Foam, dust, spars and sails

At the students’ behest (honestly, it doesn’t take much arm twisting) we spent a class period in the shop and managed to make significant progress. I’d done my best to line up some projects and materials to maximize our time, and I was eager to capitalize on their enthusiasm.

Kaitlyn and Klara went right to work on cleaning the spars with 3M’s restorer compound and wax, while Simone and Becky sanded the cockpit seats. Michael R., Jared C., Tony, and Michael H. sanded the cockpit slats, which we’d disassembled yesterday evening, and the cockpit coaming. A few of them have a study hall following our time together, so they stayed on to continue working and managed to get the wood completely sanded.

Simone and Becky sand the cockpit benches

Tony and Michael sand the cockpit coaming

Michael D. and Joey did their best to remove the remaining forward attachment for the rub rail and loosened the stem fitting before making a supply run. I drilled out a rusted fastener to complete the rub rail removal, and pulled the last bolt to free the stem fitting. Both the rub rail and stem fitting need attention. The forward hole on the stem fitting is cracked, and the rub rail could use a good cleaning. Both should be repairable. I tried cleaning a small portion of the rub rail to see what it would look like, and I’m satisfied that it will clean up just fine.

Bonnie and Alex G. filled a tub in another room and began cleaning the mainsail. It is in fair condition, but has a few stains from rodents (not to mention a smell) that we’d like to get rid of – or at least improve. The sail should be serviceable.

Matt and Matt got some kerosene and began cleaning up our bucket-o-parts: winches, cleats, chainplates, and other hardware.

Constanza and Josh did their best to dig the pour-in expanding foam out of a small cutout in the lazarette. I don’t think they made much progress thanks to the small opening. It appears it’s going to be necessary to open that hole up if we’re going to get the foam out. And the foam must be removed if it’s as bad as what we found in the cabin.

Constanza and Josh work to remove foam from the lazarette

Nick, Alex and I worked on demoing the cabin. Armed with a Sawzall, we cut away the v-berth to expose the foam, which had collected so much water that it spurted out of the cuts and flooded the sole. Every piece of plywood and every section of foam was saturated. We carved out shoebox-sized chunks of foam, each one weighing a couple of pounds. The task was made more enjoyable by the discovery of colonies of black ants that had been happily munching on the rotten wood until we disturbed their tranquility. Little by little we hacked away at the water-soaked foam, stopping periodically to shovel it out of the way.

Nick begins cutting out the starboard berth

After we’d cleared the cabin, we cut through the forward bulkhead. Again, water poured from the cut. I had estimated earlier that the forepeak and v-berth probably held close to 200lbs of water. I’m pretty certain of that now. We hauled several loads of foam to the dumpster, each weighing 40lbs or so.

Nasty foam - and ants

Yours truly cutting out the forward bulkhead

We found a shovel to be most effective, if not a bit unwieldy, at carving out chunks of foam as we excavated the forepeak. The Sawzall was useful at times, but the shovel enabled us to pry large chunks free fairly easily. Nick and I worked until 5:30 before calling it a day.

Foam, fo-fo-fo-foam

Forepeak cleared (mostly)

Even my son got in on the action

Things are moving right along.

2010
03/25
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Two days in a row

The crew spent a few minutes in the shop today tending to various projects. Organizing nearly 30 students into productive and focused teams working on several projects simultaneously is proving to be a challenge. Kristen E. and Brianna C. worked on the spars, stripping them of old, grungy rigging, while others (Tony J., Bonnie G. Michael H., etc) removed the bungs in the cockpit grates. Michael D. and Joey W. began removing the rub rail, and a couple of guys sat down with pen and paper to make a list of needed materials (Matt and Matt). Michael R. tackled the bilge pump and he’s confident he’ll have it working soon. Michael R. and Jared C. stayed behind after class to continue working on the grate.

In short, the room buzzed with activity. I like it.

It’s clear we’ll need to set up some work stations so everyone will have something specific to take care of next time, which means gathering necessary tools and materials to maximize productivity. I’m eager to turn over as much of the project as possible to the kids. Ideally, my role would include answering questions as they arise and providing advice to forestall frustration, leaving ownership of the project to the kids. In that respect, I think I just might be learning as much as they are at this point. Excellent.

Removing the rub rail


No shortage of workers


Joey, Matt and Matt working on supplies and the rub rail


Matt and Matt put together a list of supplies


Alex and Constanza remove the turnbuckle covers

2010
03/23
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And we’re off

The nautical lit class met the boat today. Although it might not have been love at first sight (we can’t all be hopeless romantics), they were generally excited. I was especially surprised by just how interested several of the girls seemed to be. Cool.

I gave the class an overview of the work ahead of us and explained some of the first steps. Naturally, several students asked if we could start work immediately and skip class for the week. Nice try. As much as I love messing about with boats, we need to be sure to fulfill the literature component of the course!

The fifty-minute period slipped by, but not before the kids had a chance to climb aboard and poke around. Nick G. and Michael H. were eager to get to work and stuck around after the bell rang. The three of us began stripping the cockpit, each attacking a different piece of wood, and in a little over 2 hours we had the cockpit coaming, benches, trim, and grate removed. With the cockpit cleared, we can turn our attention to gutting the cabin while another group begins working on refinishing the wood. Due to extensive water damage, the cockpit floors, the main bulkhead, and the cabin interior will need to be replaced. Our head start today puts us in a good position to get the cabin cleared out on Friday afternoon, our scheduled work day.

