Ahhh the hardships of ship-wrightery working with wood, skilled use of draw-knife, adze, pit-saw, steam chest and plane...... long hours, no money yada yada yada. OK, making it up here. Not only do shipwrights no longer use adzes very often or pit-saws ever, but this is just a waffly introduction to the fact that we are here depicted aboard SB Cambria.
In the top pic we are down in the hold, the camera looking forward up the port (left) side. I am nosing about among the cables and you can see Haggis, further off, peering over a piece of the original Cambria panelling which has been brought back for use in the rebuild of the aft "state-room" (the skipper's quarters). In the other two pics we are up on the fore-deck. In one we are fussing around Dad's fellow-volunteer Dave's legs, and in the other Haggis is standing on the recently caulked decking.
This being a Lottery-funded rebuild, Dad's team win more points by making it 'educational' so, alongside the rebuild there has been an apprentice course running and this has been about teaching the guys traditional ship building skills. Hence no modern mastic-guns for us on Cambria's decks. Our guys have learned to rout out a groove between the planks into which is hammered shredded rope (oakum) and then into which is poured molten pitch (known as "hot stuff" for obvious reasons). The whole is allowed to cool and set, before the top dribbly bits are smoothed away and the lot painted.
There you are. More ship-wrightery than you probably needed, but at least you'll have something to talk about if it all goes quiet in the snug tonight....
Deefski
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