COLONIAL SEAPORT FOUNDATION

Pirates v/s the Customs Agent and construction updates

2011-05-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

Walt Disney is releasing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 this Friday. The Colonial Seaport Foundation, along with Blackbeard's Crew and Hysterically Correct Productions has been asked to participate at the Premier opening at the Virginia Air and Space Center. To help turn the lobby of the Air and Space center into the appropriate background, we have moved His Majesties Custom House, Lower James River District, to Hampton. We are also bringing the Custom Agent Richard Fitz-Williams to ensure the Crown Receives its fair course. This is just one of the many historical educational platforms we create at the Foundation to create a real life history lesson on early colonial history and economics. The Customs Office will remain at the Air and Space Center until the Hampton Blackbeard Festival, June 3-5 where it will be moved to the waterfront for living history presentations.

The construction crew after a mornings work.
The look of surprise on visitors faces as a building formed out of a pile of lumber is great!

His Majesty's Custom Collector Richard Fitz-Williams and the pirate Garret Gibbons discuss taxes.

AND NOW FOR LUNA UPDATES

Sunday brought us back to Luna. In the diagram below, the areas marked in red are our construction areas of the day. We worked on bulkheads and the bow, or front of the boat.

Before and Now

Jeff has been hard at work pulling the bow of Luna apart. There is just a little bit more to remove. What can't be seen is the number of nails, screws, and bolts holding the various layers of wood together. There is also a huge amount of chemical filler holding it all together and making it watertight.

Taking this part of Luna apart has been a lesson in patience and persistence.

Back in the cargo hold, Christopher and Jana work on the frames surfaces getting ready for the next section of bulkhead to be fitted.

Looking forward through the cargo hold, the two halves of the forward bulkhead are fitted. A third piece will go between these and then made watertight. We will leave this area open as long as possible to allow passage during construction. At the bottom of this area is our next work project. We must build the area up with fresh lumber to support the mast. And whats going to go there????????????

These are the templates for the keelson, or the front section of the boat where the mast is going to sit. combined these two piecesare about eighty inches long. the curve of the front of Luna is to the right. the Pieces will be about eight inches wide, six thick and 40 inches long each. This is done in two pieces due to its size and weight. What are we making these next pieces out of?????

Well there ya have it. This week has been busy and well be back at it next weekend. Please visit again to see how our projects are coming along. If you are interested in volunteering or becoming a member, please drop us a note. If you have any questions or thoughts about anything that you see in the Blog, please leave us a comment.

Of field trips and education

2011-05-07T19:04:00.001-04:00

While we have not had post up recently, we have been hard at work on our Bermuda sloop Luna and working on our education programs.

Most recently, Colonial Seaport Foundation members joined our sister organization, Blackbeard's Crew and headed to the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, NC. to present a program to 168 students and staff from Hawfields Middle School. Our topics of the evening were trade and commerce, engineering, social life, music and of course maritime weapons and tactics.

Stan discussing the arts of trade and commerce
at the tip of a cutlass.

Constable Heartless wowing the crowds with his harmonica.

Pernell working students through making
ships rigging.

Cindy always has a crowd full of audience participation
creating music.

Along the lines of education, we will be working with a program through the Portsmouth school systems this summer with their STARBASE victory program. As described from their website:

A hands-on curriculum that includes components of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEMPathways) and incorporates SOL learning standards. STARBASE Victory makes learning experiential and fun rather than memorization, thus bringing scientific concepts alive for the children.

The program is a collaboration between Portsmouth Public Schools and a nonprofit, STARBASE Atlantis Hampton Roads (a 501C3). This unusual partnership provides state of the art equipment for classroom learning as well as hands on experiments for each child. The community's support of STARBASE Atlantis through businesses, foundations, and individuals has been phenomenal and is the reason the program is cutting edge and one of a kind in Virginia.

You can visit their web site at http://www.starbasevictory.org So what does space exploration have to do with 18th century maritime heritage? Well, did you know that astronauts must learn how to navigate craft using stars and 18th century navigation techniques? Apparently Global Positioning Systems only work if you are on earth. What better way to introduce students to navigation and discovery of new places than introduce them to colonial mariners and explorers! We are excited to be working with the Portsmouth School Systems and STARBASE. Looking at their website, I think we may have to rein ourselves in, this is going to be fun.

Speaking of having fun and playing hooky, our shipwright was last seen headed North with Foundation member Tom Ivey. OK, they weren't playing hooky but had some personal errands to tend to and decided to take a day to see what other folks are doing. Their wandering took them to Mystic Connecticut and to Mystic Seaport to do some research on a steering system for Luna.

Tom and Chip visit the shipyard at Mystic Seaport.
Sorry guys, I think that anchor is a bit big for Luna.

Along their journeys, they happened across another colonial era sloop, Providence who just finished a major three year refit. Below is a stock picture of her, but reports are she is a beautiful lady.

Sloop Providence

Unfortunately, no one was on board but the boys were able to get a good look at the details of her bow and fore-rig Thinking ahead on our own construction, this is our next step and planning is already under way.

Sloop Providence's bow.
Grey skies and boats still covered over.
Apparently its still winter!

Thank you for visiting the Blog of the Colonial Seaport Foundation. Please stop back by to see how construction of Luna is coming along. You can visit us in Elizabeth City, NC. at Museum of the Albemarle May 20 & 21st and in Hampton Virginia at the Blackbeard Festival June 3-5. We hope to see you there!

Tornado recovery

2011-04-19T20:04:00.000-04:00

Dear friends and family of the Colonial Seaport Foundation,

Our little town of Deltaville Virginia, where Luna is being worked on, was recently hit by a tornado. We were not effected directly, but the center of town was hit and many friends lost everything. Miraculously there were no fatalities and only minor injuries in our community. Please keep our town in your thoughts and prayers. We will be back with Foundation news once town is back together.

John Collamore
President, Colonial Seaport Foundation

A look at the hull cross section and work on the deck!

2011-04-13T09:11:00.001-04:00

Members of the Colonial Seaport Foundation have been hard at work over the past few weeks. Our shipwright had a conference with the Coast Guard describing the construction techniques and special considerations of Luna's hull design. We were fortunate to have him bring his hull mock up in to a meeting so all could see. The hull goes from bare wood, to epoxied boards, to layers of fiberglass, fairing the hull and finally her finished coat. This display also presented a view of her thickness. Quite impressive!

Colonial Seaport Foundation shipwright, Chip, points out the various layers of Luna's fiberglass construction. From left to right, we start with bare wood, epoxy treated wood, multiple layers of fiberglass, fairing compound, and final coat.

From the side, we can see how the frames hold the decking . To the left is a frame section, then hull decking. This also shows how the fiberglass will be wrapped over the deck rails.

Back on board Luna, work has been continuing.on the aft cabin and quarter deck decking. The beautiful white pine that came in last month is being cut to size and painted. Two new frames have been placed as well. We have introduced four new volunteers to Luna's construction over the past month.