A bit of sleuthing has revealed that this Ensign is likely a ’67 vintage and not a ’74 as previously thought. An owner on the Yahoo EnsignSailor group indicated that a solid stem fitting and a “clamp-on” rub rail are characteristic of a hull number earlier than 1300. Those two details, along with the sail number of 1240, seem to confirm that this boat is, in fact, a 1967. Such details can be helpful when it comes to identifying typical problem areas or configurations – although I doubt there was too much variation in production.

2010
03/22
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There and Back

Well, we made it.

After picking up the Greenes’ Toyota Tundra and a couple of floor jacks from the shop teacher Wednesday afternoon, I returned home and began loading. I cut some railroad ties into blocks to use as cribbing, loaded a bunch of ratchet straps and rope, and gathered a few other odds and ends that I thought might come in handy. Rather than depart at midnight Thursday as originally planned, I decided to head out at 7pm Wednesday, which turned out to be a good decision. Nick arrived at 6pm, and after a quick supper we left.


Nick, Jake and I posed for a commemorative photograph prior to departure

Nick’s mom put together a wonderful basket of goodies for the trip, including pasta salad, cookies, fruit, and juice! With that, 6lbs of Twizzlers, and an iPod Touch loaded with games for Jake, we were ready for some driving. We drove straight through to Rochester, NY, and stopped for a couple hours of sleep at 3am. I’d made arrangements with John Dunn to meet at 9am, so I got back on the road at 6 just to be sure we were there on time. As it was, we arrived in Oswego around 8, which gave us a chance to stop for some breakfast before meeting up with OJ.

Although I’ve known OJ for nearly seven years, I’d never met him in person, so it was great to finally talk to him face to face. Several years ago, when Jake was about two, I posted a photo on a sailing forum of Jake steering our boat. OJ, in grandfatherly fashion, was the only one who had anything nice to say about the photo (everyone else fussed about the fact that Jake wasn’t wearing a life jacket). Ever since that photo, OJ has taken a special interest in Jake – and now Josh – often asking how he’s doing or commenting on a recent picture of Jake sailing. I was happy that Jake and OJ had some time to get acquainted while Nick and I worked with OJ’s son, Mike, to get the boat loaded on the trailer.


Jake and OJ enjoy glazed donuts while the rest of us provide the entertainment.

Loading the boat was mostly uneventful. Prior to seeing it, our plan was to raise the boat, which was resting on a wooden cradle, high enough to back the trailer under it, lower it, and head for home. No such luck. The timbers supporting the cradle were already bowing from the weight of the boat and didn’t appear wide enough to clear the trailer. Our revised plan involved raising the boat and cradle just forward of the balance point so we could back the trailer under it as far as possible. What followed was several minutes of head scratching, some scrambling, and a lot of jockeying the jacks around on the mucky ground before we had the boat and cradle sufficiently on the trailer to begin ratcheting it forward. A few hours later, we had the boat safely mounted on the trailer and her rigging secured.


Ready to roll

By 2:30pm we were on the road. The truck pulled perfectly and a check of the boat about 20 miles down the road promised a smooth trip home. We made a quick stop at Niagara Falls (a first for Nick and Jake) and then got on the toll road (ouch!, $100 in tolls) and drove until I started seeing double just outside of Cleveland. By 6am we were back on the road, which put us home at 11 Friday morning.

I spent part of Friday afternoon cleaning leaves and other debris out of the boat so it would be a tad more presentable when I dragged it to work on Monday. As I cleaned, I made mental notes about the work ahead and did my best to create a project list to get (and keep) things going once the kids start working. I hope they’re ready.

A few pictures before cleaning:


Not the most encouraging photo, but at least it appears that all of the hardware is there.

2010
03/19
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The journey of 1246 miles

And so it begins.  All of the calls, the emails, the funding requests, all of the planning – done.  Now it’s on to Oswego, New York.

When I dreamed up the idea of teaching a course in nautical literature, I knew I wanted it to have a hands-on, practical component.  The original plan was to build an Eastport Pram from Chesapeake Light Craft, teach the kids how to sail it, then put it up for auction, the proceeds going to a mission project of some sort.

Just before Christmas break ended, I came across a post in one of the sailing forums I frequent.  A member, John Dunn (or Oswego John as he’s referred to online), posted a message saying that he had a few projects that he needed to part with – one a 22′ 1974 Pearson Ensign.  I immediately rattled off an email telling him that I was interested in acquiring the boat for the nautical lit course.  I also explained the nature of the project and the fact that the restored boat would eventually be sold to raise money for missions.  His reply left me speechless: “Make me a reasonable offer, cut it in half, and we’ll go from there.”  John Dunn has a heart for God and a heart for missions.

Tomorrow – well, EARLY Thursday morning – Nick G., Jake and I are heading to Oswego, NY, to pick up the Ensign.  With a flatbed trailer from the Nash family, a Toyota Tundra from the Greenes, and funding from the Andrews Academy Student Association, we’ll drive the 9hrs or so to Oswego, arriving around 9am on Thursday, load the boat and turn around for home, arriving back here by 9 or so Thursday evening. Many, many thanks to the Greene and Nash families for making this possible!

Here’s hoping for a safe trip, and here’s what we’re off to get (the old salt in the foreground is none other than Oswego John):

v

2010
03/17
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