Another short window of opportunity opened last weekend and I leapt out of it and into a more thorough investigation of the cracked and sistered frames.

Looking at the way some of them have failed really highlights why sawn frames are just not up to the job. I guess grown frames were hard to come by or more expensive, or both, and in 1930 there was not much laminating of frames going on.

Both these frames have been reinforced and are in such an awkward place I’m going to leave them.

This one however, has been ‘mended’ but has failed again where the bolted on ‘sister’ frame finishes.

This picture shows the rather slapdash original repair…

I think the butt joint (if you can call that a joint!) allowed too much movement and simply transferred the stress to the next weak point, with inevitable results.

Taking the bull by the horns, or at least the screwdriver by the handle, I have released the screws from one section, of one frame that needs repair, near the bow. I used an old spoon bit with a handle and a heavy duty awl, to chip out the old filler and expose the screw heads.

I love old tools! That screw driver has been with me since I started work at a cabinet makers in 1981, I made the mini gouge from an old spoon bit at about the same time and used it for wood carving. The heavy duty awl came ‘free’ in an old carpenters tool box I picked up at a boot sale.

This weekend, if I get a break from daddy day care duties, (Tracy is away on a course) I will, with fingers crossed and a small prayer to St Nicholas (patron saint of seafarers) Take a saw to the frame and cut a scarf ready for a new section of frame.

Maybe best to hedge my bets and throw in a couple of words to Isis, Posiedon, Neptune, Mazu, Njord, Tangaroa and any other seafaring dieties I can think of. 🙂

TIME PASSES…

So I did get some time on the boat despite my day care duties. Actually if I’m honest I neglected the day care in favour of too many milkshakes, cricket on the lawn, movie nights, nerf gun battles and late night snacking. This shocking neglect also meant that someone went to school on Monday having not had a bath since Thursday, but hey, how grubby can a small child really get… oh.

Anyway, back to the boat, I made a couple of templates for the new sections of frames but actually cutting out the dodgy sections was so scary I embarked on some displacement activity.

Along with a selection of hand tools in that old carpenters tool box I bought for £12 at a car boot sale, were a couple of old saws. I hadn’t really paid them much attention until I watched this video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XthOkO-wsK4

Seeing Jimmy Furey build a beautiful boat, largely with traditional hand tools reminded me those old saws are a classic design that has evolved that way for a reason. I’m so used to disposable, all purpose jack saws now, that the idea of having a saw for ripping, one for cross cutting and one for fine work seems a bit over the top. However, as a displacement activity to put off actually sawing chunks off Flamingo, saw sharpening is right up there! It’s time consuming, fiddly, satisfying and sort of needed… ok I don’t need them, but they are lovely old tools, and I am a sucker for old tools…

Friday’s activities were interrupted by the sad passing of Mrs Black. She died with her friends around her and the sun was shining. I guess there are worse ways to go…

Sunday was gardening day, various family members came down to lend a hand working through the list of chores the Head Gardener had left on the blackboard. Not that the Head Gardener takes a hands off approach, oh no, despite her nearly eighty years she was mowing and trimming with the rest of us.

Next weekend is a shake down sail training weekend getting ready for the Round the Island Race with some friends. So no Flamingo work for a while. 😦