Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

[Morgan Volunteer]

Aside from the Charles W Morgan and a certain Packard PT boat engine, lots of other things are always being rebuilt.



The main roadway just outside the visitors’ center floods during the monthly highest tides. A few extra inches should help.

The warm weather has helped a lot during the winter shutdown.



Sabino's dock is getting new planking.



At least one building is getting a new roof.



Back to the Morgan.

This will be a new knee for the Morgan. I believe it's the first one during this rebuild.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Now all he has to do is cut it out.



I have never seen a saw like this.





A little fine tuning.



I found something hidden out in plane sight.

Look up on the back wall.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Here is something else we found this week.

The DuPont Restoration building was put up in 1971.

Just to the left of my scrapin' & paintin' partner's head is a 1971 dime nailed to a beam.







Not much to look at but so far it has brought good luck.

Meanwhile we scrape.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Later we went outside and up into Morgan's scaffolding to scrape paint on the hull.

You may remember that we found some rot in the aft head and pantry during the summer.

It turns out there was a bit more damage than what we first found when the shipwrights opened up the stern for a better look.

This is the starboard/stern corner.



The seaport, the shipwrights, the whole rest of the staff and volunteers are putting in a huge effort to preserving this grand old ship.

Finding this damage was only a setback that will be dealt with. It will take time and money (not in that order though) to make it right again.

This is the stren from the port side.




We were there to remove paint so we were given an infrared heater to soften it. It’s easy work for two. One holds the heater while the other scrapes.

One of our instructions was to look for any soft wood. Since we look at every square inch, we should see any more problem areas.

I hope not.



Looking down the port side.



Looking down the starboard side.




Looking down.

[Morgan Volunteer]

As a volunteer at Mystic Seaport I am on the mailing for the Staff Bulletin. I now have permission to pass along excerpts which I hope you will find interesting.

Shipyard News

Charles W. Morgan: The shipwrights have completed the enclosure for the Morgan which will permit winter work. The focus now is on the planking. As previously reported much of the planking from the broad strake up to the seventh strake has been removed especially at the ends of the vessel. However, we have been able to save a substantial portion of the original planking amidships. In preparation for marrying the old and the new, the shipwrights are fairing the frames to provide a smooth surface to seat the new planks. They are also filling holes in the frames made by old trunnels and fasteners with white oak plugs. Next the shipwrights will install planking from the fourth or fifth strake upwards to create a longitudinal band around the Morgan to provide strength to the hull. They are also refastening the strakes which were not removed. From a restoration perspective this work is of particular interest. The shipwrights are working with original fabric and once the planking is complete we probably won’t see this section of the Morgan for several decades.

Bow framing is progressing nicely. The two new knightheads, each weighing some 800 pounds, have been installed. The new gripe is in place. Several of the greenheart cant frames have been replaced with white oak. The greenheart was not original to the vessel having been placed in the bow during the 1950s. We have determined that the transom will need more planking and framing work than expected. This was a surprise because the work in question was done in 1992. On balance, however, the bad surprises have been offset by good surprises.

The search for materials continues. Eight of the 10 required knees are in hand, many of which came from the Katrina live oak. Douglas fir for various spars will be ordered soon. Several yards, booms and the bowsprit will need to be replaced.

Elsewhere in the Yard: Winter work on various vessels continues. Fortunately we have had a mild winter to date. Lettie Howard has rot in her keelson which has slowed progress on her. She will be moved forward on the lift pad so that we can haul Lynx in February. This will be quite a sight, three wooden vessels on the pad at once. Roann will be hauled next to facilitate work on her as Morgan’s voyage tender.

http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...F3FBDB1166241C

[Morgan Volunteer]

The Packard is being put back together with parts from two engines.

Because the valve guides are mounted in the combination cam carrier, intake manifold, and exhaust manifold the alignment between the valve seats and valve guides is off. To fix this the seats are being ground. A borrowed valve seat grinder is doing the job.

It’s nice to have friends with tools.


The wheel had to be sharpened and resized to fit.

Diamonds are a mechanics best friend.



The same motor that grinds the seats is used to size the wheel.



