Volunteers Focus on Canvas Repair Skills

 A Canvas needle, waxed linen, and a Sailors Palm 

were the tools taken up on Sunday by four volunteers to repair a badly damaged canvas Jumbo sail cover.   Danny Johnson, Joe Gorman, Dan Maurin, and Steve Boone, with Bryan Oliver, coaching, came aboard Sunday morning to take up the task of restoring the cover while learning and practicing  some essential basic skills of the traditional Tall Ship Sailor.  To the relief of all, this project would fit under the shade and rain protection of the massive foresail awning. 

Danny Johnson shows good
 technique in starting the
 first stitch on on his patch repair.

The sail cover had been fabricated from a light canvas ground cloth material into a 24 foot long x 5 foot wide  strip, complete with 16 brass grommet holes for lacing it over the furled Jumbo (fore staysail), as weather protection.  But two seasons of squalls, tropical storms, and 35-40 knot winds had ripped out 8 of the grommets and rent an 18 inch tear near one end.

After a short orientation, and demonstration by Bryan, volunteers dug into the schooner's canvas repair bag, and selected a proper needle, measured off an appropriate length of waxed linen thread, and fitted a sailors palm to one hand.  Then, grabbing a pre-cut canvas duck patch, they lined up six feet apart opposite a damaged section of the sail cover and set to work.  

Joe Gorman sets up his needle

Using new found skills in flat stitching, and the occasioned advantage of a whip-stitch, volunteers recreated a heavily reinforced square thru which a new brass grommet could be punched. For "Old Salt" volunteers, Joe and Steve Boone, the orientation was more of a refresher, so they jumped onto the more challenging, more damaged sections of the cover. Steve even resurrected his memories of a herringbone stitch to pull together the large tear.  

Bryan and Danny J. team up
 on a particularly ragged tear
 while Steve works his herringbone stitch
on the larger tear.

In a few hours, the group had repaired and reset nine new grommets for tie downs, and patched the 18-inch tear, making the cover ready for reinstallation over the furled Jumbo.

Thanks to Dan Maurin, who, in addition to finishing off  his two patching projects,  took these photos, and therefore isn't pictured.

..except here. This is Dan in front of the camera for once; 
 last year on another project, sanding  down
 the quarter-rounds around the forecastle hatch.

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