Restoration of MINDE, a 1903 Pilot Cutter

[svaap]

Shade,
Yes I keep the planks covered up in their stack.
I did cover the last plank with linseed oil (didn't have any turpentine).
I guess it is a good idea to saw outside the scribed line, to (hopefully) avoid any surprises in releasing internal stresses in the wood.
Is it fair to say that curved stock will have built in stresses, per definition?

As for the bevelling of the planks, I measure the angle between the frames and the plank below, and draw a line on some scrap-wood of the same thickness together with a 90 degree line. This way I can measure the distance between the 90 degr and the bevelled angle and this equals the amount of wood to be removed on one side of the planks.


Scaraborgcraft,
Your boat is lovely, I actually have one myself. They are Swedish "Koster" boat.
Mine is 25 feet, and was bought to be able to go sailing while I was rebuilding my Svaap.
It has dried out a lot, and requires a lot of timbers to be renewed - one day...


This afternoon I drove down to Isegran again, and fired up the steamer.


This picture illustrates old wood from Mindes hull being resycled, while new timbers are being prepared for renewing her hull.
I steam the first plank one hour before I put in the other one.




Prepared for a new plank





When all preparations for hanging the plank was done, I had a closer look at "Oscar Tybring", and her open seams.
This picture illustrates how much the wood have shrunk:





I got help from one of the skippers on a boat moored at Isegran. I faced some trouble with securing the hood end of the first plank (the big one), and the plank had lost some of it's temperature when I was ready to persuade it to take the frames. My helper was my saviour, as he looked like a small bear - and was probably as strong as one as well.... The plank had to give in to our efforts. No problem with the splines - they are still there and no sign of glue-failiour.






One hour after the fist plank left the steamer, the second was ready.
This one was much easier to hang, and probably was the first "easy" plank of many to come. I have finished with the twisted beasts..










Actually, the hood end of the 6th plank is just above the waterline, and that means that I am now working on her "top sides".
Cause for a celebration, and I am having a beer (or two) as I type this.

Cheers,

Ole

[PeterSibley]

Impressive work Ole! I once played with a bit of oak and was amazed at how flexible it became with steam, that bit was quite dry and probably kiln dried. I can image your planking would be much better than that.

[trango]

Amazing - you are working fast with the planking!

/Fredrik

[svaap]

Hi there,

Not much progress, but I nailed starboard no 6 to the frames on wednesday.

It was a bit of a struggle, as I broke my drill-bit well into the rabbet for the sternpost, and had to remove the plank to get to the drill-bit.
Also I was a bit careful when cutting the plank to lenght, and had to do several cuts with my huge skilsaw overhead, before I got it jacked up and in place.
My plan was to fasten both port and starboard plank, but I had to leave after the first was installed.
It was one of those days when you feel that things just don't work out the way you want...

The location of the yard is close to houses, and during summertime people are more sensitive to noise (understandably enough), so I try to quit my work at 20:00 on weekdays/saturdays, and avoid noisy work on Sundays.


Well, yesterday we started harvesting our grass at the farm, so I'll be busy with that during next week.

The yard is closed during July, but I will get access to the boiler to I can continue steaming planks for the hull.

See 'ya

/Ole.

[svaap]

Hi,


It is a good feeling to know that the grass for our horses is harvested and of top quality. We have very unstabile weather up her in the north, and it is always exciting if we manage to dry it enough before the rain sets in again. This year gave a very good first cut.

Not having the time to go to Isegran, I searched for smaller projects that I could undertake.

The beam for the compass, and the compass itself got my attention.
It is a lovely old compass cased in a brass/bronze houring with a oil-burning lamp to give a pleasant glow in the dark.
I guess it is in need of some service, as it is very slow in finding the northern direction. Have heard that the magnets can loose their effect over the years, and that they can be renewed. I will get in contact with the company that made it, as they are still in business.





I removed the varnish from the mounting beam for the compass, and sanded it down a bit, trying not to remove the patina from the oak, before applying a fresh coat of oil/varnish.






Same routine with the pins for the rigging.






I cleaned the sockets for the bolts securing the engine bedding. At first I thought they were cast of bronze, but they appear to be of brass.






I love this detail that the former owner made. It is used to keep the fishing-line from eating into the caprail, and is made of some kind of horn.

[svaap]

After 3 coates of varnish the solvent I use for the brush reacted with the surface, and it all bubbeled up. I could clean off the varnish with a metal ruler, down to bare wood.











