Transom Timelapse Video

Adventuress' new transom is on!  We took a photo every 5 minutes over 6 days while Haven Boatworks shipwright Leland Gibson crafted the new transom.  The video turned out awesome!

Thank You January Work Weekenders

By Capt. Korie Griffith

Scraping the hull

Thank you so much for coming to our last work weekend!  Though we were promised sunshine, we still made the best of what we were given.  I’m happy to say that we met our goal this weekend of getting the entire hull of Adventuress scraped and ready for bottom paint.  This is never a glorious job, but it is one that goes fast with lots of hands and is very satisfying when it is finished!  So, a special thanks to all of you who strapped on a respirator and left with bits of red dust in your hairlines (I hope you all enjoyed a well-deserved, long, hot shower!).

Other weekend accomplishments:

• A big dent in block assembly; 2/3 done’ish (thanks Linda, Tom, Dennis, Mark and more)
• Anchor chain shot marks prepped and painted for the season (thanks Dennis and Burke)
• Mainmast repair (thanks Paul)
• Fo'c's'le hatch got varnish (thanks Beth and Kacie)
• Electrical wiring runs documented for our new navigation equipment (thanks Rick and Jane)
• Repair to our shipyard boat bike (thanks Levi)
• Christmas lights unbent (thanks Zach)
• Delicious meals were cooked and served (thanks Monica and Indu)
• Wood stock was moved (thanks Andrew)
• Lots and lots of clean up (everyone!)

Winter Mate Ryan and Andrew inspecting the mainmast

There is probably more to add to this list, but our Master of Ceremonies, Ryan, is off on some well-deserved time off so I wasn’t able to get his list.  So, thank you for everything and all you did last weekend.

Please remember to sign up* for our last two work weekends this winter if you can: February 19-20 and March 12-13.  In February look forward to some rigging, paying the seams on the new planks and the start of gear shuffling (winter stuff off, sailing gear on).  March should find us back in the water, finishing rigging, cleaning and more gear shuffling and all those pesky projects that hang on until the bitter end of winter maintenance season.  As always, we’d love to have your help during the week too!

Thanks again!
Korie
Centennial Restoration Project Manager, Adventuress
http://www.soundexp.org
korie (at) soundexp (dot) org

*If you'd like to sign up for the February or March Work Weekends, please send Korie an email.

Volunteers scraping bottom paint!

They're a dedicated, hearty bunch

Don't worry, we vacuumed it all up!

Reassembling the blocks

Newly painted metal hardware waiting to be assembled

Jane B. and Rick C. studying electronics

December Shipyard Update

By Zach Simonson-Bond

Phases II and III of Adventuress' Centennial Restoration have been flying by.  December saw some exciting milestones from both the starboard bow and counter stern!

Phase II: Starboard Bow

Arthur Minnerly puts in the last futtock

The most notable accomplishment on the starboard bow is the completion of framing just before December 25.  Shipwrights Brad Seamans and Arthur Minnerly lead the replacement of Adventuress' frames and they did so with excellent attitudes!  Often, you could hear them swapping jokes and speaking in accents and they methodically strengthened the starboard bow.

Their scope of work extended from the new stem, installed last year, to the starboard midships reframing that happened in 2005-2006, and from the top plank to just below the waterline.  Planking on the starboard bow will begin in January, 2011.

Other Phase II accomplishments include the fabrication of a new chain plate and associated strapping which are currently being galvanized before they are secured to Adventuress.

Phase III: Counter Stern

The counter stern project has also had some exciting milestones, namely a strengthening of the entire steering system from the rudder to the wheel.  

Shipwright Andy C. works on the housing

A new rudder design has been completed that will provide more strength and stability for Adventuress' next half century.  An added benefit of the new design is that it will allow the rudder to be more easily removed and inspected in future years.

The rudder attaches to the Edson "worm steerer" at roughly deck level.  The worm steerer is a gear which provides mechanical advantage between the ships wheel and the rudder, making Adventuress easier to drive.  While strengthening the rudder, it was also decided to rebuild the box that holds the worm gear.  Shipwrights Blaise Holly and Andy C. are working on a new housing that will provide increased security for the worm gear and strengthen the entire system.