The wheel and its holder locate on a shaft mounted in the valve guide.



A pair of ring compressors are turned on the lathe. Only two are needed. The entire bank of cylinders has to go back on as an assembly while the pistons and connecting rods are attached to the crank.

As each pair of pistons is started into the assembly, the engine will be rotated to bring up two more pistons. The ring compressor will be unbolted and moved three times to get each bank installed.




This engine is getting new babbitt poured.


I have to run an errand so I will post more on it in a bit.




It's a two cycle engine but the initial lubrication is the grease cup on the crank. One turn pre-lubes the bearings.

[Morgan Volunteer]

A very simple gig was set up to pour the bearing.



A 2x4, an old hinge for a shim, some kind of putty to contain the babbitt, and a few other parts and you're ready to go.



Heat the babbitt.



Preheat the rod end.



Pour.



I didn't wait for it to cool down, but I heard later that it came out well.

[rbgarr]

There will be a presentation on the Morgan's restoration at the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol RI this Thursday evening at 7 pm: http://www.herreshoff.org/programs/lecture_series.html

Reserving tickets is a good idea. The lectures often sell out.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Planking has started, almost.


This is the original removed a few weeks ago.



This is the template.



Now it needs to be cut out.



Piece of cake, right? The shipwrights are amazing.

Have you checked out this guy's thread?

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Gartside-116A

He is amazing too.

While scraping paint in the stern we uncovered just the tip of the rotten iceberg. In the aft head we found one seam with a bit of rot. Now the entire stern has been opened up.



Rebuilt in the 90's it was thought that all was well.

In the Captain’s quarters before and during. After will look like before.





That massive piece of wood is coming out in a bunch of small pieces because it is attached in so many places.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Saw, and pry, saw and pry, and saw some more.

Finally another chunk.




95% of this piece is good. It's the 5% and the impossible location that is the problem.

[Morgan Volunteer]

It's always nice to see “management” stop by for a visit.

Matthew Stackpole is on the right.




Here is an older interview he did with a local Connecticut television station.

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/ct_style/charles-morgan


As he was leaving he told me that as a child in the 1950's the stern was rebuilt while sitting in her sand berth. He was inside the captain's quarters and could see outside.


Down in the DuPont Restoration barn, another piece of the stern is getting work done. Since it could be removed in one piece, it made sense to restore it.



I'm not sure where it goes but the stern is propped up with this brace.



Also on the barn floor is another part of the framing for the bow.



Both ends are undergoing surgery. On deck the bow is a mess.



We continue to scrape.

[Garth Jones]

This is just the most interesting thread. Thank you so much for keeping it going all this time. I'm looking forward to the video of the Morgan sailing away!

Garth

[Sailor]

Yeah, me too. She'll be one heckuva sight. I think you mentioned earlier in the threat that she's got one more trip then she'll be tied up again? Why not sail her a bit more than this one more trip? I hate it when they tie ships up like that. CUTTY SARK, CHARLES W. MORGAN et al. should be sailed. That's the way to keep them in tip top condition. This whole idea of not using them or they'll break/wear out is crazy.

[Morgan Volunteer]

A couple of weeks ago the guys were pouring new babbitt bearings for this engine. Now they are boring out the wrist pin bore so they can line it with a bushing.





It's always handy to have a Bridgeport miller in your shop.





Our Scrapin' & paintin' job uncovers problems on occasion. This one was small. The lower corner was damaged so Boss Man says fix it.

This is the captain's wife's deck cabin.



The problen is small.



The fix is easy. (Compared to the Morgan out side!)

[Morgan Volunteer]

This knee from a couple of weeks ago needed more work.



A new template and more fine tuning.

Got Cabin Fever?



http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...4BA9AA1ED2D644

[Sailor]

I've got "Morgan Fever"!

[Morgan Volunteer]

The first knee is done and labeled.






Along with scrapin’ & paintin’ we are going to remove the caulking. We had a quick lesson just at the end of the day.



Out turn.



Don’t damage the wood, remove the putty, take out some of the hemp and if it’s dry, leave it there.



I asked for more instruction time next week. This seemingly simple task appears to be a bit deeper than we first thought.

