Rebuilding my 50' schooner in Nicaragua

[chuckt]

That is interesting. Please take some pictures of what you are describing. (I'm sure you were planning to anyway). I suppose the parting iron is "crushing" the wood to open up the seam? I think Abeking crushed a groove in the center of the plank edges when doing the planking on Concordias. The cotton caulking was put in the groove. Then, I suppose the crushed wood expanded when wet. Is that the same idea?

[Capt Zatarra]

That's interesting capt.

But specially in the turn of the bilge, you can't have the plank all tight on the lower edge without shaping it as the outside of it wil be touching a lot before the inside does, removing a bit more for the caulking bevel don't even take more time...

Except if they build mostly round bottom boat, which can explain a bit...

They cut the bevel on the plank edge so that it perfectly matches up to the plank next to it. They don't cut a bevel for caulking on the board after that. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

That is interesting. Please take some pictures of what you are describing. (I'm sure you were planning to anyway). I suppose the parting iron is "crushing" the wood to open up the seam? I think Abeking crushed the plank edges when doing the planking on Concordias. (I might be remembering that wrong). Then, I suppose the wood expanded when wet. Is that part of the idea of doing it this way?

The next time I see one being done I try to take some pictures. it might be my schooner next.
The parting iron is crushing the wood to open the seam, but the seam is closing back up rather quickly (just a few minutes) the caulker must get his cotton in right away or he loses his seam. Capt. Z.

[Sailor]

That sounds like a logical way to do it. Open the seam and then it will close ( tighter now that there's caulking in there) and just like A&R's crushed plank edges, wet expansion will help it seal out water. I wonder..... I like the theory.

[Matti]

That is interesting. Please take some pictures of what you are describing. (I'm sure you were planning to anyway). I suppose the parting iron is "crushing" the wood to open up the seam? I think Abeking crushed a groove in the center of the plank edges when doing the planking on Concordias. The cotton caulking was put in the groove. Then, I suppose the crushed wood expanded when wet. Is that the same idea?

You mean like this;http://www.freewebs.com/maryii/apps/...otoid=26582659

[Soundman67]

You mean like this;http://www.freewebs.com/maryii/apps/...otoid=26582659

Looks like a lot of mixed heatwood sapwood in that boat. great looking build but isnt that going to cause a lot of problems?

[Matti]

Looks like a lot of mixed heatwood sapwood in that boat. great looking build but isnt that going to cause a lot of problems?

What you mean?
The answer is no. Local pine (pinus sylverstus), there is only little difference decay resistance between sapwood/oldgrowht, red colour.
In boats structure is over 200l linseed oil (mainly in "sapwood"), it''ll helps!
That way has boats been made for very long time here, pine hull last 40-80 years, when fully saturated, that's enough for me.

[Soundman67]

Over here we always separate out the heartwood. Thats why I asked.

[George Ray]

I used to have a little scandinavian honeymoon sloop that was tight planked with quarter sawn lumber. IF the planks are plain sawn it seems that over the years if not sooner, the shrink/swell resultant gaps will be more difficult to deal with. The grain orientation in the plank has much to do with how the seam will act over time.

[JoshuaIII]

They cut the bevel on the plank edge so that it perfectly matches up to the plank next to it. They don't cut a bevel for caulking on the board after that. Capt. Z.

I was thinking about it today, and remembered something about people building in tropical region that the wood being soaking wet they make it extra tight so when it dry it does not open as much...

[Capt Zatarra]

My wood (Santa Maria) was cut six months ago. Last month it was 14% moisture, I haven't checked it lately. Here in the dry season the danger is the wood drying out so fast that the wood splits. I have had to paint the ends to help slow down the shrinkage and the checking.
So on a different note, it can be a little frustrating when I realize that I over looked that the combined thickness of the shear shelf, shear clamp, the frame, and the shear strake is seven and a half inches thick and the drill bit is only five inches long! And the hardware store only has five inch long drill bits in stock. So the solution was saw off five inches of 3/8 tool stock and weld it to the the drill bit and viola, now I can whip out my big ten inch
Record of a band that plays those blues
Well a drill bit that could have belonged to a band that plays the blues.
(don't hate me Aerosmith, I'm just sampling as an homage to your greatness, and because you would love my big ten inch
Drill bit that sings the sawdust blues.)
Capt. Z.

[chas]

"So on a different note, it can be a little frustrating when I realize that I over looked that the combined thickness of the shear shelf, shear clamp, the frame, and the shear strake is seven and a half inches thick and the drill bit is only five inches long! And the hardware store only has five inch long drill bits in stock. So the solution was saw off five inches of 3/8 tool stock and weld it to the the drill bit and viola, now I can whip out my big ten inch
Record of a band that plays those blues
Well a drill bit that could have belonged to a band that plays the blues.
(don't hate me Aerosmith, I'm just sampling as an homage to your greatness, and because you would love my big ten inch
Drill bit that sings the sawdust blues.)
Capt. Z."