Deck planks are set in place on the cabin top to see how it looks. 32 of these will be needed to complete the job!

Bill and Tony sand decking and put on a final coat of paint. The long boards will go over the aft cabin. The shorter ones will cover the engine compartment and will be the quarterdeck.

Ernie at work on the stern window frame.

WE"RE MOVING!!!

2011-03-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

AHOY FOLLOWERS! We are moving our blog to a new site. Please follow our progress there and let us know what you think of the site and how we can make it better!

http://www.colonialseaport.org/blog/?p=156

2/13/ updates

2011-02-13T19:30:00.001-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on the deck beams that will cover the aft, or back cabin, making bulk head templates to seal off the engine compartment and replacing a couple more frames forward, or at the front of the boat. The construction areas are in red.

Port and Starboard quarterdeck views two weeks ago

Are turned into this!

two bunks will stack nicely on the port side in the aft cabin

Just behind the bunks is the captains quarters. the bunk will be to the right side.
Grace is standing on the navigation bench.

Jeff toiling away on some of our behind the scenes work.

And at the end of the day..........

January 22 & 23

2011-01-27T22:21:00.002-05:00

Saturday was a two front day

Our computer Guru, Pern, arranged a computer use class for some of our administrative folks. Now you won’t notice things right away or at all in some cases, but this was done to help streamline several areas of our operations that had gotten a bit big for its britches. Imagine that! CSF has gotten so large that we had to upgrade our data systems! Our updated website should be coming on line shortly. Thank you to Pern for arranging the class and our volunteers for giving their time to learn how to work the new systems.

Sunday

and now a report from our Coast Guard volunteers who joined us for a second work day!

The four of us arrived at 0900 like last weekend and we were eager to get started on the projects from the weekend before. Rob P. began work on installing a new temporary deck aft with marine grade plywood, 3 sheets, after he properly set three deck beams the week before.

Jennifer H. and Todd W. continued with port and starboard bulkhead placement in the aft cabin area.
Lacy M. was making quick work with the sawsall and began a second gun port.

After our first visit, finding tools and making our way around Mr. Collamores work area, specially the coffee pot, was easier and we felt more constructive than destructive. Several weeks ago, when we visited as part of the US Coast Guard Marine Inspectors Course out of the Training center in Yorktown, we asked if we could come help. We all half expected that we would be fetching coffee or sweeping Johns work room floor, but instead we have been fortunate enough to actually use power tools, which some of us have been finding very exhilarating to be experiencing for the first time. The chance to come out here each weekend and physically work on this piece of history has been amazing. It's hard to put into words exactly the feeling you have after just one day of work. You spent hours drawing drawing cardboard cut outs for a stern bulkhead taking measurements and such. Then you transition it to a plywood template and before your eyes we saw that simple form mold into two solid bulkheads.

But theres not time to stop and admire it for too long, theres the deck to work on too, and so it goes, one small achievement and the project rolls on.... But every day we leave there with smiles on our faces, tired, damp, cold, but not hungry. Mrs. Collamore makes the best chili!

We really do hope we have helped in even just a small way. I feel very blessed to see, much less participate in this project. I never thought I would have been given the chance to learn this type of ship building first hand. Everyone has been so nice and complimentary of our volunteering. We will be back next weekend, our final visit before we all depart our separate ways, some to Tx others to La and Pa. Hopefully, we can complete the gun port and put in a temporary floor aft, by the stern cabin area.

-Jennifer Hnatow, LT USCG

January updates

2011-01-20T21:36:00.001-05:00

CSF will be hosting its annual membership meeting March 2nd at 7pm at the Air and Space Center in Hampton Virginia. Please stop in to learn about this amazing project and see how you may be able to help!

Now, onto the boat!

Work has been progressing. The most recent areas of work are highlighted in red.

Below, the stern windows are being framed in.

We have mostly been focusing on the deck beams and bulkheads in the aft area of Luna. Below, looking in the aft windows forward, the cabin bulkhead is in, the main companionway hatch is cut out and the bulkhead template for the head (or bathroom) is being cut to shape in preparation for this weekends work. This is the piece of plywood to the right of the picture.

Moving slightly forward and into the hull from the starboard, or right side, you get another overhead view of the aft cabin with bulkheads going into place.

We were treated to some visitors from the Coast Guard last weekend. No, they didn't come to inspect the boat, they were in the area and had the weekend off from training. Rather than sit around the barracks, they heard about us and stopped by to lend a hand! HUZZAH!

Below, more deck beams are cut and bolted into place! we expect to start laying decking over these shortly.

I was told I had to put a picture of myself in so people know i really do exist.

Thank you for following along as we continue to work on Luna. Please stop back in next week as we continue to make a dream a reality. If you are interested in volunteering of making a donation to help support construction please let us know.

The Luna snow dance

2010-12-27T20:02:00.001-05:00

Last year we suffered a setback when Luna's cover collapsed during a snow storm. This year we beefed up the frame and purchased a custom reinforced canopy. So far so good!

Two days ago we all peered out the windows around the Chesapeake Bay and noticed a thick grey cloud bank forming, the temperature was dropping, and the air smelled of snow. Yesterday afternoon our snow plan went into effect as the white stuff started falling. Around six, the shipwright, Cory and I headed for the farm to see how things were holding. The headlights hit Luna's bow and Merry Christmas to us! There was our cover- slightly sagging under the wet snow, but standing it was.

First light, still standing!

Just over two inches of snow are down. Four to six more would fall by the end of the day The snow needed to come off before the frame collapsed or the cover ripped. What to do?
This is where you, our faithful followers, get to use your imagination as what can only be called the Luna Snow Dance follows........

This is a group dance requiring at least two participants.
The first partner approaches the shelter and gently shakes the upright poles sending a shower of loose snow down from the arch. The second partner picks up a wide headed broom, climbs on board Luna, and gently pushes up from underneath the cover sending more snow down. Note- it is bad form for partner number two to dump snow on unsuspecting partner one while shaking the poles.
The first partner, or additional participants, picks up another broom and assists until as much snow as possible is shaken loose.
Both partners now take ahold of a line going over the top of the cover and coming down either side . The line is divided and in the middle is a collection of knotted line that acts as a sweep. Back and forth over the top it goes as we walk it down the length of the shelter. This breaks up the snow that we can't knock loose.
back under the cover we go to pick up the brooms and knock down the remaining snow.
Home we go to look at the sky again, well be back in four hours.........

Knocking off loose snow from below the cover.

Depending on road conditions, we hope to be back to work next week. If you are interested in joining us, please send a note to info@colonialseaport.org.

If you are interested in becoming a member or donating, please use the Donate Now button at the top of the page.

Thank you for following our progress.

