) are, quite naturally, the worst. Al is examining the brown, squishy substance that was, at one time, cotton caulk.

Jerry attacks the starboard garboard seam. Jerry on the garboard seam

Plant: Vandals broke into and broke up our brand new disply case, mounted just last week on The Richmond Boat Builders. Ferdie repairs the damage and makes it stronger and better.

Saturday, 7 November 2009:

Iona: Iona was recently hauled and placed in the Richmond Boat Builders where she will undergo some needful maintenace. A few planks and ribs need attention and her wiring should be completely redone.

Early steps will include chipping out some hydraulic cement from the bilges where it was used to control water ingress. (The problem with hydraulic cement: although it is an effective temporary treatment for leaky seams, the cement encourages rot in planks and ribs.)
Fleetwood: On the ways in the Shipyard, Fleetwood is the subject of a long standing program to bring her up a notch or two. Phil Steer finished replacing her deck this summer. Now she has been shrouded to conatin the dust from sanding her sides prepratory to new paint.
Merrilee II: At the floats. Our nrewest fleet addition requires some minor attention to roof, her brightwork and her hull. With the onset of the wet weather a few leaks have made themselves evident. It has been discovered that her wiring is not to the modern day standards for small craft so most pf this will need to be replaced.
Other: Vessels on the hard, Juanita and Starliner, have been covered for the winter. The fork lift has been the subject of an extensive, intrusive procedure: the fuel tank sprang a leak, discharging gasoline onto the ground. The tank was successfully removed this weekend once enough parts were stripped from the motor. Parts cleared included the manifilds, the fuel pump & filter and the carburettor. A quick inspection revealed the bottom of the heavy guage steel tank had bee rusted through in one location and several more spots were ready to spring leaks at any moment. Now to find someone to mend the old tank or make a new one.