Leland with the transom blank

Meanwhile, shipwright Leland Gibson has been making a transom "blank."  Essentially, it is a curved board that the transom will be cut from.  Leland has been laminating boards together, two sapele with a top layer of teak, in preparation for the new transom!

Last, we're excited to announce that a large piece of white oak, 25 feet long, has been identified in New York for the horn timber.  It will be shipping in early January.  Shipwright Blaise Holly has already made the pattern for the timber and waiting eagerly for its arrival.

Maintenance
Regular maintenance is also moving steadily forward.  The inclement weather has kept our volunteers mostly under cover.  As a result, they have completed the disassembly and cleaning of Adventuress' blocks, the soles (or floors) of the ship are getting many protective coats of varathane, and the ship's spars have been scuffed in preparation for varnish!

Dont forget!  We have a Volunteer Work Weekend coming up at the end of January.  Come join us and help prepare Adventuress for her next sailing season.  The Work Weekend will be on Jan. 22 - 23.  Click here for more info.

Thank you all who have volunteered or donated during these projects.  You are keeping Adventuress in the best shape of her life!

Brad removes excess fastener material

Nate and Tom working on blocks!

Volunteers, Futtocks and Gift Memberships!

By Zach Simonson-Bond

There has been a lot going on in the office and on the boat since Joshua's last update. We've picked up some new volunteers, the starboard bow project is roaring along, the Counter Stern Restoration is well underway, our usual maintenance projects are getting checked off and we're now offering Holiday Gift Memberships!

New Volunteers

We're honored to have three more volunteers for this winter's restoration. Jane Burleigh is back with us! A familiar face aboard Adventuress, Jane has sailed aboard our ship for three seasons and is contracted for Spring 2011.

We've also picked up Levi J., a superb addition to the team. Levi comes to us from Chicago bringing with him a great attitude and a lot of tall ship experience. He sailed aboard the schooner Windy before coming to Adventuress and he's excited to learn more from the Haven Boatworks shipwrights.

Last but certainly not least, Nate Seward has returned to us from the sloop Clearwater in New York. Bo's'n, sailmaker, rigger and sailor extraordinaire, we're lucky to have Nate back for Phases II and III of Adventuress' Centennial Restoration, and as crew in Spring 2011.

Phase II Update: Starboard Bow Progression
By the end of November, the shipwrights of Haven Boatworks had replaced 18 futtocks (futtocks make up a frame). Since then, they have put in another 32 bring the total to 50 futtocks replaced. These guys are good!

"All of the new futtocks will be in by Christmas" said Haven shipwright Brad Seamans, who is leading up the starboard bow reframing.

Brad Seamans installing futtocks

Brad believes the frames will be faired off (smoothed) and lined off (lines drawn to indicate where planking goes) so that planking can begin begin shortly after the new year!

Phase III Update: Counter Stern Restoration
Shipwright Blaise Holly has been working diligently on the Counter Stern restoration. In November, the project began by removing the original horn timber, which is essentially the backbone of Adventuress' stern. It will be replaced with a single 25 foot long piece of wood! Blaise has been laying out the pattern for the new horn timber while we wait for the log to arrive.

The work on the horn timber necessitated the removal of the ship's rudder. This presented an excellent opportunity to rebuild the rudder while it's off, so we'll be doing that too.

Refinishing fo'c's'le sole boards

Maintenance
While Phases II and III are underway, we are simultaneously pursuing our regular maintenance projects. Our Winter Mate, Ryan Short, has been leading those projects with great success.

"Things have been going well now that we have a couple new folks on board," said Ryan. "More work is getting done!"

Aided by the occasional drop-in volunteers, the winter crew has completed an impressive list so far including: repairing the fo'c's'le hatch, servicing Adventuress' many blocks, constructing a cover for the mainmast, and refurbishing the fo'c's'le sole boards.

Holiday Gift Memberships!

I would be amiss if I didn't mention our new Holiday Gift Memberships! Give the gift of sailing aboard Adventuress in 2011. You can purchase an Individual Gift membership for your special someone, or a Household Gift Membership for a whole family.

Click here to purchase a $50.00 Individual Gift Membership

Click here to purchase an $85.00 Family/Household Gift Membership

Shipwright Blaise Holly and volunteer Jen G. remove fasteners from inside the lazarette

Shipyard Update!