I can see a sore arm in my future.


In the captain's cabin, the large beam shown last week is gone. Just below that removed beam is another one. After very careful inspection it was found to be in good condition so it will stay.



I didn't ask, but I believe the shipwright is making a template for the replacement beam.

[Morgan Volunteer]

If the ship seems like a monumental job, look at the house they built around it.

I love being a part of this but I also love that I’m not in charge.



Out in the yard the planer is set up for the hull planking.



This set of rollers was leveled to the deck on the planer.

[Morgan Volunteer]

A little fine tuning.







One down, ? to go!

You know the expression, “The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get?” Well here is an example.

We striped and repainted the bow. Now the restoration has expanded so, this is before and after.






Oh well, a little touch up and it will be as good as new.

The paintin' goes on.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Meanwhile in the engine shop, valve lapping and gaskets are on the agenda.

The local NAPA Store was out of Packard gaskets so the guys made them.







Not much to see with valve lapping.







"It's beautiful thing."

[Morgan Volunteer]

This is from the Mystic Staff Bulletin today.

Morgan Restoration Update

In a change of plans the shipwrights have postponed the installation of the first new plank until the week of February 13, 2012. This has permitted us to undertake a new round of laser scanning, particularly where the old framing material abuts the new futtocks, and of the transom. Our marine surveyor will also have a chance to undertake a review of the progress on the Morgan before the new planking covers up sections of the vessel for decades to come.

Work on the transom progresses. A new cross timber of white oak from the Charlestown Navy Yard is being shaped to replace the white pine timber installed during a restoration in the early 1980s. This piece in turn had replaced the original live oak. We had hoped to use live oak but we have not found a live oak tree large enough (22 feet long and 13” x 13”). The cross timber is a horizontal member mortised into the stern post. From it rise vertically the so-called tail feathers, which are the transom’s framing and form the shape of the upper portion of the stern. Several of the tail feathers need replacement and are being shaped on the floor of the main shed.

Volunteers continue to work on paint scraping of various spars and Mrs. Tinkham’s cabin. Other volunteers are fabricating blocks for the rigging. The metal components for the blocks are being hand forged by a shipyard employee.

[Hannibal]

Hey

I just registered in the Wooden Boat Forum to thank you for this amazing Thread. It is truly inspiring and gives a great insight in your work.

Greetings,
Hannes.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Thanks, Hannes.

Comments such as yours are a grand reward for the effort I put in.

Today marks another milestone in Morgan's restoration.

The first new bottom plank was installed this afternoon.



Only more than 100 to go.



Notice the tapered gap between the planks. This is for the caulking.






WTNH, Channel 8 News was there.





Man does not live by Morgan alone. Sometimes there are other things to do.

Wait a minute while I bite my lip.

I got back from Mardi Gras last night at midnight and then got up at 6:00 this morning to drive an hour to Mystic. Right now I am pooped, so I’ll keep this short. There is a Mystic connection in New Orleans.

More on that tomorrow.





If you have never been to Mardi Gras, I highly recommend it. We had a ball.

[Morgan Volunteer]

The Mystic connection is the WW-II Museum in New Orleans. They are restoring a boat too. In their case it’s PT-305, a Higgins boat built in 1943.



The restoration is going on across the street.



They have some of the same problems we have on the Morgan.



The restoration crew is all volunteers.



The hull is well supported.




They have a nice shop to work in although a much smaller scale than Mystic's.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Our engine crew has been in contact with their engine restoration crew in New Orleans.

They have lots of spare engine parts.



The boxes below contain more spares.





This is a brand new (1940's) ignition wire kit.



I believe this is an ether injection setup. Again, brand new.



They also have a wish list and perhaps someone out there can help. They are looking for an original steering wheel. The original traditional looking ships wheel had one handle that was hinged. This would allow the helmsman to crank the wheel over much faster. Sort of like a suicide knob on a 50’s hot rod.

They also need two original generators. I have no idea about this but if you think you can help, drop them a line.