This is a picture of the glued spline in the planking that was cracked up so bad.
I think this will do just fine.






Now over to some work on Svaap.....

Se ya!

[Thad]

Ole, here in New England Winter was warm and Spring was cool and wet so the grass grew beautifully but the first growth was fully mature in late June before there were more than two dry days between rains. Making hay is exciting business, tricky anyway. Good hay warrants celebration.

[svaap]

I've had a couple of days of intense work on Minde this week, and here is an update on the progress:


The 5th plank on the port side needed to come off again, to be able to take off some wood on one of the frames with a plane.







Got it back again without much troubble. Seems like the plank has a memory of the shape it has taken when it cooles after steaming.






My attempt to fair the planks was not very successful... Seems like one of the knives is higher on one side, so I needed to adjust them before continuing.


After lining out the 6th plank port-side, I repeated the routine (getting bored?). To utilize my planking stock a bit more that I have up til now, I decided to make the 6th strake in two shorter lenghts (3 and 4 meters each).





Being there alone, I needed to make some kind of support for the forward end of the plank, that could easily be removed when the hood-end was secured and the plank were to be pulled in. A dry fit-test before the plank went into the hot steamer.


The forward end was lined out, just in time to get it into the steamer 1 hour later.








....continued....

[svaap]

The planks came in without too much troubble. The forward plank was a bit heavy to handle, and I struggled a bit to hold it up while trying to position the first clamp to secure it. I was soaked in sweat after the last was hung and I could stand upright again... (Phew). We have been blessed with a couple of days with high temperature and sun, and frankly, we are not that used to it.... ;-)











I drill holes for the trunnels for the plank above, and use one to wedge the plank down.

















...continued...




l

[svaap]

I spent the evening gluing bungs over the nails, and enjoyed a cold beer (or two).






I must have been confused on the numerous notes on my spiling batten, as there was a big difference in the width where the planks met up....
I used a batten to even out a new curve, and started planing down to it with a handplane, then the adze, before I got the skilsaw working.












Then the 7th on the starboard side....






The old trunnels needs to be knocked out before new planks go in. I will use the same holes again later with the new juniper trunnels.








I am still amazed about the condition of the wood in them. They still have the characteristic smell, and show no sign of decay.

[svaap]

Some minor adjustments to the rabbet before the plank came in.






As you can see, the planks will eventually be a bit thinner in the hood-end, like they were on the original stem as well.


I did not take any picture of the last plank on the boat, but it is hung and is avaiting fasteners..


Cheers,

[PeterSibley]

There's an impressive amount to bend and shear on that trunnel Ole! It certainly gives me confidence in them.

[skaraborgcraft]

Lovely work Ole...i can almost smell that oak from here.....marvelous stuff!

[Tom Freeman]

Good progress, and thanks again for sharing.

[boattruck]

Svaap, I must admit to more than a little envy at the simple beauty of this project, just love a happy old boat being refastened using her old trunnel holes! At the next reasonable opportunity, I will raise a silent toast to your great progress, and eventual completion, Cheers, Steve/BT

[svaap]

I have finally finished the application to get "Minde" on the list of Preserved Historic Vessels through the Directorat for Cultural Heritage.
Keeping my fingers crossed....

Work will start again shortly, after a neccessary break due to other duties.

Cheers,
Ole

[J.Madison]

You can build me a ship anytime Ole! Wonderful work.

[APomeroy]

svaap what a fantastic job your making of MINDE she will soon be sailing again. i am trying to find a contact n umber or address for oscar tybring to see if theres any interest in sellling her ? can you help in any way . APomeroy devon.

[svaap]

Thanks guys!

Pomeroy, I do not know who owns Oscar Tybring, but I could try to ask some questions on the yard..


I got some work done on her this weekend.
I prepared for the seventh plank on the port side by drilling out the trunnels to get the adjacing plank off with a prybar. The spiling batten called for a plank well over 7 meters long, and none of the remaining planks I have in my stock could take the measure.
I had a good candidate, but a big crack in the middle of it made it useless. I needed to devide it into two planks, but could still uphold the rules for butting for full strenght.



The crack:




















This was a good plank, no knots.

I finished the other plank as well, and will fasten them on the next session.


Cheers!

[seedy]

It's a pleasure to check in here! Thank you for taking the time to document what you do and how you do it.

[svaap]

Saturday my daughter and I went down to the yard to steam and fasten the planks from last week.