By Capt. Joshua Berger

Since hauling the ship out of the water on November 3, Adventuress crew, volunteers and the shipwrights at Haven Boatworks have been hard at work. We are fully engaged in arguably the most extensive shipyard period that Adventuress has ever seen.

We have embarked upon Phases II and III of the Centennial Restoration, as well as extensive winter maintenance projects. Here is a an update:

Phase II: Starboard Bow Restoration
As the scaffolding was erected, Haven Shipwrights, assisted by Adventuress crew and volunteers, began tearing windows into the starboard bow. In order to map out a strategy, planks were taken off in order to assess the frame condition beneath. Everything seemed as we had expected from our work last year on the port side and we quickly engaged in a plan. To date, we have removed all the planking we will need, already replaced 18 futtock sections, and have removed the old chain plate.

Phase III: Counter Stern Restoration
With careful planning and direction from Haven, we now have a good scope of work for the Counter Stern portion of the Centennial Restoration that includes the replacement of almost 25 feet of Adventuress' horn timber. This is a tremendous project that will undoubtedly bring life to the ship for many generations to come. This repair necessitated the removal of the rudder and will give us a great opportunity to refresh its associated metal work and bearings.

Rigging:

In addition to the extensive effort to prepare Adventuress for the next century of her life, Sound Experience has embarked upon an exceptional and rigorous full inspection of the rigging and spars. In collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, we have proactively engaged in an expanded inspection and inventory process, including the full cataloging of each component of the ship's standing rigging, running rigging and the spars.

As part of this thorough assessment, we decided to pull Adventuress’ mainmast in order to inspect the iron and wood condition aloft. On Monday, November 8, led by several hitches and a supportive crew, the mast came out without a glitch. We are happy with what we have found thus far. We will continue to develop a strategy for this winter's, and future, rig-repair and replacement.

Winter Work Weekends:
On the weekend of November 21 - 22, we had 25 generous and hard-working volunteers come help finish building the winter cover. They also began to breakdown and clean of all the running rigging blocks. The cover was pulled over the ship just in time as almost six inches of snow fell the next morning! Thank you to all those that came and we look forward to seeing you all again next weekend, December 4 - 5. Please join us!

All and all, it has been a fantastic and exciting start to a winter full of hard work during true winter conditions (thank you El Nino). Praises to our Winter Mate, Ryan Short; Winter Engineer, Jessup Coffin and dedicated Crew, Jen Grod. It’s not easy work and the conditions are difficult, but these folks are devoted and passionate. What a community we continue to build!

More updates later…

Capt. Joshua Berger
Schooner ADVENTURESS

Shipwright Blaise Holly removes the horn timber

Hoisting out the mainmast!

Once, there was a mast here!

The AMAZING winter volunteers

Adventuress Haul Out

By Zach Simonson-Bond

Yesterday, started out with bright stars and a crescent moon as I rode my bicycle to the Boat Haven shipyard.  I was excited to see Adventuress hauled-out again so I rode fast.  As I arrived, I was wished good-morning by a smiling crew; it was obvious their excitement matched my own.  Adventuress was scheduled to haul out at 8:00 a.m. and there was plenty of prep work to do.

We quickly finished the pre-haul out chores: warm up Jefe (our small boat), get rid of extra docklines, do the engine checks, and so on.  The heavy haul-out lift--a beast and beauty of mechanical prowess--honked across the harbor signaling they were ready.  The sun had just come from behind the mountains as Captain Korie backed Adventuress into the lift.

Adventuress
     Slowly
          Left
               the Water

It's very difficult to describe how odd it is to have Adventuress suspended in mid air.  Obviously, having 98 tons swaying gently in the lift straps is mind boggling: you can walk beneath her, clearly see her lines, touch her keel, and admire.  For me, having sailed on her so frequently, her transition to land is a little jarring.  It's hard to accept that this lively ocean entity will rest land-locked for 4 months of restoration.

After Adventuress was entirely over land, we paused for cleaning.  We had a bet with the Port that we could wash the grime from Adventuress' hull in a half-hour.  Donned in foul-weather gear, eye protection, and fueled by the challenge, the crew sprang to the pressure washers and methodically blasted the hull clean.  Thirty minutes later, Adventuress was clean but the crew was FILTHY!

