The update....

29th February 2012

A lot has happened on the barge since my last blog.  Jim, Robin and myself have been trunnling the planks . The word trunnel, came from “Tree Nail”.  This is a very traditional  method of fastening planks together.  A hole has to be drilled through the plank then a wooden dowel is hammered through the hole and levelled off.  It will be a very strong fit as the softer wood will swell into the hole when it is wet.

There has also been a lot of progress made on the side planks.  They had to make patterns from ply wood, which were fitted.  Once they are sure they have a good fit, they use this as a template for the proper planks made from oak.  The oak planks have to be seamed for several hours to be pliable enough to mould into the curve of the boat.  They have had some special steaming bags made which fit around the planks  to do this.  

Once the plank is steamed into place, they plank is held with clamps.Most of the knave timbers have also been fitted to the sides of the barge.  They support the structure of the barge.  The knave timbers have been drying out in the work shop after they were sawn.  This is to allow them to shrink before fitting.  The knave timbers have a natural bend in them, so just need to be shaped and fitted.  This means the structure will hold its shape and strength.

The update....

My name is Liam, and I will be taking on the role of the designated apprentice working and giving updates on the Stour lighter. Kevin has found a new job in the marine industry so, congratulations Kevin!

The Stour lighter has made great progress over the last few months. The remains of the old hull were carefully removed and inspected to see what techniques and materials were originally used. This gave the Shipwrights more information about how they were going to fix planks together.

The first stage was to rebuild the keel. The wood used to do this was sources and sawn at St Osyth boat yard, by Andy Harman. Once we had the wood back at Harker’s Yard, Brian and Mick set to work, shaping the wood. After they had put the keel in, the stem and stern posts were added. The wood for the hull started to be straitened and bevelled and fitted individually by Brian and Mick. The imperfections, such as the knots in the wood were routed out and replaced with pieces of oak cut to shape. Then the oak was treated with a coat of tar.

The shape of the lighter is starting to form as they are working on the planking. The patterns for the short end planks which have to be steamed into place have all been made. These planks will be cut out over the next few weeks.