NB LUCY - progress up to Dec 2010
Timber delivery - photo © Pete Boyce
Milling and delivery of oak - November 2010
In November several trees were milled at Helmdon Sawmill, for LUCY and Martin Wood's icebreaker project (see Newsletter 6). They were delivered by King's Lifting Services on 26th November. For LUCY there is sufficient for stem and stern posts, knees, and nine 20ft planks.
New cabin back end beam and frames - September 2010
I removed the back end beam, with its bracket for the top plank bolt, and the frames. These were remade in Ash from the Cheshire timber pile, and the bracket has been reforged onto a new bolt.
Cabin dismantling - July/August 2010
The internal panelling of the cabin was photographed, measured and removed. It has been retained for comparison for the rebuilding. I also found that two cabin frames on the starboard side can be re-used. All other timber must be renewed.
Timber Sourcing 2009 and 2010
December 2009 I went to measure up several oak and beech logs at a farm in Cheshire. They were from storm and wind damaged trees. They will supply oak for stem and stern posts, hull frames, cabin frames, rudder parts and shearing pieces, and beech for cabin beams and furniture. We sliced them into suitable pieces with a mobile sawmill at the beginning of March, and brought back heavy pieces by road. Later in the month we loaded more oak and ash into SKYLARK on the Caldon Canal, and at Easter transhipped it into BETELGEUSE at the Coventry gathering of the Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club.
In December and January, I collected ash logs from Nick Hill's fields. Some are curved and suitable for tillers and ash plates for cant protection, and the straight pieces will provide shafts, and planks for cabin and furniture work.
First new parts made - March 2010
On 14th March 2010 I made the first new parts for LUCY - the two mast beam brackets. They are copied from the old bracket that fell off the liner plank last year, and use offcuts of oak from gunnel repairs to other boats.
Measuring and Recording
A new section in the gallery shows drawings of parts of LUCY using Google SketchUp7. I plan to have all measurements recorded on paper and in electronic form, although some of the complex curves and angles may present a challenge for the computer software. This does provide 3D presentation, with the ability to view from any angle and walk through or fly around the model.
Hull survey - November 2009
On 24th November a small party of friends worked on removing the last of the mud, and stripping off tarpaulins and plating to find all the scarf joints of the planks. These were all marked and photographed, and dimensions of hull planks measured. The plank lengths range from 15 to 35 ft, the bottom plank being 10 inches deep and the rest, 9 inches. The depth of some planks increases at the bow and stern. With 2 inches of gunnel depth, her 5 plank construction gives an internal side height of exactly 4 feet. On the starboard side, forward of the mast, a 9ft repair section of plank has been let in, with new scarf joints into original planking. We assume this is a repair because the new scarf joints are too close to other joints above and below to be in a new build, and do not appear in the photograph of the new LUCY in the shed in Nurser's yard. Further investigation will show how their fixings differ from an original joint.
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© Pete Boyce 2011 ----- Last updated: 30.3.2011