First we had to move one of the port support beams for her hull, since the new plank will collide with it.
I made a dissapointing discovery of a rotten frame in the forward area of the new plank, and it was in such a poor condition that I need to replace it.
Luckily it was not one of the floor-timbers (Minde have grown floors for one of the rings of the frame-pairs). The timber in question is quite simple to replace, but it takes some work to remove a bit of the interiour...







After the bevels for the caulking seam was planed, and the old trunnels was knocked out, we fired the steamer and took our luch-break.












The plank came in nicely, and now the 7th plank on the port side is in place.












Now, it's time to find some 4" thick oak planks for the frame futtocs.


Ole

[APomeroy]

Nice progress svaap another couple planks fitted and fixed , how many left to go now ?? Any help or information for Oscar tybring would be very much appreciated and hope it may lead to a new life for her . Cheers a pomeroy

[PeterSibley]

Saturday my daughter and I went down to the yard to steam and fasten the planks from last week.

First we had to move one of the port support beams for her hull, since the new plank will collide with it.
I made a dissapointing discovery of a rotten frame in the forward area of the new plank, and it was in such a poor condition that I need to replace it.
Luckily it was not one of the floor-timbers (Minde have grown floors for one of the rings of the frame-pairs). The timber in question is quite simple to replace, but it takes some work to remove a bit of the interiour...




Ole

Excellent work as usual Ole !

What I find remarkable is that she floated with frames like the one above, I'm surprised she didn't spring a plank. She's lucky to have you!

[svaap]

Pomeroy:
I have 6 planks to go on each side, plus the sheerstrake. I have not decided if the sheerstrake shall be of the same thickness as the rest of the planking (as original), or if I shall make it 3" thick (as it is now).
Originally the stanchions was on the inside of the covering-board, to prevent it from beeing the first point of impact when boarding the pilot onto the vessel. The beamshelf was massive to take the strains from forces that could occur when boarding, and the sheerstrake was of the same thickness as the rest of the hull, with a oval covering list on the top towards the deck. Later this has been changed, and the beamshelf is 2 by 7" and the sheerstrake is 3" thick. Therefore I am not sure if I will reduce the thickness (compromizing strenght), or if I shall just replace the 3" plank and paint it to make it look like original. The boat is very low in the water and it wouldn't hurt if she appeared a bit higher. (I love boats with low freeboard, but sometimes they look a bit too heavy....)

Regarding Oscar Tybring; I still do not know who is the formal owner, so at this time I don't have any information for you. Will keep asking, but it seems to be a puzzle..

Peter; The frames are over all quite good (except the ones I have renewed in the stern), and the ones I have found to bee in poor condition, still gave me a challenge to remove. It is surprisingly how well the trunnels hold on to the frames! Of course the wood is not bad all the way, so I guess the trunnel has a firm grip on the inside of the frame. Also, none of the planks was butted on these frames until now. But as you point out, she really needed an upgrade!!

/Ole

[PeterSibley]

Ole, that clears things a little , I had thought it normal to place butts on frames of this size.

[svaap]

Sorry Peter, I think I mislead you a bit with my explaination:

The planks are butted on the frames, but the butts was not directly on the frames that were rotten. If they were, I would probably see leaks when sailing.
When replanking the hull I was forced to make a new butt-plan, changing a bit of the excisting butts. All this to make sure I uphold the integrity/strenght of the hull.
The frames on Minde are over 20 cm wide (8") so you have a good landing and enough wood to secure with fasteners.

[PeterSibley]

Thanks Ole, yes, I hadn't understood that.

Just for clarification, how big is Minde? length x beam x drat / and perhaps displacement ? The scantlings are truly massive !

[svaap]

Minde have the following dimentions

LOD: 37,5 feet
BEAM: almost 14 feet
DRAFT: 6 feet
Displ.: 16 tonnes, metric

[PeterSibley]

Minde have the following dimentions

LOD: 37,5 feet
BEAM: almost 14 feet
DRAFT: 6 feet
Displ.: 16 tonnes, metric

Impressive Ole and she's lucky to have you !

[svaap]

Peter, I am the lucky one :-)

On Friday I nailed the 7th plank on the port side to the frames, and lined out and cut out the 8th on the same side.

The weather was nice this weekend, and lots of interesting vessels both in the water and on the hard got me exploring.

This is in my opinion one of the most beautiful yachts I've seen. Constructed by the famous Chr. Jensen in Vollen, Norway and built in Risoer (as many other of the same breed), you can tell that she is a good seagoing vessel.