Got a spare torpedo roll off launcher or dewat .50 cals? How about a 1940’s radio or radar set?

http://support.nationalww2museum.org...SURVEY_ID=3328

[Sailor]

I hope Mystic and the WWII museum can cooperate and help each other get what they need.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Road trip!!!

We took the cook stove off the Morgan last summer for a clean up.



Except for the legs, it was in good shape.

I took the best of the legs and using coat hanger wire and Bondo, I replicated the original so the foundry could make us new legs.

This Tuesday we took a road trip to pick them up at the foundry in Cumberland, RI.




The red glow above was just a hint of what came next.




The furnace is electric using induction to melt the iron.

The molten iron is poured into smaller vessels that are used to pour into the molds.

This crucible (?) is too heavy to pour by hand so it has its own gantry to pour into the molds.

[Morgan Volunteer]

The smaller mold were poured by hand.





This is sand casting. A pattern of the part to be made is packed with sand and when it is removed, the molten iron is poured into the cavity left by the pattern.

Once the pattern is made the mold has to be assembled in two parts with the pattern in between.

The pattern.



Assembling the mold using the pattern.



One of their other parts and the pattern to make them.





Some of you may recognize them. They are weights used in gyms.

[Morgan Volunteer]

So, here is before and after.



A couple of posts back I mentioned Morgan's first new bottom plank.



The local media was there and now the Staff Bulletin has some links to look at.

From the Staff Bulletin;

February 23, 2012

First Plank Installed on the Charles W. Morgan!

This past Tuesday, February 21, was a significant day at Mystic Seaport as the Museum’s shipwrights installed the first plank on the exterior of the Morgan. Excitement and cheer reverberated through observing staff and volunteers as this moment marked a major milestone in the whaleship’s restoration.

If you were unable to witness the plank installation, here is a sampling of media coverage that captured the event:
The New London Day: Mystic Seaport Begins Exterior Work on the Morgan
The Westerly Sun: Morgan restoration reaches another milestone
The Norwich Bulletin: Charles W. Morgan ship hits planking milestone
WTNH, News 8: Shipbuilders to revive Charles W. Morgan

Thank you to all who have contributed to this restoration project. All of us at Mystic Seaport are grateful for your hard work and dedication.

[Sailor]

I don't like the title Tne Norwich Bulletin chose, ships shouldn't hit anything.

[PaulC]

Nice job on the new legs for the furnace! As always, thank you for taking me along!

[2592]

This thread is so cool, after visiting Mystic last summer, I look forward to each update. Thanks for all the updates.

[Morgan Volunteer]

There are plenty of things to learn this winter at Mystic.

Varnishing Techniques for Traditional Boats
Saturday, April 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...8BF8F9E84FB8D3

I took this one and have it in my family room.

Introduction to Half-Model Construction
Saturday, March 31, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...645E616B4D22ED

Treworgy Planetarium Navigation and Weather Classes
Several courses between now and early May.

http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...C0D8B9709D10BF

There are more but I stuck with the courses that relate more to wooden boats.

Want to learn to cook on an open hearth? Check out the other courses on the Mystic Website.

http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.c...CDF7AD4B083BC3

[Morgan Volunteer]

Money is used the world over. Always has been and it always will be. The Morgan could not have traveled the world without cash for resupply. Credit? Perhaps but not on some small island where the natives may be cannibals. Even gold or silver may not have worked there.

Larger ports would have been easy to resupply in if the coins were carried on board.

In 1878 trade dollars were minted.



But what about other places? Whales teeth were always a hot item. But wait, there’s more!

Does this look like money?

This was used to trade in Africa.




I don't have all the details here but some of this is really odd.






This is copper.



At least it has value for the copper in it but this next one is iron and not much of it.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Here is one from Sweden.



I have no information about Morgan’s finances. I am bringing this up because one of our scrapin’ and paintin’ crew is also a coin collector and he shared this with us.

In earlier posts we looked at the coins from under Morgan’s masts and with the help of his club, The Pawcatuck Valley Coin Club, the coins were finally identified. It turns out one of them was an Eisenhower dollar. It was so badly corroded that only the club's president was able to identify it.