The heavy-haul out slowly wheeled Adventuress to her place "on the hard," just beside Haven Boatworks.  It's been great to see familiar faces again: Blaise, Leland, Brad, Joe, Antonio and all the other shipwrights.  I admire these folks for the quality of their craftsmanship, but also the quality of their character.

The rest of the day we took care of necessary things:

• We deflated Jefe and stowed it for the winter
• Emptied the grey-water
• Set up the winter grey-water system
• Dried docklines
• And little things here and there

The shipwrights began setting up the scaffolding for the major projects that lie ahead: the starboard bow restoration and the counter stern restoration.  I'll explain that more later, but if you absolutely need details, you can visit our website: http://www.soundexp.org/index.php?page=centennial-restoration-project

Today begins Adventuress' biggest winter project while under Sound Experience's care.

Haven Boatworks Chosen for Restoration Work

Through competitive bid process, we’re excited to announce that Port Townsend-based Haven Boatworks will be tackling Phases II & III of Adventuress' Centennial Restoration project this winter. We look forward to sharing with you all the exciting details from November through March.

Phase I was completed last winter by Haven Boatworks and involved a small army of dedicated Adventuress volunteers! To see pictures from Phase I of Adventuress' Centennial Restoration, click here.

Click here for more info about volunteer opportunities

Click here for details about the Centennial Restoration project

Thank You Cards From Participants!

Hey Everyone,

This is so great! Recently, a group from Quilcene School District wrote thank you letters to our Crew for their time aboard Adventuress.

It is gestures like these that make everyone at Sound Experience beam with pride for our mission, our programs and our ship.

You can help us continue to reach out to schools and youth groups throughout Puget Sound. $29.00 is the cost to put one student aboard Adventuress for a 3-hour educational sail. Please donate at to http://www.29dollars.org

Zach Explains 29 Dollars, 29 Days

29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat

Hey everyone!

We are in the midst of our 29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat fundraising campaign! It has been so exciting!

We're off to a ROARING start thanks to everyone who attended the Party for Adventuress or gave online. After the party, we calculated that we had raised $38,525!!!!! We have such an AMAZING community. We love you!

However! It's not over yet! Our goal for this campaign is $58,000. There are many ways you can help:

1. If you haven't donated, go to www.29dollars.org and donate $29.00!
2. Tell your friends! - Let your friends, neighbors and colleagues know about 29 Dollars, 29 Days! Direct them to www.29dollars.org.
3. Send an email - Encourage your friends to donate with an email
4. Use Social Media - Spread the word on Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter:
5. Change your Facebook profile picture - Use our 29 Dollars, 29 Days graphic as your Facebook profile picture. You can download it by right clicking on the icon above.

Thank you everyone for your support so far! We have 23 days left. Please help us spread the word. With your enthusiasm, we were able to win the Partners in Preservation competition. Now, with your help we will raise the funds needed to continue to deliver inspirational programs to youth throughout Puget Sound!

Fair winds,

The Crew & Staff of Sound Experience and the schooner Adventuress

Oh, how she schoons!

This is a great video of Adventuress sailing during the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. It was taken by Three Sheets Northwest, a website that provides news, community and resources for Northwest boaters.



You can also read more about the Festival and see pictures at www.threesheetsnw.com.

Two Days of Maintenance: Complete!

By Capt. Daniel Evans,

Howdy folks!

We just wrapped up two days of maintenance on Adventuress and you wouldn't believe how much we got done. I could keep it a secret, but decided I would enjoy it much less if I didn't get to share it with all the people who work so hard to keep her(and us) afloat. So here is a list, but keep in mind that for everything that was completed many other things had to happen: like moving deck boxes, walking every where except the deck, working out of Hefe, mixing, cleaning, coordinating, prepping, troubleshooting, buying, climbing, sanding and well...a little bit of guessing and just praying it will dry in time.