OK. I had to mark this fine thread somehow. Carry on Cap'n, I'm watchin' with envy your predicament. Especially with those recent pictures. / Jim

[chuckt]

Yeah Matti--exactly. Although Waldo Howland's Concordia book says Abeking used a special hammer to whack down that center groove put the tool in that picture looks pretty nifty.

[Capt Zatarra]

I took some pictures of the drilling and bolting the shear/clamp/shelf/strake, only I didn't get to the Internet cafe in time to down load the pictures, I'll try to get it tomorrow. In the mean time here is a picture to hold you over.

This is the second shear strake going up.
The third strake and the third clamp and the second shelf is up.
This day consisted of drilling and drilling and drilling and Oh yea did I mention drilling.
With my big ten inch
Drill bit that burned up one of my drills today. (crap)
The nails in the picture must be drilled before nailing as a nail will not penetrate the wood.
So tomorrow I'll post more pictures
Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

So it's Friday night and I have pictures, so it is only right that I start by whippin' out my big ten inch
Drill bit that would make a band that sings the blues jealous

Here I am pushing it through all 7.5 inches of nicarguian hardwood

For those who wanted to see how all four parts are fitted together this is it

The shear shelf in the picture is only partly there, we will clamp up the next one drill, and bolt the first two holes and then bend the shelf so that it follows the curve of the shear. Since the spacing of the frames and the spacing of the deck beams are not the same they will run into each other at a certain point and the frames will get trimmed down.
Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Cleaned up two of my three oak barrels and put some varnish on them to keep them nice till they go back on the ol Bonnie Lassie

After all what is a schooner without a rum barrel? Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Here is the view after we lifted the bow two inches

I really enjoy this view. The seam you can just make out at the bottom of the picture is a piece of wood that will be replaced, when the ballast is recast. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Another view a little farther back

So now that I have a new camera I'm not sure what to take pictures of. Capt. Z.

[Larks]

So it's Friday night and I have pictures, so it is only right that I start by whippin' out my big ten inch
Drill bit that would make a band that sings the blues jealous

Looking ready for business there Z'. As far as the new photos and what take? Anything and everything, we never tire of photos. How about a few pics around the yard to give us an idea of what's up there at the moment?. To be very honest, I've even found myself looking at the scrub in the background of this pic to get an idea of what the countryside is like where you are.

[ILikeRust]

So now that I have a new camera I'm not sure what to take pictures of.

As much as possible.

[sailboy3]

As much as possible.

+1

Thanks for posting these, this thread is great!

[JoshuaIII]

Remove the background, and this look like a serial killer ready to make another victim!

[Capt Zatarra]

Remove the background, and this look like a serial killer ready to make another victim!

Stephane, I'm positive it is the native French speaker thing, so please let me help you here. I'm sure what you were trying to say is "Remove the background, and this looks like a dashing and debonaire Boatbuiding sailor ready to mix another martini." Capt. Z.

[JoshuaIII]

Stephane, I'm positive it is the native French speaker thing, so please let me help you here. I'm sure what you were trying to say is "Remove the background, and this looks like a dashing and debonaire Boatbuiding sailor ready to mix another martini." Capt. Z.

Sure it is! It was hard to see the real expression under all that beard

[ILikeRust]

Actually, when I first saw that pic, my first thought was "I don't often drill large holes in my boat, but when I do, I use this ten-inch bit. Stay thirsty, my friend."

Either that or, "When you come to shoot, don't talk - shoot."

[oceangroover]

Z - another lurker sticks his head up from under the woodpile.

Love yer work, appreciate the posts and photos.

Those about to drink, salute you.

Regards and more power to your elbow from Groover

[Capt Zatarra]

Groover, I am humbled and honored to see your post #1 was for my thread. I salute you. And here is a complimentary picture, as a thank you for your kind words.

This is the view of the Starb'rd side looking forward, where the quarter deck drops to the main deck. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Bill, we could have a contest for the best tagline for the photo, but there are two problems, I have no cool hats to give away, and it would be neigh impossible to beat yours. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Here it is the first plank run from bow to stern

I have a bruise on my shoulder from hoisting this plank up into position three times while the end was cut to fit. Once we got the end nailed and some clamps on I jumped down and took this picture

We needed to remove an eighth of an inch from the top outside down to nothing

And here it is from below looking up

Enjoy. Capt. Z.

[sailboy3]

I'm enjoying it all right. That first pic of the starboard quarter is great!

