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| Richard finishing up the Salon Butterfly hatch's portlight frames. |
Starting our third Thursday afternoon Volunteer session seems to be catching on. It was gratifying to see six of us muster at 1630, to take advantage of any moderating temperature and late afternoon sea breezes. Bryan continued the routine of hauling aboard two bags of ice, for the drinking water jug on deck, and igloo cooler, for individual water containers, and beverages. Capt Davis took charge of all hands, Dan Maurin, Gerin and Julie Choiniere, Tony Marchesani, Doug Hartley and Ken Fonville for the first twenty minutes to temporarily down-rig the portside awning, set up the boat falls and launch the tender, which has not moved from it's position on deck since leaving for shipyard over a year ago.
After securing the falls, and tying the tender off the schooner's port quarter, Volunteers set to lowering the foresail gaff sufficiently to reach the peak halyard blocks for refinishing. During that drill Bryan pointed out to Capt Davis the yet unpainted, very new looking peak halyard block, as the one created by Volunteer Dough Hartley. Davis was sufficiently impressed, to suggest that the block be varnished, rather than painted like the rest, in order to show off its cypress wood grain, and highlight it as representative of the work Volunteers have contributed to the ship. Doug's block, along with Danny Johnson's gangway steps, dory cradle, and head soap trays, Bryan's galley counter top, Kenny Blyth's belaying pins, all examples of significant contributions by volunteers.
Other volunteers took to completing the refurbishment of most of the ship's 52 rigged blocks; screwing copper sheave covers back onto the 20 plus blocks recently repainted.
Gerin and Julia diverted onto the dock to study the persistent problem with the aft Yokohama - the huge hard rubber blivit floating between the ship's hull and the wood dock piling. It was precariously unbalanced on the piling, with it's jagged telephone pole axle, threatening the schooners hull. Different lines had been hastily rigged several weeks ago to stabilize the yokohama on the piling. Pending permanently replacing one of the lines, they rerouted two lines steadying the aft yokohama between its dock piling and Spirit's hull.
By 1800, we had found a good stopping point to retreat under the awning, open up our rewards of a cold beer, soft drink , or just bottled water, and reflect on our handiwork.
Saturday, 12 August
Today was "Up-Rig The Jumbo Day. Much of the same crew from Thursday mustered at 0900, with
exception of Logan Day, who was welcomed back after the past few weeks of rather intensive training at the Naval Weapons School, including transitioning from classroom to hands-on practice aboard a Sub. Also appearing was Nate Mack with a bag of freshly repaired and polished brass T-Hinges for the Salon butterfly hatches.
While Capt Davis ran ashore to return with a jug of coffee and breakfast pastry for crew snacks, Bryan quickly collected funds for lunch, handing them off to Hunter who stepped off to go provision for lunch. Nate gathered tools and bedding compound, and began the project of reinstalling the six now glistening brass T-hinges on the salon butterfly hatch covers.
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| Ken Fonville refinishing the Jibsheet's bullet blocks |
The rest of us divided across two tasks. Ken Fonville took on the final steps of spot painting the remaining blocks, and prepping, and varnishing the Hartley Block,, that is the peak halyard block restored by Doug Hartley.
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| Bryan Tails while Logan and Doug ready to raise the jumbo off the dock. |
With tag lines, and jumbo halyard manned, Gerin orchestrated dock and deck crews alternately lifting off the dock, steadying, and swaying over the water to the deck, the 1/4-ton bundle of Jumbo sail, settling it gently onto the foredeck next to the windlass.
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| Julie measuring out, cutting and end-splicing 24 luff lacings for the jumbo sail. |
The jumbo's downhaul was made fast to the forward tack/head end for pulling it forward over the bowsprit to the forestay. Again using a combination of halyard at the forward end, and anchor burton near aft end of the burrito, the snakelike jumbo was hoisted p sufficiently to clear the deck, windlass and knight heads. Two hands manned the jumbo downhaul to pull the forward end of the jumbo burrito forward along the jumbo boom. Gerin, out on the bowsprit guided the forward end of the burrito sufficiently close to the jumbo tack iron to shackle on the jumbo tack ring. He then reconnected the halyard block to the jumbo's head ring. Finally, he unknotted the down haul line and reran the downhaul line from it's turning block on the bowsprit directly up to the Jumbo head, securing with with a buntline hitch.
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| Logan, Doug, Gerin, and Tony on the Fores stay starting luff lashings |
All set now for the final phases, Julie handed off a fistful of readied luff lacings to Tony who climbed
out onto the head rig and passed them off to Gerin. Logan, and Dennis also laid out to the forestay to assist Gerin with the first five lacings, then take over from him for the remaining work.
Somewhere in that activity, Hunter sent up the call on deck that lunch was ready- which sent some of us below grateful for the break and a second chugging of cold beverages. For other's of us, it was their reminder to find a stopping place and disembark for other weekend shoreside chores.
Following lunch the remainder of volunteer crew laid out on the forestay to finish up lacings. Gerin organized a team to rig up a handy billy tackle from the foremast to stretch out the jumbo clew sufficiently to shackle it to the jumbo boom clew iron.
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| Nate Mack checks the gap on the last hatch hinge installation |
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| All Done! |
Another group gathered round the salon hatch covers with a garden hose to water test the seals after the hinges were installed.
Next week, the Foresail,
Maybe the Main mast to be uprigged!
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