Two things have happened since that time. The club has proposed to the seaport that they would like to donate an 1841 large cent to be used in the stepping ceremony. The other is the club has had a commemorative coin struck celebrating the Charles W. Morgan and the clubs 50^th anniversary.

This is the large cent for the seaport and Morgan should they choose to accept it.




This is the commemorative coin, limited to 300 pieces.

[Peerie Maa]

Does this look like money?

This was used to trade in Africa.

I have just watched a documentary of an archaeological dig at a Swansea copper smelting works. Those were made there, called Manilla bracelets, for use in the slave trade. They were used to pay the African slavers, at the rate of 20 for a small human to 50 for a strong powerful man.

[Leatherneck]

Still a very interesting story, and you're a great yarn-spinner. Please keep it up!

Tom

[Morgan Volunteer]

The slave connection to this ring money is true. My scrapin’& paintin’ partner told us that a ship would take a load of cotton from the US to England. The ship owner would trade the cotton for ring money and then sail to West Africa where slaves were bought with the “coins.” Once back in the US, the cycle repeated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manillas

http://www.irishcoinage.com/EARLY.HTM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katanga_cross

Another coin is called canoe money but I could find very little about it on line. It apparently was used in Malaysia.



In previous post I showed our work on Mrs. Tinkham's cabin. I found some pictures of the original. The pictures are not so much of the cabin, rather are in the background. Still, they are interesting.



The current location, if it still exists, is unknown to anyone I have spoken with.

On the left.





Here it is being removed about the time the movies were shot in the 1920’s





This is about the era the seaport is restoring the ship to. There is a lot of photographic documentation from this time so the restoration can be accurate.

[Morgan Volunteer]

Last week we picked up the new legs for Morgan’s galley stove. A little filing and they slid right on. This week I brought the finished stove back to Mystic.

The number cast on the door is 450. I guessed that is how much it weighs. Nope, it weighs 600 pounds. (274kg)



The Packard is going back together.



The first job is to install the valves.



Installing the tapered keepers.






Done already?

"No, we just wanted to make sure the water was still in the river."

Huh?

They were waiting for Boss Man to finish lunch before they told him a bag of 48 valve keepers is missing.

They will show up, but there are still spares on the parts engine if needed.

[Morgan Volunteer]

While a proper carburetor is still missing the guys are planning to use two four barrels in the interim. Even when a proper carburetor is found the plan for now is to use it only for display and run it with the four barrels.

This is a cardboard mockup of the manifold. As it is here, the linkage will not clear. Naturally more work is needed.






While the stern is apart we get to see places we have worked from a different angle.

This is a storage bin in Morgan’s galley. My guess is that it was for coal.



The galley, from the outside looking in.



We call this the pantry. This is where we first found the damage in the stern. The storage cabinets are removed.




This is an area I have shown before but the lighting is much better now because so much has been removed. Now you can see a knee lying horizontally and how it’s contoured to conform to the shape of the hull.

[Morgan Volunteer]

This appears to be a template for one of the cross beams that will be replaced in the stern. There was no one working on the stern that day so for now, it’s an educated (or not) guess.


Well boys and girls, it's that time of the year again when my wife informs me of our travel plans.



This is a nice way to go boating too, except they won't let you drive.

Of course the beaches are nice.



And the breezes are warm.



And when the day is done all I need to do is sit back and watch the sun go down.



we'll will be away for two weeks but my scrapin’ & paintin’ partner promised to take any important pictures for me.

If you happen to be on a cruise in the next two weeks, we will be on the Celebrity Silhouette leaving from Bayonne, New Jersey. Look for the old guy with a camera.

I'd love to meet you.

[Hannibal]

I have never seen a saw like this.






[/SIZE]

Protool makes saws like this:
http://www.protool.de/Produkte/Seite...nsaege-CCP-380
and also some other interesting "Energy to Chip Converters":
http://www.protool.de/PRODUKTE/Seite...ebersicht.aspx

Here in Germany these things are used by carpenters for building half timbered houses and roof trusses. Unfortunatly only available with 230V/50hz...

Happy holiday!

[Morgan Volunteer]

While I was away on vacation my scrapin' & paintin' partner took a few pictures for us.



