PLANKS OFF!

The past week was a busy one for Christeen as her repairs over the winter continue to move forward.

All planks necessary for the keel repair both outboard and inboard were removed from her frames. All but one plank was removed completely intact and undamaged. The planks, which were removed, are getting treated and prepped so they are ready to get refastened to the boat once the keel repair is finished. The fact the removal of the planks went so well is a testament to how the boat was constructed during her restoration in 1998. The volunteers and shipwright deserve a big round of applause for building the boat so well. Even the wedges used to hold the frames in place where they were mortised into the keel were easy to remove - a huge relief. Because of how well everything has progressed to date the project is ahead of schedule. Work on the centerboard has even begun.  Volunteers have been working the centerboard under supervision of the shipwrights.  During the past week it has been completely stripped down to new metal, cleaned and repaired.  We will begin to cut wood to sandwich the metal board in the middle to give it greater torsion strength and rigidity.  Once the wood has been fitted fiberglass and epoxy will wrap the entire piece to make it water-poof and strong.

Even though the repairs began just two months ago, a lot has already happened and fortunately the project has gotten off to a very strong start!

Volunteers working on the centerboard

Interior and exterior planking removed