Informational video

2010-12-22T21:46:00.001-05:00

Thank you to one of our newest members Baran Hill, founder of FundraisCZAR, for putting together the video found at the link below. He braved the cold last weekend to spend the day at the farm shooting video. We hope you enjoy his production! If you are interested in his work or having him produce a video, please subscribe to his video channel through the link provided.

http://www.youtube.com/user/fundraiseCZAR?email=share_video_user

FOUR LETTER WORDS

2010-12-18T21:59:00.006-05:00

This weeks conversations around the farm consists of four letter words that we had not heard in a while. The weather has taken a turn i'm afraid. "John, it's cold, put more wood on the fire! Man it looks like its going to snow again. Is there warm food for lunch? You mean we're going out in the cold and WORK!?"

And work we did! Last year we suffered a snow collapse and were delayed by almost a month fixing the shelter. If you recall, several months ago we reinforced the covered shelter that protects Luna from the elements. Well thank goodness we did. The new ridge pole took the load just fine and all day long we heard melting slush slide off the cover and spat on the ground. Of course what wasn't seen was the time our shipwright took to shake the frame as the snow was coming down to keep it off in the first place. Thank you!

To help our followers understand where we are working on Luna, the work areas are marked in red.

Todays projects continued where we left off last week. Clamps are continuing to be lagged in and the aft bulkhead is permanently set! (sorry for the poor photo quality, all I had was my phone camera today)

In the aft section the clamps are being lagged in. One of the problems we face is getting the wood bent back into its original position. The wood must be forced down to the frame surface then bolted in place. Drills are prepared to make new pilot holes for the bolts as the clamp is about to be refastened.

This is the aft bulkhead being screwed into place! The bulkhead is actually three sheets of one inch thick marine grade plywood which have been spliced to fit together, which results in no open seam. Each splice is then epoxied and bolted together. Eventually this will also be fiberglassed to ensure a watertight and somewhat crashproof bulkhead. The deckbeam has been set in front to hold the bulkheads position while the epoxy dries and bolts are secured. Note the blue tape- its important and you'll see it again in the next picture. Also of importance is the camber, or curve, of the cabin top. This is visible at the top of the bulkhead and will give Luna her distinct appearance.

SEE, I SAID IT WAS IMPORTANT!

The tape was marking off the aft companion way. We opted to make a small hatch for the time being to pass tools and ourselves into the cabin. Its a good thing we are going small as the blue tape went almost down to the deck beam and plywood. Underway and in foul seas, this would allow water to possibly slosh right down the companion way into the boat. We will have to change plans a bit and make the bottom of the way a little higher than expected. It will also be widened a bit more, we just didn't want to make it too wide to start.

Thank you to our volunteers who braved the elements today. We will be off next week as our family spends time with their families, but we plan on having a blog up so please visit again.

Yes, were still here.

2010-12-13T19:26:00.001-05:00

Ahoy friends,

We have been off the web for a bit to let us focus on some administrative and fund raising needs. Rest assured loyal followers, we're still making great progress on Luna, our 18th century Bermuda Sloop is still under construction.

We would like to thank our sister organization, Blackbeard's Crew for their recent contribution to the construction fund. The crew graciously sets aside 10% of their event profits to the construction fund.

Our first corporate fundraiser/ meet and greet, held at Half Moone Terminal was a success. We signed on over a dozen new members and had just as many renew. We welcome The Port of Virginia and Principle Advantage, Ltd as corporate donors as well. Thank you to Ann and Angie for coordinating the efforts.

One of the changes that you will soon find is a new look to our web site. While the original site was great for our immediate needs, it is three years old and well, just time for a face lift. The blog will follow suit. One change that you will not see is a new membership database. We had been using an Excel spreadsheet but with our growing numbers it became an albatross to use. The new program will allow multiple users to access information in real time as opposed to e-mailing updates back and forth. Thanks to Pern, our IT guru for making these happen. Just as importantly, thank you to Grace for maintaining and putting up with the old system for three years.

The wood stove was fired up last week,frost is on the ground, work crews are heading for the coffee pot before saying hello, that can only mean one thing. SOUP AND STEW SEASON IS HERE!!! In the winter months we take turns making lunch to heat on top of the stove. There is nothing quite like coming into the barn and smelling lunch cooking on the wood stove. Last week was clam chowder. I have next weeks lunch.

Now onto the construction!

Stans turn in the bilge. If you review our past blogs you know we have been replacing frames. On top of the frames, running the entire length of the boat are pieces of wood that keep Luna's frames from racking, or twisting out of shape. These pieces of wood, called clamps, are in turn bolted to each frame. Here Stan drills and lags five inch long bolts into the clamps and frames.

The aft bulkhead is almost there! In its final position and trimmed to fit the hull like a glove, it is wedged into place between a frame behind it and the deck beam in front- which is what is seen here. The bulkhead is three sheets of marine grade plywood spliced side by side together. They will next be glued and bolted together. the beams will be removed and then the bulkhead will be fiberglassed in place.

The shipwright clamps the plywood for final fitting to the deck beam on top of the aft cabin. One thing that has happened with the installation of the bulkhead is realizing just how small our big girl really is. Once she is sectioned off with her bulkheads, the vast empty hull becomes much smaller. Unfortunately, the remaining pictures did not download. SO............ we will leave you with a teaser for next week! The aft cabin from the inside.....

Corporate sponsorship

2010-11-15T21:39:00.001-05:00

Dear CSF friends and family,

On ,December 8th we will be hosting a reception at Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center located at the Nauticus Complex in Downtown Norfolk. Tickets are $50.00 and include an annual membership.

We are in need of sponsors for various elements of construction. Our most immediate needs are:
Conex storage container- $1500.00
Fiberglass materials- $30,000.00
Rigging-$40,000.00
Marine grade plywood- $8000.00
Volunteers- Priceless

Please RSVP with Ann Flandermayer at (757) 675 1876 or e-mail annflan@principle-advantage.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

combining new and old

2010-11-07T21:43:00.001-05:00

Hmmm- that doesn't look like it belongs in the new plans.
Yup, you guessed it. Out it goes! This is the old engine compartment.

Work has been continuing at a steady pace. We may not always have masses working at one time, but our dedicated volunteers come and go as they can and as long as there are a couple of people on hand changes are seen weekly!

Demolition- a constant occupation before new material can be installed. Stan removes the old decking so new deck beams can be fitted.

One of the construction challenges we regularly face is combining new construction methods while maintaining an 18th century appearance. This week, we are going to take a look at the work that goes into making deck beams appear old, while using modern construction technique to save time and keep costs down. So how do we determine where to use new or old construction methods. Its pretty simple, if you can see it, its traditional appearance. If you can't see it use modern methods.

A few of the basic hand tools and modern counterparts are seen here. We have to start with the basics so there is a sliding square, a small framers angle, a sliding T bevel, hand planes, and a draw knife. A grinder, electric plane and COFFEE round out the collection. (A broom doesn't hurt either.)

Beams are rough cut and shaped, moved aboard, then trimmed to fit.

Next comes determining the angle of the deck. The deck in this area is angled slightly forward to shed water away from the cabin hatch. A straight edge is spanned between two beams to determine the angle of slope between the two. This angle now needs to be reproduced on the top of the beam to create the deck frame.

This deck beam is square on all four sides, but the top of the beam needs to have an angled top of 2.3 degrees.

