updates

Last week we shared a photo of Luna as we found her. This week we are happy to share our artists rendering of her fully rigged and standing by for action!

This past week has resulted in a noticeable change in Luna's deck work. In this photo we are on deck looking aft, or towards the back, of Luna. There are two sheets of plywood which are the beginnings of the bulkheads for the cabin. Bulkheads are walls within the ship that section it off into cabins, or rooms. This is the first set of three that will be made. The plywood will be fitted and used as a pattern for the permanent bulkheads, fiberglassed, fastened into place, then have wood placed over it to make it appear as it would in the 18th century.

In this photo we are at the aft, or back of the boat looking forward to see the opposite side of the bulkhead going into place. As you look at the plywood remember, nothing is ever as easy as it seems. This is a good example of how each board must be cut to meet a curve and fit over or around other structural pieces. The plywood is fitted in front of the frames and around the contour of the hull, then over the stringer, which is the piece of wood running to the bow, or forward end of the boat. From this angle the stringer looks to stop at the plywood, it doesn't but continues on. Nice fit gang!

This is the old mast step, or where the bottom of the mast sits inside the hull. As you can see there is not much there other than wood. Well... yup. The good news is that there is solid wood and we are beginning to explore that area next for rebuilding. In previous blogs we had mentioned a keelson. This is a long thick piece of oak which will be used to support the inner structure of the ship. Think of your spine holding your ribs in place. The keelson holds the frames in place. The mast step will sit upon the keel located in the middle of the picture much like your head is attached to your spine. The bow, or front of the boat is towards the top of the picture. This is a major structural construction point so we will take our time and make it right. We cant wait to show the progress from beginning to end on this one!

We will be off site for the next two weekends at Bay Days in Hampton and the Mariners Museum in Newport News. Bay Days is one of the largest events on the Southern Chesapeake Bays that promotes conservation, ecology, and history of the bay. We are excited to be participating again. The Mariners Museum is hosting their annual Talk Like A Pirate Day and we are excited to be working with them for the first time. Come on out and see us.

And onto big dreams! Please visit our friends blog on board the F.D. Crockett (a link is located on the right hand sidebar). She made her debut trip up the Chesapeake to the annual Buy Boat Rendezvous where she was crowned Belle of the Ball! Great job and congratulations to the folks at the Deltaville Maritime Museum for keeping an old girl from vanishing and preserving our maritime heritage. We'll see you out there soon!