[George Ray]

Man Oh Man it's taking beautiful shape !!!!

[oceangroover]

Groover, I am humbled and honored to see your post #1 was for my thread. I salute you. And here is a complimentary picture, as a thank you for your kind words.

This is the view of the Starb'rd side looking forward, where the quarter deck drops to the main deck. Capt. Z.

Thanks Z! Proud to have my own complimentary picture with dedication from the Cap! Onward to victory mate...

[Sailor]

She won't have far to go once she's finished.

[Capt Zatarra]

Two planks on the port side now. And this week is samana santa. So the whole country is here to play on the beach. No more work till Monday. We are getting out of town for the weekend, we go to Managua and catch the movies and buy supplies for the boat. Capt. Z.

[headonz]

Another view a little farther back

So now that I have a new camera I'm not sure what to take pictures of. Capt. Z.

We are never going to tell you "Stop Captin Z ..too many photos !!!!" .Its just not possible.

Before you started ,what had you intended to do to your schooner ? was it an extensive rebuild as this ?

Maybe I missed it but I would be interested to see your workshop/machinery and timber in the state it arrives.

Other than that I know little or nothing about Nicaragua so anything you snap will be of interest to me for one.

What the photos never show of course is the climate ,how is the heat and humidity ?

[Capt Zatarra]

Headonz
There will be more pictures coming soon. About the original plans, when we arrived here the plan was to replace a few planks and replace the deck. And maybe redo the head. We also wanted to replace the masts and rigging. We had future plans to replace the aft doghouse with a flush quarterdeck, and add some stern deadlights/port lights. Also to redesign the cockpit with some weather protection. After we pulled some planks we found most of the frames were cracked or broken. So I decided to replace them all and make them a little larger. That lead to the decovery that the bulkheads were coming unglued (40yr old plywood). And that prompted the desision to gut the boat completely and build it back with all the changes we had thought about for the last 6yrs living and sailling her. That is a short concice version of the story. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Tomorrow the first fore deck beam goes on! Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

As promised here is the first fore deck beam, or maybe it should be called main deck beam,
I have decided to put in some of the deck beams to make sure that the force that the hull planks do not warp the over all shape of the hull.

But wait, for today only, you get not one but two deck beams for the same low low price

Two little bits of info. The bolts for the shear clamp would most likely be carriage bolts some where other then Nicaragua. Here the cost was too high, so I used threaded rod and used a small sledge to hammer a mushroom shape to one end of the rod and then then back a nut down on the planished end insert a washer next and voila, custom built carriage bolt. So you will notice in the picture the vise grips on the bolt in the shear shelf, that is because some times when you try to tighten up the nut on the inside the threaded rod will twist driving the rod through the nut on the plank side and making it stick out of the counter sunk hole. So you grab the rod with the vise grips and tighten the nut with a box end wrench. And no one has taken the vise grips off the threaded rod yet.
The other tid bit is about the weather here to day was hot, very hot, I have no idea what the actual timpeture was but by five o'clock it had cooled off quite a lot. So here is the deal, at around eleven o'clock I cut the first deck beam to 13' 4" and the fit was very very tight. At five o'clock the fit was lose. When I had remeasured the length was 13' 3 15/16". I had lost a 1/16" from heat expansion. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

So I snapped this picture of some guys making a platform for a paragliding operation some one is planning to open up here

So far they have not had any luck figuring out how to balance the load on the two pangas.
Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

And for those who ask to see around the boat yard here is a view looking west from atop the schooner. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Maybe I missed it but I would be interested to see your workshop/machinery and timber in the state it arrives.

There is no workshop, all the work is done outdoors. And here is what the timber looks like when it arrives. The fliches are cut with a chain saw, we cut out the beam and then we clean them up with a hand plane, then a sander.

The board on top of the pile is the pattern for the deck beams.
And here is a shot of what we think of as 'the workshop'

Cutting out a deck beam. Notice the natural curve to the tree so that the grain follows the shape of the beam. Sweet. Again the other board is the pattern. These are being sawn by hand, the wedges in the cut are to keep the saw curf from closing on the saw blade.

The planks are being handled differently, I have hired someone with a large planer to plane down both sides to 1 and 3/4 inches.
Capt. Z.

[headonz]

The enormity of your task is a little mind bobbling if you dont mind me saying so.

Has there ever been a time when you have stood back and looked at your schooner and screamed "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE !!"

I take your point about the deck beams needing to be in place.Those 1 3/4" planks must collectively exert an enormous pressure.Will none of them be steamed ?