The angle is set on the T bevel and lined up on the edge of the beam as a guide.

Pencil marks are run along the area to be removed and is used as a depth gage for material to be removed with the grinder.

The same mark, but most of it has been ground off. Taking off just enough to remove the pencil mark allows for fine tuning of angles until it is just right. Yes, it may take a while, but its right.

One of our secret tools! Once the completed frame is in place it is checked front and back, then left and right for accuracy before it is fastened in place. In order to do this we use an electric level to make sure its positioned properly. No guessing here! After all that work the beam is clamped in place, holes drilled and its finally bolted in place.

Treasures lost in time waiting to be discovered.

2010-10-31T22:31:00.001-04:00

So what is it?

Continued from last week........

In 1997 a Nor'easter hit the Virginia shores and washed in a piece of history. George Brown, who was working at the Cape Henry Lighthouse, discovered a piece of fine driftwood. It was obvious that this driftwood was very old, but how old? George's curiosity was sparked so he decided to take the piece of wood to the archeologist who was working in the harbor of Olde Town Portsmouth at the time.The Archeologist told Mr. Brown that this was definitely part of a ship and most likely prior to 1750. He also shared that there were over 130 sunken ships from the Colonial era in the port of Norfolk from the Elizabeth River to the North River. Treasures lost in time waiting to be discovered.

from this side, you can see the bored path for a trunnel and the peened over end of a hand forged iron pin.

You can visibly see multiple hand-forged iron spikes in the wood which have had their ends flattened, or peened, to secure them in the wood. This is the equivalent of nuts and washers on a modern bolt.

to the right of the split at the bottom of the wood is a hole where the trunnel fits. while you can't see it from this angle, there is one buried deep within.

Wooden trunnels, or tree nails, are also seen. A trunnel is a wooden dowel used to secure pieces of wood together.A hole is drilled into the two pieces of wood and the dowel is inserted. The ends of the dowel were split before being inserted and a wedge shaped piece of wood is driven in. This wedge forces the ends of the dowel apart, locking it in place.

There is also a square bronze drift pin protruding from one side. It can be seen towards the top center of the beam. What is visible is a 1/2 inch square shaft driven into the wood, but we don't know how long it is. Maybe this was used to hang a sailors hammock or a lantern below deck? It seems that the combination of the trunnel and brass drift pin are the keys to help determine the age of our mystery piece, but we still don't know exactly why.

Outside of the engineering and construction wonders of the 18th century, we also have the effects of 300 years of salt water,weather and sealife.

Shipworms have done their share of dammage which is evident by the tunnels bored into the wood. Shipworms are not worms at all, but rather a group of unusual saltwater clams with very small shells, notorious for boring into (and eventually destroying) wooden structures that are immersed in sea water, such as piers, docks and wooden ships. Sometimes called "termites of the sea", they are marine bivalve molluscs (Eulamellibranchiata) in the familyTeredinidae, also often known as Teredo Worms.

We will never know what ship this came from or where it fit on the ship, but our mystery beam makes for a great teaching tool and conversation starter. Thank you, George, for your generous donation to the Colonial Seaport Foundation. It is a rare piece of history from which we can learn about our past. Thank you to our Foundation members Grace and Susan for striking up the conversation with George which led to this donation, collecting the information and taking the photos. Once stabilized in a traveling case, the mystery beam will be travelling with the Foundation at various living history programs and presentations, so please stop by and see for yourself!

Work days and Schooner Appreciation Days

2010-10-24T21:56:00.002-04:00

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on more deck beams. This weekend was spent cleaning the shop, stacking wood, and getting ready for winter. Last seasons heavy snow did Luna's vinyl and pvc pipe framed cover in. We added a laminated ridge pole and uprights to the frame so we should be o.k. this season. Then Adam, one of our volunteers, pointed out a very simple observation. "It snowed last year, we're not going to see anything for another ten years." He's probably right, but as the local saying goes. "If you don't like the weather on the Chesapeake Bay, wait an hour, it'll change."

Last weekend, we took some time to do a bit of playing and headed to Portsmouth for Schooner Appreciation Days, which coincides with the ending of The Great Chesapeake Schooner Race. Several Foundation members have been involved with both events for years and some are just getting started. It's always fun to visit our extended boating families and meet new friends. Below are pictures from the living history program we presented on Saturday. Pay close attention to the last picture. Thank you to Susan Cortez for taking the pictures.

Ben explains the backstaff.

Grace, the keeper of tavern games, always draws a crowd of all ages.

Weapons always hold folks attention as well.

Shuttlecock is todays version of badminton.

Reggie works on rigging.

Chip, the shipwright was on hand to show various tools of the trade and, of course, show off Luna.

Pern making baggy wrinkle, or chaffing gear for the rigging.

The Last Picture.........

The Foundation received a very unique donation dating from the 1750's which will be used with our living history and education programs. What is it? Check back next week for the full story.

Making Deck Beams

2010-10-03T22:43:00.001-04:00

Sigh.... Our problem of the day is this rotting deck beam, which needs to be replaced before we can lay down any new decking. This one is located at the forward end of the engine compartment. Fortunately, there is a solid beam located just forward of this one.

The first step is to find the right piece of wood. Is it straight? Is it long enough? How tight is the grain? Are there checks? How many knots are there? (no, there are no perfectly knot free pieces of wood.) How can we make our piece fit and not waste material? This beam is 4 inches thick, 12 inches wide, and 14 feet long. We can just make this one work!

Next the deck beams center is marked and a template is laid on the beam in progress. Our template is in three pieces, the center and either side. We first mark the top of the beam with the template. Notice the curve of the template. This constant arc is called a camber, or crown and is determined by the width of the boat and desired height of the center of the deck. This allows water to drain towards the sides rather than pool in the middle.

So far so good!
Now that the top is done, the template is slid down 4 1/4 inches and the line is duplicated making the bottom of the beam.

Despite a few rain drops the beam is moved outside and cut. Juniper dust is fine and gets everywhere. OK, we admit it. Less dust inside means less cleaning up at the end of the day.

Voila! A new deck beam is made! The salvaged remains will be used for either a shorter beam towards the bow or short pieces which will be along the sides of the main cargo hatch.

And our new beam is carried on board then set in place above the shear clamp. We measure the beam a bit long, then the ends are trimmed down and tapered to fit the contour of the hull. It's important to remember to trim off of each end evenly rather than just one side, otherwise your center mark will end up not so centered. Seems simple enough.

This is the days end result. The newly placed beam is located at the bottom of the picture.The stern of the boat is towards the top and we are looking down into the engine compartment.

We hope that you have enjoyed your visit and learned a bit about what goes into rebuilding a ship. Thank you for stopping by and we'll see you next week.

9/26/10 Luna updates

2010-09-26T20:28:00.003-04:00

Most of us have been away for the past few weekends working events. Today we returned to Luna to continue work and see what the shipwright has been up to. The last sets of pictures showed her completed outer hull and beginnings of the new quarter deck located at the aft, or back end, of the hull. Work has now shifted in two directions. The deck is beginning to be worked on and the bow is continuing to be stripped down to solid wood.

