The day our latest lockdown in Victoria was announced we also completed steaming in the last ribs. We had a good run during the week, with minimal breakages, with Christian considering that the new stock we machined on Friday/Monday was greener, and consequently less prone to breaking. In any case, it made for an easier time of it and the work remains pleasingly physical. This left me feeling genuinely (and pleasantly) exhausted by Wednesday, with some new aches appearing each day. Immensely enjoyable.

It is difficult to capture this well visually, given we still have the framing and scaffold boards etc on Wyruna, which will remain a feature for the next few months until we finish with the deck beams etc.

An interesting question posed by Ferdi as to whether we include some additional ribs around the mizzen mast, notwithstanding this is not intended to go back in at this point. It may make Wyruna more saleable by providing an easier option to convert back to the ketch rig it carried for a number of years, either for ourselves or a potential new owner when the time comes. Something to consider before we go too much further.

Otherwise, it is a fantastic feeling to be adding new timber to Wyruna, and to be through this phase.

Next major task is to remove each plank, for cleaning/repairing where required, and to permanently refasten as they go back on. If lockdown permits.

Standing in the companionway looking forward.

Similar position from the first image, looking aft however.

Same as first image, just a bit closer.

Not directly Wyruna based, but our shed companion for the past 18 months has been the 1930’s Blunt built couta boat Hettie. We have both enjoyed our interactions with the owner Chris, who has done a great job with Ferdi’s team on renewing the deck and other general maintenance/improvements. Chris renewed the deck with a teak laid composite arrangement, which should see Hettie for another 80 years.

Hettie arrived at Ferdi’s in October 2019, expecting to be back in the water by Easter 2020 (or thereabouts). COVID soon amended that outcome, with the very affable owner Chris doing some great work over the subsequent year. Nice looking boat, with an interesting and long history on Pt Philip Bay.

Hettie alongside Wyruna on the morning of the move out.

Hettie being towed out by the forklift. The gentleman wielding the pinch bar is Christian, who has been (is) the lead shipwright on Wyruna. A fantastic resource for this project, with remarkable patience in the face of my general incompetence. We’ll get some more of Christian over time.

The 70t Liebherr making the 2.5t Hettie look easy to drop in. Estimated 20 meter reach required to get over the barge inboard here.

Hettie’s new teak deck, ready to move out, looking very tidy.

Brief updates Some detail photos that I liked from low in the bilge. We also “lost” our shed companion today, with the 1930’s Blunt built couta boat Hettie heading back to its preferred environment after 18 months receiving a nice deck update and other maintenance. Covered in the next post, but providing a bit of space down the starboard side for the moment.

Generally, we are nearly complete for the port side ribs, with five remaining to be replaced, and three of these already having one lamination in place – so seven individual pieces to steam in all. Happily, only one or two of these are difficult, although even the short ones right aft can be challenging, partly as they require the blunt force expert (me) to reach well outside the handrail at 8 feet above the concrete floor below. Not for long, however. Some images below, to show where we are at. I did manage to give it a good vacuum/clean, and this has helped to lower the general level of dust for a day at least, and revealing the timber nicely. The last of the apple cores, rotten timber and other detritus from 35+ years of backyard living has finally been removed.

This was shortly after the good clean out. It contrasts nicely the new steam bent ribs, the original kauri planking, original hardwood keel and floors and keel bolt heads. The keel in particular is remarkable, given it was deeply buried in various damp wood and leaf matter for many years. I understand the keel bolts may have been replaced during the 1940’s, so while they may not be original, they are nevertheless > 75 years old at least. We haven’t tried to move them as yet. This is clearly the area where the engine will be refitted.

It can be seen in this image above that the floors are fastened with roved nails, which is not a feature of many (any) of the original fastenings that we can identify. They may have been refastened at some point. Ignore the toe of my boot.

View of the bilge from midships, looking aft. Again, showing floors, new ribs, internal planking surfaces in reasonable shape. Iphone camera showing its capability in these shots, given the light in this location isn’t great.