The engine crew followed the manual but soon found that without special tools, assembly their way would not work.



The manual says to mount the rods and pistons on the crank first. Then drop the cylinder assembly into place. The guys could not align all six pistons and the jugs at the same time.




They removed the pistons, inserted them into the jugs, and then lowered the assembly onto the block and crank shaft.

This was yesterday.



Now that both banks are in place they added the rockers, etc.

It took ten hands to keep all the parts in place.



Time for more new gaskets.



It is some kind of water manifold.

[Morgan Volunteer]

The Hartford Engine has a new wrist pin.



It has about a four inch bore and the rings are massive as you can see by the grooves.

The end of the wrist pin is knurled to lock it into the piston.



So, on to scrapin' & paintin'

My partner showed up with breakfast.



After breakfast, the first order of business was to start cleaning up the main mast. It's located across the street from the seaport.



The three masts have been here since 2008 covered with a plastic tent.



We scraped off the lose paint, applied the “Goop” and protective paper, and left it for the next day’s crew to scrape it off.

There are three crews working with us scrapin’ & paintin’. I have never met some of them.

[Sailor]

This thread is awesome. You have certainly gained alot of experience and new skills working at the scraping and painting. Do they allow you to expand your repertoir as it were and move on to different things as a volunteer or are you relegated to your "area of expertise"?

[Morgan Volunteer]

To answer Sailor’s question in the previous post,

Scrapin' & paintin' gets me into everything and everywhere.

Any small job that the shipwrights would rather not do is fair game.

We (the Scrapin’ & Paintin’ crew) have started reefing (removing) the caulking on the hull.
We rebuilt the cook stove. We had new legs cast in a foundry.
I am mounting electric heaters into the stove on the LA Dunton.
I was asked to make trunnels for the Morgan.
We plugged the old trunnel holes in Morgan’s frame work.
I made new cutters for the trunnel making machine.
We varnished the bright work on the Conrad.
This thread is another ongoing job.
Though it’s not my job, I get to add my two cents worth into the Packard engine rebuild.
This week we were asked to look at the humidifiers that are keeping Morgan from getting too dry. Today I am going to order parts for one of them that is broken.

We have a unique position in Morgan’s restoration. Since we are removing paint from every square inch of the ship, we find things that need attention. Case in point; The rebuild of the stern. It was thought that the stern was ok. It had been rebuilt back in the 1980’s. The damage finally showed up in the aft head. It was, to our untrained eyes, just one board that had a little problem. The shipwrights dug deeper and…..

We found the damage at the lower right. The shipwright's poked and prodded and opened up the larger hole on top.



It grew from there.

Inside the Captain's cabin looking out.

The massive piece of wood was taken out in pieces. Here you can see it with some chunks already removed.




This is its replacement.



To the shipwright it's just another chunk of wood. To me (and I am guessing to you too) it’s an amazing work of art.

[Sailor]

Awesome. You are one lucky dude. Yes that's one heck of a timber right there. Thanks.

[Morgan Volunteer]

While I was away on vacation for two weeks, Lynx was hauled out for inspection and maintenance.


Later that day she was moved back onto the ship lift and launched.









Perhaps she will be near your home port this summer.

http://www.privateerlynx.com/index.html

[Morgan Volunteer]

Planking on the hull is getting started.



This one is headed for the steam box.




Later it went to the port side, stern .



Once it is in place it is allowed to cool and take a set to its location. Later a few bronze spikes will hold it in place and after that trunnels will be installed.




The eye bolt will be removed later and a trunnel will go through the frame and ceiling plank. A wedge will be driven in from both ends.



The apprentice looks on. Last summer she worked in Mystic Seaport’s guest marina and decided she wanted to be more involved.

[Morgan Volunteer]

On the starboard bow is a plank installed earlier.

Measured for length and marked, a trunnel is driven in to one inch short of the bottom. Note the two lines on the trunnel.



Driven to depth it is cut off at the outer line.



The wedge is driven into the end and then the trunnel is set to depth. Sorry, no picture of that part but planking is just getting started.

Meanwhile we scrape and paint.