In order to work on the decks inside the hull, we need to mark the trim on the outside. Starting on the right side of the photo above, you see green painted wood. That is Luna's original hull. Just to the left is an opening where you can see inside. That is a cannon port. The bare wood to the left of the port is the new structure. The two parallel pieces of pipe show where the trim will be. The lower one follows the contour of the deck. Refer to the artists rendering at the top of the page to see how it will look from the outside.

Here is a view we haven't seen in a while. Looking aft, or towards the back of the ship, the temporary decking has been lifted and the old engine room hatch is exposed. The new bulkhead can be seen rising from the hull and the crown, or curve, of the deck is beginning to be worked out.

Adam, in the foreground, and our shipwright, chip, work on the deck placement. Remember- measure twice, cut once. Temporary strips of wood and cardboard templates are used to determine placement before the old deck and beams are torn out and replaced with new material.

Jeff joined us again today. He is removing wood from the bow of the ship. We stopped the rotting process long ago and now its time to replace the damage sun and water created. These pieces were determined to be cosmetic and will not be replaced. Instead, the area will be reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy and fabricated directly to the deck to create an impenetrable bond.

Onto the field trip of the day. Deltaville always has unique visitors and projects under way. The brigantine Peacemaker visited over the weekend. We got to spend a few minuted aboard enjoying others handywork for a while. They are off to Maryland next.

Thanks to Grace and Adam for capturing this weeks photos. And thank you for visiting our corner of the world. Please visit again next week as construction continues. If you would like to become a member of the Colonial Seaport Foundation or are interested to learn more about us, please visit our website, www.colonialseaport.org. We also have shirts, hats, A great sea chantey CD, and soon to be available stoneware Luna mugs for sale through our web site as well.

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day.

2010-09-21T20:37:00.033-04:00

Well its been eight years since the journalist Dave Berry introduced the world to Ol' Chumbucket and Capn' Slappy who created Talk Like A Pirate Day. This once small gathering has turned into a novelty cult following of sorts celebrated by thousands around the world. No- really, it is! Check out their web site and see for yourself. http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html.

The Foundation was contacted by the Mariners Museum in Newport News, Virginia to help them celebrate their annual Talk Like A Pirate Day events. Who are we to say no to an offer like that! Sometimes we just need to work an event to remind us why we got into this project to start with. The Mariners Museum is the National Maritime Museum sporting over 60,000 square feet of gallery space! Their collection includes rare ships figureheads, an amazing collection of hand crafted ships models with such detail you would swear they were real. The museum also holds many USS Monitor artifacts. To learn more about the museum visit their web site, http://www.marinersmuseum.org/ . This was our first time working with the Museum and we had a wonderful time!

Setting up shop just outside the Museums front doors, we set two canvas flies and packed as much fun and education as we could under them.

We were visited by young and old and even interviewed by a student reporter from Regent University. I never did get her name, but I hope she sends a copy of her article to us. Our fearless reporter, wearing the red sash and head wrap under her hat, is talking with one of our newer members, Ashley. Ashley seems to have found her historical niche with embroidery and does a wonderful job of it!

Constable heartless discusses the finer points of weaponry and shot to one of our guest. Our weapons and tactics always draw a crowd, especially when one of the cannons come out to sing. We have various forms of shot on display as well as access to numerous reproduction fire arms and edged weapons to use for this display. All of our bladed weapons have been dulled for safety and before firing weaponry, Foundation members must successfully complete a weapons and safety class. Yes, we are that serious about safety!

About fifty feet down range is a wooden bucket. The objective is to cast the weighted end of a heaving line into the bucket. Pern looks on and offers advice as our young charge has just let fly for the first time. The heaving line is used aboard ships as a light messenger line to haul larger and heavier lines from ship to ship or ship to shore. One of our more competitive hands on activities, this often leads to numerous dads trying to out do each other-Sort of like the strong man hammer at the fair.

Long Tom is working the navigation table. This includes reproduction navigation gear from biblical times to the early 18th century. Simple mathematic principles are covered to help determine latitude, distance covered over time based on speed in nautical miles per hour, and simple recording methods for speed and direction of travel. Compared to modern technology, it amazes us that these skills were so crudely executed with such precision.

Unfortunately, this is where the camera battery decided to jump ship. Thank you to all of our members who came out. Our ships surgeon, Cutter; Grace and Amber who worked the colonial games table; Mat and Adam who are learning skills and creating their programs as the Foundations needs grow; Cindy and Arden, two of our musicians and Stan, our treasurer, who came out to help set up.

We are off to the boat yard for the next few weeks, so please stop back in to see how Luna is progressing. Just think, shortly we will be afloat doing this!

An addition, one of our fans sent us some pictures of her kids spending the day with us at the museum.

Hampton Bay Days

2010-09-15T21:25:00.002-04:00

Hampton Bay Days celebrated its 28th anniversary promoting stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay this past weekend. This was our second time participating in the bay education area. We actually had two sites as the Custom House was back at the waterfront as well.

Saturday was an almost picture perfect day with low heat and few clouds. Somewhat smaller than last years booth, this year we packed our 10x10 foot space with as much as we could so folks can see the work we are accomplishing on Luna and our education programs.

One of the highlights of Bay Days is seeing old friends. Marine Life Artist Wyland with his traveling education center always draw a crowd and we are honored to be able to share a venue with these folks every year. For more information on his works and mission please visit his web site, http://www.wyland.com/

Education is the purpose of the day. Helping our sister organization Blackbeard's Crew, Adam is demonstrating how ships rigging is protected while Tom, in the background, explains the finer points of 18th century navigation.

Rhonda helps her young visitor set cotton and oakum into our sample of ships deck. This combination of material covered with tar provides a water tight seal.

Its not all work for us. Sometimes we do get to let our hair down and have some fun.

So whats a little cannon fire amongst friends?

No visit to Hampton is complete without a bit of cannon fire. Constable Heartless and his cannon, Princess, wake some late morning sleepers.

Hey Tom, how does a pirate keep a parrot on his shoulder?
With a little poly-grip!
Tom and one of the Busch Gardens exotic animal handlers with a bird that doesn't like to be touched.

Yes, that is Grace on the inflatable pirate ship slide.

There are more pictures of Bay Days coming in of the Custom House and our members in action. I'll post them as they come in.

We're off to the Mariners Museum next Sunday. Please stop in and say hi.

The custom house in action.

whiskey plank- n. the board which completes construction of a ship’s or boat’s hull.

2010-09-05T22:16:00.004-04:00

Ben has the honors of cutting and fastening
the last board- the Whiskey Plank as Adam
looks on after fastening his just below.
Way to go gang!

Two milestones were reached this past week!

First- Ben is out of the boat which can only mean one thing. The last of the frames have been completed. This has been a major focus since the beginning of the project. We still have several frames up for adoption. $300 will pay for a frames material and provide a plaque with your name or dedication on it placed inside Luna for permanent display.