[Sailor]

You're sawing them out BY HAND! You sir are a sucker for punishment. I don't envy the task and I am glad you're willing to take it on. I wouldn't be. I'd be on the lookout for a power saw of some sort. in very short order. Tenner is about the only other man I can think of that would eschew power tools like that. Though even he would likely find a way to cheat and have someone else do it for him with their big tools. Keep up the good work. She's coming along beautifully.
Daniel

[Capt Zatarra]

The enormity of your task is a little mind bobbling if you dont mind me saying so.

Has there ever been a time when you have stood back and looked at your schooner and screamed "OH MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE !!"

I take your point about the deck beams needing to be in place.Those 1 3/4" planks must collectively exert an enormous pressure.Will none of them be steamed ?

I don't mind you saying so. I really try to only look at it one day at a time. It is something I learned to do a long time ago. Once I decide to take on a really big task, I never look at the total package again. I take it in small manageable chunks. Most of the time I view it in daily perspective, how much can I do today? And then l keep my eye on the growing list of things that are done and focus on adding to that list. That way I never feel over whelmed by what needs to be done.
About your other question, will any be steamed? I don't know. If we get to a place where we cannot bend a plank in to shape, I will build a steam box.
Capt. Z.

[JoshuaIII]

Hey Capt!
Glad it's going forward!

May I suggest to steam them, as you will see a lot of breaking near the fastening because of the high amount of pressure on them (Talking from experience there, I didn't want to steam either)...

[Capt Zatarra]

You're sawing them out BY HAND! You sir are a sucker for punishment. I don't envy the task and I am glad you're willing to take it on. I wouldn't be. I'd be on the lookout for a power saw of some sort. in very short order. Tenner is about the only other man I can think of that would eschew power tools like that. Though even he would likely find a way to cheat and have someone else do it for him with their big tools. Keep up the good work. She's coming along beautifully.
Daniel

It's not that hard, keep your saw sharp, and it over before you know it. To my way of thinking anyone who goes to an office every day and sits behind a desk is a real sucker for punishment. This is the view from my 'office'

I actually tried to cutting out some ribs with a skill saw but it made such a hash on the tight parts of the curve that the clean up took up so much time and wasted so much wood that We went back to cutting it by hand. (technically a band saw would be needed to do it with power, but as I have said before 'power tools are for men in their reclining years')
I have to say though, building on this beach a 1790-1812 era Schooner, with hand tools that would be recognized by the journeymen of that day, I feel a real kinship to the boatbuilders of the past. This bay is the location that the Spanish used to build over 200 ship here to try and hold the pacific, as well as this was the port where the treasure ship came once a year to unload the gold and wealth collected from the Philippines, Macao, Japan, and China, to be loaded on to mule trains and transported overland to barges on lake Nicaragua and then down the Rio San Juan, to be loaded on the once a year treasure ship bound for Spain. Years later this beach was a ship building meca for the California gold rush, and then again for the fruit companies with Vanderbilt at the lead. There is a picture in a hotel here of a ship being built right where I am building mine. I'll try to take a picture of it and post it here for you to see.

By the way, who is Tenner?

Thanks for the compliments, it feels good when some one says she coming along beautifully. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Hey Capt!
Glad it's going forward!

May I suggest to steam them, as you will see a lot of breaking near the fastening because of the high amount of pressure on them (Talking from experience there, I didn't want to steam either)...

Hay Stephane, how's fatherhood treating you?

So far (knock on wood, scratch a stay, turning, turning, turning, "may the lords and saints preserve us") we are getting it done without the extra step of steaming. Part of our success may be due to leaving the clamps on the plank ends after it is fastened for about three days. Giving the wood a little time to learn their shape before putting all the load on the fastners. The plank ends in the rabbit keep their clamp for a week. It is a little something I learned down here. I suspect that we will need to start steaming as we get closer to the bildge where there is much more twist and bend. Capt. Z.

[Capt Zatarra]

Here's the picture from 5 July 1856
Costa Ricans retreating from San Juan del Sur, the wounded being transported to the ship

The ship on the beach in the background is now this place

Capt. Z.

[kewlrunninz]

Hi Cap. Z, have'nt been aboard for a while. You certainly are ploughing ahead, looks good. I see you posted some pics of the boatyard but dont see any vessels the size of PROVIDENCE. Or maybe she is too heavy for the yard there (67 tons). ......best o luck to you in the coming "warm" season

[Capt Zatarra]

Hi Cap. Z, have'nt been aboard for a while. You certainly are ploughing ahead, looks good. I see you posted some pics of the boatyard but dont see any vessels the size of PROVIDENCE. Or maybe she is too heavy for the yard there (67 tons). ......best o luck to you in the coming "warm" season

Good to hear from you kewlrunninz
There are actually two yards side by side here, the one on the other side of the fence from me has a railcar to haul out the big boys like PROVIDENCE. Let me know if your coming down and I'll get updated prices.
Capt. Z.