Given the shed arrangement, it has been a bit difficult to take a starboard view. Unsurprisingly, not much different from the port view, but does have better light! Particularly at 8.00am, with the sun still coming in the front door. Clearly evident here are the new ribs for the front third of Wyruna, with the first 15 (of 53) done on this side. They are temporarily fastened. New stem in good display here also, adding some nice stiffness and weight to the bow.

After a break from December 2020, with a focus on work for myself and Linda, and Ferdi and his team keeping other projects moving, we got back into Wyruna in early May. I have taken six weeks off my day job, to help the professionals progress a task well beyond my knowledge and skills. It has been fantastic so far, two weeks in.

We are devoting time towards the actual work as much as possible, so I’ll likely come back to this later, but for now include a few images of activity for the two weeks from 3 May to 14 May 2021. But first, the outlook on arrival at Williamstown on several mornings.

Really only to show current state. Only movement since early December has been to strip most of the paint off, which had naturally suffered. Did reveal the strong preservation characteristics of the underlying kauri pine, without which this project would not be viable (or would be less viable!). While some hood ends are clearly damaged, most of the length of these planks remain intact for reuse in entirety. I am deliberately not showing the starboard side, which has some damage from where the props for backyard storage have punched some sizeable holes in the planking.

I think it is noted elsewhere, but Wyruna was originally constructed with a copper sheath, for rot and marine growth protection/prevention. This is a little unusual for a South Australian location, and it was speculated in a later article that this was because it was intended to spend some time in the somewhat brackish water of American River, on Kangaroo Island. Not sure if this is true. Regardless, the sheath was removed, leaving a legacy of thousands of small nail holes. These were originally filled, and now need refilling! The image above shows just a small number of the thousands of plugs that were once in the hull. Many have fallen out, but many more remain in the hull and require removal. A large number have partially squeezed out, as the timber has dried and contracted around them. I am into the process of cutting appropriate size sticks, for dipping into epoxy and breaking off once inserted. We also need to deal with the additional fastening holes, that were added later, for the planks above the waterline (top 10 or so planks). These additional fastening holes can be seen in the image directly above this one (Port Bow – looking aft) – from the third rib back and carried through to the stern.

An update view showing the ribs for the forward section of Wyruna largely completed during the week ending 14 May 2021. This has cleaned up the look of the interior (aesthetically), but also stiffened the structure considerably. More to go!

Having the garboard out has allowed the accumulated dirt, dust and rotted timber out of the bilge. Which was a ‘feature’ of previous internal photos.

Lying under the spare rib timber towards the bow, is the back of the newly laminated apron, replaced with a thicker/deeper version to allow for new fastening points at the hood ends. Difficult to see here, and I’ll try to get a new photo.

Original floors and keelson showing here. Ferdi has commented that the keelson is an unusual feature for a smaller timber boat such as Wyruna, being more of a large vessel feature.

Early start on 12 May, to get going on some tricky ribs, being the longer double curved frames in the centre and aft quarter of Wyruna. The steamer is mounted on a pallet, using the forklift to raise the height so that the steamed timber can be drawn directly onto the work height – which is effectively the deck of the vessel, although consisting mainly of scaffold boards and temporary timber framing. Takes some nimbleness once working, as the timber cools in a minute or so.

One of the wallpaper steamers used (of two) that are doing a great job. Timber comes out hot, and quite flexible after 30 to 40 minutes. This particular steamer was leaking a bit (as the image shows), and once it was maintained, performance improved.

This image posted previously, and showing the spotted gum being used for the new ribs. As delivered on the right, machined and dressed on the left. I’ll check the dimensions later (can’t recall), but they are slightly wider than the originals, which do add a bit of weight to the look, in addition to some additional strength and durability. They were delivered unseasoned, which Ferdi has learnt provides for easier bending. Although they have now had a summer and autumn to dry, it does not seem to be overly effecting performance – we are cracking about 1 in every 8 for now.