Second- With the completion of the last couple of frames we were able to place the last two planks on Luna's reshaped hull. In wooden ship construction this milestone last board is called the Whiskey Plank. Tradition goes that a shot or ten of whiskey is partaken and work subsequently stops for the day. Not for us, a resounding HUZZAH! was heard and work continued. This completes her new quarter deck hull exterior. The next step is the remaining deck beams and deck itself.

Mat was back aboard working on the transom window frames. He has quite a task as he levels the window sill and follows the contour of the transom. Some people have skills and don't even know it, or in some cases keep it hidden until that special project calls them.

Amber is back to work on the upper mast. A couple of tiny sections were identified as having rot so they were cleaned out and soaked with a penetrating epoxy which will reinforce the area making it as good as new. After this weekend, the upper is ready for its coating of pinetar, turpentine, and linseed oil which will waterproof and preserve it.

Reggie has a much larger problem with his project. This mast is going to be used as a training model. Learning how to handle a squaresail and upper rig sixty feet above the ground is a bit daunting. We are making a scaled down mock up of the rig to be used at ground level from donated and salvaged pieces. This mast has seen better days as it is around 100 years old and last saw use as a flag pole. Its time in the sun has left long splits along the grain of the wood which must be cleaned out and filled with epoxy to regain its strength. Our intent is to have the model accompany Luna and be set up shore side where visitors can have some hands on experience up close and personal rather than from afar.

On the road again. Mat goes over the trailer one more time getting ready for Bay Days in Hampton next weekend. The last project of the day was to pack up the Custom House and educational programs. We will be in two locations at Bay Days, on the waterfront with the Custom House and in the education area. Please stop by and say hello!

updates

2010-09-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

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!

pictures are worth 1000 words

2010-08-24T21:13:00.000-04:00

We begin this weeks blog with a visit from Scott Watts who was in town delivering a boat and came by to see Luna. Scott and his family generously donated Luna to the Foundation and have been following along in her construction. This is his first time seeing her in almost three years- Geez, has it really been that long? Here is Scott enjoying the view from the stern. Thank you for making this possible!

Our members come from far and wide to spend a little bit of quality time making saw dust and gluing it back together. Tom travels almost three hours to join us. Here he is chiseling out the area where window frames will be going in the transom.

After Tom finished chiseling out the wood, Mat rounded the edges and smoothed out any rough spots. A putty that will help seal the area in preparation for fiberglass was then applied. Fiberglassing the area will make the window frame strong and waterproof.

After the putty was applied, it needed to be sanded smooth. Another of our commuting volunteers, Grace, works the extra globs of hardened putty out of the corners. These globs will prevent the fiberglass from laying flat, causing an air pocket so they must be smoothed out. Attention to details such as this ensure a quality result.

We're going to shift gears a little and remind ourselves what Luna looked like afloat the first time Grace, John G. and our shipwright saw her in St. Augustine Florida.

In the photo below you will see two masts rising from the hull. The forward one has a yard arm- the horizontal piece of rigging about 2/3 the way up. Just above that is the cross tree and the topmast, which sits above the mainmast. This week we pulled the topmast out of her rack in storage and stripped it of paint and began preparing it for its dose of "boatsoup", a delightfully smelling traditional preservative we concoct on site that give old wooden boats a smell of hard work and being shipshape. While Luna is not mobile, parts of her are. Our intent is to take this and various other parts of her rigging to public events where you, our viewers and supporters, can see first hand how she is going together and maybe even help if you have a few spare minutes.

Below, Heather and Reggie have stripped the topmast of paint, sanded down any rough areas, and are bleaching the wood to get rid of any water stained or friction rubbed dark areas. These can be seen in the bottom photo and will take at least another coat of solvent to remove, then what ever does not bleach out will be lightly sanded.

Here is our weekly picture of Ben working on frames. In earlier Blogs the assembly was described as a big jigsaw puzzle. You can see the various pieces as they are prepared for their final fitting and fastening. Despite being made of hard as nails oak, each frame piece is painted with a preservative that will help keep moisture out and prevent rot from setting in. Enjoy this view- it is one of the last frames to be replaced, we will soon have to find something else to take pictures of Ben doing for weeks on end.

Waste not, want not. Down to our two last boards of Juniper, this is just enough material to make the last four hull planks needed on the starboard side and enough left over for a piece or two on the transom. Obviously we will purchase more when needed, but we spend time making cardboard templates and patterns to get the most out each piece of wood making sure its right the first time. Dutch is measuring twice, getting ready to cut once. This board is sixteen feet long, twenty inches wide, and two inches thick.

At the end of the day we clean. The boat, the shop, and even the tools get cleaned (sometimes we do too!). Amber is blowing dust out of a sander used on the mast. Each tool is regularly inspected for worn or loose parts and repaired or replaced as needed. This helps keep us safe, them running, and our overhead down.

Thank you for visiting our little corner of the world. We will be back on board next weekend and will also be planning our venture to Bay Days in Hampton the weekend of September 10-12. The following week, we will be at the Mariners Museum in Newport News on Sunday the 19th, Please come by and visit. If you are interested in joining the Foundation or would like more information, please visit our website at www.colonialseaport.org or send us an E-mail at info@colonialseaport.org!

2010-08-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

The shipwright spent the weekend working on the transom windows. Looking at the picture, the four vertical slats at the top of the boat show the approximate size of each framed area. The major concern is obviously keeping water out. The challenge though is being able to open them when needed and keeping the structure strong enough to take on crashing waves over the stern while keeping her historical appearance. While we don't plan on doing bluewater cruising, rogue storms on the Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound have knocked down more than one ship, so safety is foremost in our thoughts.

While work was progressing on Luna, we had a strong showing in Beaufort under the Blackbeard's crew banner at the Beaufort Pirate Invasion. This is always a great event and it's more of a piratical family reunion than anything else. One suprise was finding ourselves at Blackbeards BBQ and C-food located in Conetoe, NC. If you ever find yourself at coordinates +35° 49' 57.91", -77° 28' 17.80" you will have one of the best out of the way, fresh meals you can ask for. Once there, everyone worked in the camp to pull off a great event and we were joined by several spouses who had not been to a reenactment before. Hopefully we have convinced them to join us more often. Living history, the pirate invasion and crewing Meka II were the order of the day Saturday. Through out the weekend we were able to spend time with legendary chantey-man Skip Henderson, and Disneys house pirate band Rusty Cutlass. What a treat to see our very own Cindy Warner playing with these talented folks! Both Skip and Rusty Cutlass contributed tracks to our CD, "Loaded To The Gunwhales", produced by Cindy. The CD is available on line at www.colonialseaport.org or at venues.