So here we go:

1. Scraped the entire deck for paint, etc. and slushed the whole deck
2. Scrubbed down and Osphod the entire hull
3. Sanded and Painted both rubrails
4. Popped paint bubbles on the entire hull, then faired and painted all bare spots (2 coats)
5. Slushed not just the standing rigging, but the backstays, head rig and jib and staysail stays
6. Cut down all the troublesome bolt ends in the focsle that have been bopping people in the head, arms and feet
7. End for ended both the throat and peak halyards on the fore (anything to give them some life!)
8. Painted beautiful bunk numbers on the new focsle bunks
9. Had a thorough cleaning of the belowdecks (field day)
10. Replaced bad shackles aloft - bad shackles! Bad Shackles!
11. Inspected and cleaned 'suspect' blocks aloft
12. Pinned or double nutted every bolt that wasn't already done in the standing rigging
13. Applied sodium borate not just to the lazarette, but to the main cabin and focsle bilges
14. Killed bad mosses that were actually growing aloft in our trestletrees! Bad moss! Bad moss!
15. Finished the servings on the head rig
16. Traced down the issue with the fire pump that was not allowing us to use more than one fire hose (long story, but it was an air leak in the heads)
17. And finally, pulled out all the sole boards in the main cabin, sanded them down and painted on a beautiful coat of Varathane.

It was tremendous work by our Chief Mate Sarah and this eager crew. They worked hard, completed tasks well and were still cheerful at the end of the day. Kacie worked the first day even though it was her day off and Merilee stopped cooking long enough to slush the fore shrouds. Adventuress was in need of some love and she got it in these two days.

Thanks!
Daniel

What's a Futtock?

Tools of Traditional Shipwrights

There are many amazing things about Phase 1 of Adventuress' Centennial Restoration project, but the best part has been--by far--working with our shipwrights. They are strong, intelligent, and humble men keeping a tradition alive. I have learned so much over the last three weeks about ship construction and restoration simply from helping and observing them work. To make things even better, they are natural educators, often giving us demonstrations and answering our many questions.

I am a lover of tools, and the shipwrights of Haven Boatworks have many. They use traditional tools and have tricks of the trade gleaned from the vast history of boatbuilding, but they also use power tools to expedite the overall restoration. The results are beautiful and efficient.

One of my favorite traditional tools the shipwrights carry is the bevel gauge. The picture to the left is a spread of shipwright Leland's tools. You can see three bevel gauges: two small brass ones in the bottom-middle of the picture, and a larger sliding bevel-gauge in the top middle.  The metal ruler is Leland's bevel board; on the back it has specifically angled lines etched in so you can compare the bevel gauge to the bevel board to find your angle.

From top to bottom, the tools are as follows: (row 1) a combination square, a sliding bevel gauge, a hand planer; (row 2) a bevel board, a folding knife, a spiling block, a folding ruler, an awl; (row 3) two sizes of bevel gauges. The square is for measuring and being sure things are "square," i.e. at 90 degree angles. The awl is good for a lot of things, like making marks on wood or probing for rot. It is the spiling blocks, however, are curious and genius tools.

My own description of spiling would be a little rough, so here's a link that explains it better: Spiling. Spiling is the process of making a pattern of an existing futtock so you can make a new, sister futtock. Through this process, our frames are being reconstructed. You can see Brad at right using spiling blocks to make a pattern on the spiling batten.

There are many other tools the shipwrights harness: pry bars, hammers, mallets, drills, sawzalls, bandsaws, table saws, chisels, slide hammers, braces,  pencil sharpeners, and so on. I am continually being impressed by their talents and knowledge, and I am proud to be working alongside them during this restoration project.

The picture above is of Brad and Leland using the ship's saw to cut a futtock.  Brad is careful to keep the saw abreast of his markings while Leland is changing the angle of the saw. 5 degrees, 6 degrees, 7 degrees...

Project Update
The rest of the preservation and maintenance is going well. Here is an list of some things we've done.

• Continually replacing futtocks
• Removed mast wedges to check masts
• Painted anchor chain
• Completely disassembled, cleaned, and painted the Edson Patent Gyber
• Removed & replaced deck bungs
• Overhauled main-cabin stove, Lucy
• Put Dutchmen in the deck (carved out rot and put in new wood)
• Checked shaft alignment
• Overhauled bilge alarms

Pictures (top to bottom): New frames next to the old! Amazing that these futtocks have survived; Nora working under the engine; Lara clearing rot for the Dutchman; A mast wedge removed; Adam proud of his sanding on the main-cabin hatch; A pretty picture of our new futtocks against the hull