"Garibaldi" has received a new deck (oregon pine) and some new planking to her hull, together with a new engine. She will go for a around the globe cruice soon, with a proud and dedicated owner.





The big sailing yacht in the background is "Mohawk II" that has returned after a 5 and a half year rebuild after she collided in the Engelish Channel and sunk. She is a really beautiful yach, with impressive details and good craftsmanship done by her lifesavers.


This is a classic Norwegian "Cutter" built in 1915.






Minde pictures next...

[svaap]

I guess my postings of the slow planking can be a bit repetetive, but that is how it is...

These pictures show the 8th plank for the port side




Dryfit to check the angle towards the rabbet:






I fired the steamer at 8 o'clock in the morning on Saturday, so I could get the plank on the hull for an early return home to do other duties.











The boat next to Minde will be demolished next week, and I got a fair price for her internal lead ballast.
Over 2 tonnes of clean ingots was stacked on pallets before I had to return back home.


Cheers,

[PeterSibley]

As usual Ole, excellent work! and thanks for the photos of the other boats , quite beautiful.

[Portland]

Olle , that 1915 Cutter , going by the exhaust , does that boat still have a semi diesel ?.
Lots of beautiful classic boats there , including yours.
Regards Rob J.

[svaap]

Rob,
The cutter had a poster with informatin about the different engines over the years, and they are;

1915-1916:Sail
1916-1931: 14 Hp "Dan"
1931-1945: 28 Hp "Gideon"
1945-1952: 30 Hp "Union"
1952-1976: 40 Hp "Finnøy"
1976- : 80 Hp "Finnøy" 2 cyl.

[Portland]

Thanks for that Ole.
I'll bet she sounds sweet too.
Regards Rob J.

[Portland]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrAZn...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f39D7CnHQQ
Thats the 40 hp engine , I couldn't find anything on the 2 cylinder 80 hp.
Regards Rob J.

[havnjero]

ole did you not go to the regatta over the weekend with the other boats?

[svaap]

No I was not on the regatta - had to prioritize to get some progress on Minde...

BUT, I am crewing on R/S Larvik (rescue vessel) from this Thursday-Monday next week in a Swedish regatta called "Gubbsegling" (Old Man Sailing) :-)

Looking forward to it!!

Yesterday I got a positive response on my application of a permanent space for Minde on the Museum quay at Isegran.
I can not think of a better place to have a classic vessel!

/Ole

[Minde Fan Club]

Museum quay, lead ballast, 7th and 8th plank! And some real sailing. Good work Ole!

[PeterSibley]

I love your tag Minde-Fan-Club ! I should join!

[Minde Fan Club]

Welcome to the club Peter, you are a member number 2. The more the merrier!

[Don Kurylko]

Go here: http://minde.org/ Get the T-shirt!

Sign me up Arne.

Cheers,
Don

[Quest]

This is definitely one of my favourites, put me down for number three in the Minde fan club please.

Perhaps a new thread so we don't hijack this wonderful one?

[PeterSibley]

This is definitely one of my favourites, put me down for number three in the Minde fan club please.

Perhaps a new thread so we don't hijack this wonderful one?

No, I don't think Ole will mind a bit of applause .

[PeterSibley]

[Minde Fan Club]

Yes, that's the dreamboat Minde, give a little wind, turn off the engine and she will take you places.

[svaap]

Hi Arne!

I love the detailed drawing of Minde above - you guys know your stuff

The day when we can hoist sails and experience the sceene from the picture above will be a significant day of our lives.
Arne, as you know, you guys are invited!!

If there is a Fan Club, count me in as well. I am merely a humble caretaker of an important vessel with a rich maritime heritage.

Cheers,
Ole

[svaap]

Got one plank nailed to the starboard side today.
It was giving me a hard time entering the forward end, and I had to improvise to force it downwards at the same time as I pressed it towards the frames.










Since it is Sunday, I need to keep the noise down.
Nailing the spikes is noisy, and I tried to do it quiet but as you can imagine it takes a bit of punching to get those heavy spikes into the frames, so I changed my strategy to hitting even harder than usual, to get the job done quickly...
Got enough of them into the frames to be able to take off the clamps before our dog and I went home.






The picture below is of the original stem and knee. I plan to make a more permanent installation of the stern with the rudder in my workshop later.





The picture also reminds me that I am not the most tidy person... :-)


Cheers,

[Thad]

Proper boat work!!

[Minde Fan Club]

Minde_Museum400.jpg
The Minde Museum grows and grows...