Just a reminder about upcoming events!
Hampton Bay Days, September 10-12
Mariners Museum located in Newport News on Sept 19 at their Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Sunday will be another workday, so come on out

2010-08-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

Our Custom House made quite a splash at its debut in Hampton at this years Hunt for Hampton History and Blackbeard Festival. Local photographer Anthony Prater captured this picture at the Blackbeard Festival and did a little photo-shop magic to turn it into a painting. Anthony is a freelance photographer and has been working on a few photo projects in the downtown area focusing on the city's architecture. Thanks for allowing us to use the picture Anthony! In the background is the Kalmar Nykel, Delawares state ship.

Last Friday, several Foundation, Blackbeard's Crew and Hysterically Correct Production members were hosted by the Newport News Elks Lodge at the Local Boys and Girls Club for a day of pirate and maritime history activities. This is the second year we have been invited and we could not ask for more delightful hosts. The only request they could not fill was turning the heat and humidity down a little bit. There was a large gathering of visitors were treated to music, cannon fire, and a bit of living history. Thanks to Stan for coordinating the event for us.

On the Luna front, John Glass reported for duty and continued working in the bilge on the keelson and began work on the area of the new mast step, we need to move the mast back about two feet. we had more activity on board this Sunday as the shipwright, Ben, Reggie, Mat and I spend the day continuing last weeks work. Ben completed the frame from last week and has now moved onto another. How he manages to squeeze himself into those tight spots I have no idea. The shipwright and Reggie spent part of the day finishing installing screens and fastening planks- the much anticipated final assembly has begun! HUZZAH!! Mat learned about West System Epoxy and treated a few preexisting boards to help stabilize them so we can add new planks around them and complete the starboard side of the hull. Just four more planks and that will be done.

I spent some time working on the bow. As you can see, we had to do a bit of a temporary patch job to hold her together. Being out of the water and facing the summer sun does Luna no favors. As she dried out, the screws holding the planks onto the frames started working loose. To prevent her from peeling apart like a banana (wooden boats will really do that!) we bolted her together. They are visible on the right side of the bow of Luna. While certainly not attractive, it served its purpose and its now time to move work to that section. Several pieces of rotten wood need to be replaced and a complete refastening will be in order, which we expected when we received her. Once that is done, we will begin to reshape her from a sharp "cutter" style of bow, or front end of the ship, to a wider bulb. This will create a bit more buoyancy and provide a new look as we create an 18th century ship.

Behind the scenes, our grants and marketing folks are hard at work. We should have new CSF merchandise arriving shortly. It will be available at Hampton Bay Days, Sept 10-12. We will get pictures up when it arrives- good looking stuff though! Our grants folks are working to identify opportunities and we expect to see applications going out shortly. If you know of any resources that may be able to help us on our journey, please let us know.

As mentioned, we will again be at Hampton Bay Days, Sept 10-12. While the exact location has not been determined yet, we will be in two places. The Custom House will be returning for an encore performance and we will be in the education section, which we understand is being moved this year.

We will also be at the Mariners Museum located in Newport News, Virginia on September 19th. This will be our first visit there and we are quite excited by this opportunity to work with the museum. To enlighten out gentle readers, September 19th is National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

More information on our upcoming events will be posted in the next couple of weeks as it becomes available. Next week will find many of us in Beaufort at their Pirate Invasion supporting our sister organization, Blackbeard's Crew and our friend Horatio Sinbad (yes, that's his name) on board the Meka II. Of course, the shipwright and maybe one or two folks will be on board Luna quietly and diligently working away. Thanks gang!

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Foundation, please visit our website and join or contact our membership director via e-mail at info@colonialseaport.org.

Of Workdays and Pictures

2010-08-01T19:01:00.000-04:00

We returned to the workshop after being driven off by the heat for a couple of weeks and darned if we didn't make some progress! In the meantime, I learned how to add pictures to the blog- there's no stopping me now!

Today was busy with six of us on site through the day. Our money shot for the day is the roughing in of the first two new quarter deck beams! Despite the rest of our absence, the shipwright has almost completed the stern and we surprised ourselves today by being able to set the new beams in place as the final job of the day. This puts a whole new perspective on the size of the cabin. Pictured are the shipwright and Larry, who has been out to several events with us and joined us for the first time on the farm today.

Ben is busy completing yet another frame. We have had to replace or modify almost twenty and it is no easy chore to make sure they are properly fitted and match the sister on the opposite side of the ship. Each frame is made of 2 1/2 inch thick white oak and made of several pieces both in width and length which must be put together like a jig saw puzzle and then assembled in place on the ship. The finished weight of each is no less than fifty pounds and often over ten feet in length. Since there is no deck to work from, his involves numerous trips between Luna and the shop for cutting and fitting. Today's frame is supporting the deck beam in the first photo.

Chip and Larry work out the finer details of vent covers which will be located over the bunks in the stern of Luna. We decided it was much easier working on detailed projects now where there is room rather than after the deck is in place. As a result we often spend what seems like lots of time on small projects, but in the end it all fits together beautifully.

Adam works on the deck beam with a reciprocating saw. The beam is six inches thick and attention must go into a square and even cut. While our wonderful band saw could cut this in no time, due to curves to be cut and overall length, it just won't safely fit through so we actually make two passes with smaller saws to cut this. The first is with a radial saw which cuts through about four inches, then we follow through with the reciprocating saw. Fresh blades make it seem like cutting through hot butter. Next will come the sanders to finish out any rough spots.

Thank you for visiting and we will have more updates next week.

.

Blackeard Festival

2010-07-13T20:21:00.001-04:00

The 11th annual Hampton Blackbeard Festival is over and all have had a chance to rest. To begin, we can't thank our members and their patient families for the turn out this weekend.

Now onto the festival! Many arrived Thursday to begin setting up the camp and the custom house for its completed debut in Hampton. Several of us headed over to the American Theater where we were educational background for the Hampton 400 movie premier of the citys history. Unfortunately, we did not have time to watch the movie as we needed to be back across town for the Annual Pirates Ball.
Friday morning found eight intrepid rowers on board the Schallope "Explorer" rowing from Bluewater Marine Center to the Hampton Waterfront. Then onto finishing set up. At noon the festival opened with John Glass portraying Richard Fitz Williams, the Customs Officer, giving a brief history of the commerce and trade of Hampton in front of the Custom House. Right around the corner barrels could be seen being unloaded from the Kalmar Nykel which were then rolled up the ramp to be checked in as cargo. The rest of the day was spend providing educational living history programming by many of the local and visiting living historians.
Saturday we awoke to more heat and a full day of living history. Our members partially staffed two camps, the CSF tent, Snakes merchandising tent, a 17 piece gun battery, worked two sea battles on two separate ships! A tall order, but easily accomplished by dedicated volunteers.
Sunday.... one more day to go, we can make it! More volunteers showed who rotated between the days and we continued on. Dedicated to living history and education, Sunday is our day to put our educational programs out for all to see. While we had or normal compliment of weapons and tactics, navigation and seamanship, we added the custom house to the trade and commerce and a rope walk to the rigging area. Both additions were well received by the visitors.
Thanks again to our many volunteers who came out and we hope that you our friends and supporters had asa much fun as we did!

