Gig Progress Blog 2
4
New Gig for RTRC – second visit When I went to visit again on Thursday 2 nd October I was dismayed to find that only four planks had been added since my first visit nearly a month earlier. The reason, it transpired, was that Brian had been off helping his son Andrew to finish a big roofing job which had been held up by bad weather and was only now getting back into building our gig. But it was good to have a chance to see (and photograph) the early stages of planking up. The garboard plank – the first one up from the keel, has been carefully fitted into a rabbeted groove running the length of the keel and bedded in mastic to keep it absolutely watertight. It is held in place by bronze gripfast nails driven into the keel approximately 4 inches apart. Each plank is 5/16ths of an inch thick and individually selected for the natural run of the grain – the garboards and lower planks are relatively straight but as the build progresses the curves become more complex requiring careful selection of timber with, where possible, an appropriate natural run to the grain. Brian expressed himself as very satisfied with the quality of the planking timber and I have to say that it looks just magnificent – I hope the photos give a sense of this. Each plank is scribed along the top (overlapped) edge, planed smooth and primed with paint. The scribed line defines the extent of the overlap as the next plank is offered up. To my surprise the planks are not pinned or fixed to the patterns, rather they are supported by props and held in place by what look like oversize clothes pegs (see photo). They are then pinned through the overlap using copper nails which will later be capped off with roves and riveted over. Guy Langworthy, our treasurer, came with me on this visit in the hope of giving Brian a bit of a ‘hurry-up’ – there’s pressure coming on in terms of completion dates and securing the grant funding we have obtained. I left them to it and in the end they were all smiles. - third visit Went again on 23 rd October. This time accompanied by Andy Darkin and Guy bearing a stage payment cheque. Suddenly we have an almost full size gig and very splendid she looks too. I managed to take more photos and I hope you can make sense of them. There are just a couple more planks to go and a deal of riveting, then we’re into steaming the oak ribs into shape. The next stage sounds fascinating. Once the planks are all riveted together the hull has inherent shape and strength; a bit like the strength of an eggshell. Cunningly, the props (those near vertical lengths of timber lodged under the lip of the top plank) are aligned with precisely positioned marks on the floor and the top plank. They are sprung in at a slight angle pressing the planking in onto the patterns. The patterns are removed and the whole hull is held in tension in its final shape. Then the steaming and fitting of the ribs can begin. Brian has promised to give me a ring when the steaming is about to start – exciting stuff.
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Gig Progress Blog 2
Transcript of Gig Progress Blog 2
New Gig for RTRC
– second visit
When I went to visit again on Thursday 2nd October I was dismayed to find that only four planks had been added since my first visit nearly a month earlier. The reason, it transpired, was that Brian had been off helping his son Andrew to finish a big roofing job which had been held up by bad weather and was only now getting back into building our gig.
But it was good to have a chance to see (and photograph) the early stages of planking up. The garboard plank – the first one up from the keel, has been carefully fitted into a rabbeted groove running the length of the keel and bedded in mastic to keep it absolutely watertight. It is held in place by bronze gripfast nails driven into the keel approximately 4 inches apart. Each plank is 5/16ths of an inch thick and individually selected for the natural run of the grain – the garboards and lower planks are relatively straight but as the build progresses the curves become more complex requiring careful selection of timber with, where possible, an appropriate natural run to the grain.
Brian expressed himself as very satisfied with the quality of the planking timber and I have to say that it looks just magnificent – I hope the photos give a sense of this. Each plank is scribed along the top (overlapped) edge, planed smooth and primed with paint. The scribed line defines the extent of the overlap as the next plank is offered up. To my surprise the planks are not pinned or fixed to the patterns, rather they are supported by props and held in place by what look like oversize clothes pegs (see photo). They are then pinned through the overlap using copper nails which will later be capped off with roves and riveted over.
Guy Langworthy, our treasurer, came with me on this visit in the hope of giving Brian a bit of a ‘hurry-up’ – there’s pressure coming on in terms of completion dates and securing the grant funding we have obtained. I left them to it and in the end they were all smiles.
- third visit
Went again on 23rd October. This time accompanied by Andy Darkin and Guy bearing a stage payment cheque. Suddenly we have an almost full size gig and very splendid she looks too. I managed to take more photos and I hope you can make sense of them. There are just a couple more planks to go and a deal of riveting, then we’re into steaming the oak ribs into shape.
The next stage sounds fascinating. Once the planks are all riveted together the hull has inherent shape and strength; a bit like the strength of an eggshell. Cunningly, the props (those near vertical lengths of timber lodged under the lip of the top plank) are aligned with precisely positioned marks on the floor and the top plank. They are sprung in at a slight angle pressing the planking in onto the patterns. The patterns are removed and the whole hull is held in tension in its final shape. Then the steaming and fitting of the ribs can begin. Brian has promised to give me a ring when the steaming is about to start – exciting stuff.
I gather that we’re making progress on raising the balance of the funding; I’m sure any additional thoughts and ideas for fundraising and/or donations would be welcome. Also, how might we go about choosing a name?
JL28.10.08