2010-06-30T10:21:00.001-04:00

The beer pull went amazingly well. We had 16 show up, which enabled us to man two sites. Thank you to all who made it out and endured the heat.

Sunday brought three folks to the farm to work and one to play in the river. Chip, Christopher, and Adam spent the day working on the custom houses' roof and the transom on Luna. Reports from the shipwright say that the transom should start to be assembled rather soon. I know we've been saying that for a while, but there are actually four different surface areas that go together and none of them are square or flat- remember, its a boat. Before the pieces make their final trip from the barn to the boat they are also being painted where we can get to the entire piece and not slop paint around on board.

We are gearing up for the Hampton Blackbeard Festival, July 8-11. Radio and TV spots are starting to appear, merchandise is coming in, living history programs are being polished up, clothes and tents are being mended and numerous other projects are being wrapped up. Its amazing how much work goes into playing in our own back yard for a week. Stop by and see us, the CSF tent will be at Mill Point Park and the Custom House will be on the docks by the Cousteau Building.

update

2010-06-21T18:48:00.000-04:00

This week has been busy on the Foundation front. This Saturday the 26th will find members at Hamptons Street Fest. We will be manning a beer tent to raise funds for "Luna" and draw attention to the 10th annual Hampton Blackbeard Festival. Stop by and say hello....

Preparations are under way for the Blackbeard Festival. If you are visiting, please stop by the tent and say hello. We will be located in Mill Point Park, same corner as usual.

This Sunday was spent moving lumber. It seems we had lost quite a bit of floor space in the workshop to lots and lots of lumber. So, the area known as the "chicken coop" was cleaned out. The coops resident tractor has a new home coming and the lumber was stacked in its new digs to continue drying. This included oak, juniper, pine, red cedar and a couple pieces of mystery wood (more on the mystery wood later). Photos would be a good addition right about now, but I don't have any. To give an idea of the size lumber we work with the cedar planks are 18 inches wide by 16 feet long, which we mill down and use for hull planks. The largest pieces of oak are six by ten inches by almost 20 feet long, hence the need for steel tipped footwear. These monsters will form the new keelson. The Juniper is to be used for deck stringers.

On to mystery wood. When we began the process of rebulding Luna, we knew we had our work cut out for us, literally! As we began stripping back the layers of accumulated muck and goo, we found various stages of repair and restoration. Eventually, the idea was hatched to save odd and unique pieces that we found. Eventually we identified eight different woods that were used in her repair or reconstruction, this included a cedar tree stump which was used to hold up the V-birth. Other species included oak, juniper, pine, walnut, mahognany, oak, and several unidentified pieces that we hope to find a project for because they were too nice to throw out.

Sunday is a work day. Hope to see you there.

.Our members

2010-06-14T22:13:00.000-04:00

The backbone of any volunteer organization is its members and the Foundation is no different. A concern of potential volunteers is not having experience as a reenactor or know anything about building ships. Our reply to that is "thats ok." Being a volunteer for the Foundation does not mean you need to be an expert at anything, but an interest and a willingness to learn is. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions and our replies.

I want to help, but I don't have a lot of extra time.
Neither do we. Most of our volunteers have full time jobs and families. We try to get word out about activities as far ahead of time as we can so folks can make plans. While we do not have a participation requirement, we do ask that you fulfil your obligation if you sign up for an event. The only regularly scheduled activity is Sunday Workday onboard Luna, which occurs every Sunday unless we have another event.

Do I have to be a reenactor?
No. Reenacting is a small part of our overall mission. While reenacting is the best tool we have to draw in and interact with the public, many of our educational programs and marketing events are conducted in "company colors" which is our blue collared shirt and tan pants. Work days are done in comfortable work clothes. we do ask that you wear solid footwear, preferably steel toed boots, when working at the farm.

I've never built anything much less a boat, what can I do?
Well, ya never know until you show up. We have volunteers with many levels of expertise and abilities. If you would like to learn to build a wooden ship, we can get you started with basic woodworking projects and build on that. Weask folks to provide their own basic tools such as hammer, tape measure, utility knife etc... we provide the larger power tools. If you think you may be happier researching 18th century maritime history or helping with the news letter or grants, we would be just as happy as you. Come with an open mind and lets see what you may be interested in doing.

I want to be a paid crew member when Luna is floating.
We currently have no plans for paid crew although this may change as the programs evolove. Potential crew members will go through a series of skill and knowledge evaluations, prior maritime experience would be beneficial. We do have a reccomended reading list and a couple of projects to get folks started. Two books that are high on our reading list are "Confessions of a Boatbuilder" by James Rosborough, who designed Luna and "Tall Ships Down" by Daniel Parrott which chronicles some of the most recent tall ship sinkings. You will need a place to sleep and something to store your gear in. A hammock, a sea bag and a small ditty box will fill your needs. We will be more than happy to help you get started on these basic projects.

We hope this helps answer some questions people may have. If you are interested in becoming a member or volunteering, please visit us at an event or contact us via e-mail at info@colonialseaport.org and our membership director will contact you shortly.

Hello and welcome!

2010-06-09T17:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to our Blog. Other than our website, this is our first attempt at mass electronic communications.

Last weekend found us in Deltaville, Virginia at the Deltaville Maritime Museum hosting a Colonial Maritime Festival. Visting colonial maritime reenactors from the East Coast arrived Thursday and Friday, setting up camp and visiting "The Farm" where Luna is undergoing her makeover. Friday afternoon, participants learned from each other as we had a chance to show off our own abilities and projects to each other. We also hosted the local elementary school first graders for an hour as they were at the Museum on a field trip. That night we set off in the "Explorer", the museums 1600's reproduction schallop, for a row around the creek.

Saturday morning began in the museums two 13 foot skiffs for a sudden death race around the marks. the winner advanced to the next race. Sounds simple enough until we blindfolded the oarsmen, then the races took a turn for the worse as it was deemed there were no rules. Following the races, living history was the order of the day as visitors got to help make new rigging for the Explorer and our Custom House made its assembled debut (thats a Royal Custom House used to import and export goods from the colonies- not a custom built house, although it is custom built.... anyhow). The next event for the crews was a hawser relay in the afternoon. Two mariners are placed on opposite ends of a field approximately fifty feet appart. One has a hawser (100 ft of 2 inch diameter line) and the other a heaving line. The first person throws the line to the second, where they hitch the hawser and messenger together and the first pulls the whole assembly to them and finish when the whole 100 feet of line has crossed the marker. Young pups were quite proud of there times, but were soon put to rest when John Glass and John Collamore (the elder) formed the senior league at the last second and shaved MINUTES off the best time.

Our night was ended with a pig roast prepared by our own award winning ships cook, Will "cookie" Hahn and a concert perfomed by the York River Symphony Orchestra. If you were fortunate to be close by, Hatchet Megs World Famous Rum Cakes were to be had for a price as desert, but were soon gone!

Thank you to all who made this weekend a time to be had and remembered. We cannot do this without our volunteer members.

Sunday is a work day at the farm.