1930 Schooner MISTRESS

Once Skip finished spraying the Fleet White Awlgrip on the port side, it was time to work with the transom again.  Here, he has taped off the hull to protect the new finish.  He coated the transom in wax and then laid up two layers of fiberglass.  He formed wood to it to help make it stiff.  Once it set, he was able to remove it and lay it on his workbench.  This time he waxed the inside of the mold and was able to lay up several layers of fiberglass.  After that cured, he had a perfect replica of MISTRESS’s transom to be used as a mold for the final wood transom. 

In this picture, Skip has made the transom using mahogany, which he vacuumed bagged over the fiberglass form.  There is also an added trim piece; this will be carved, into rope.   As it turned out, Skip’s Dad has taken up carving in his retirement.  He made the offer to do the rope work so Skip dropped it off to him at Thanksgiving time.  After Dad had the transom for a few days, Skip called for an update.  Skip’s Dad said, “At racing speed I can do one foot in eight hours and there’s eleven and a half feet”. We imagine he wore both a smile and a sneer when he expressed this, but Dad does great work and the rope carving is beautiful.  For me the funny thing was when my good brother Paul, having seen the transom through out several stages asked Skip, “How did you get the rope to splice together so well, you can’t see it”?  Skip says, “Its wood”.  Paul with exasperated tone said, “I know the transom is wood Skip, I’m talking about the rope”.  Skip, “It’s wood”.  Paul looks again, “Damn” 

Here the transom has one coat of stain and three or four coats of CPES epoxy and Skip has carved out her name and hailing port.  It is getting time to put it in place.

It is January 2005.  Skip has finished about 20 coats of Epiphanes on her original wheel after doing a few repairs.  One pin had a fair amount of rot at the top.  Skip repaired it but you could see the new wood.  When he mounted the wheel he made it so this pin identified the king pin.  Skip also added a diamond patterned purfling inlay, which turned out very nice.  The metal parts were originally aluminum.  Skip sent them off to be chrome plated.  The outer band he covered with elk hide.  Great on the hands and it gives you a good grip.  He then added the rope work to finish it off. 

Skip bought an entire elk’s hide and we have been using it for all of our chafe gear.   

 Skip begins work on the propane tank lockers.  There will be two, one on either side of the cockpit set flush with the deck.  He will spend 40 hours building the template for this project and then lay up the final product in fiberglass.  One locker will have lines running to the stove the other is for stowage of a spare tank.  Each locker will hold a 20 lb. tank.  In this picture, we see parts for the template, odd shaped pieces that will somehow come together to make the outer shape of the locker

This is the template.  He has put the wood pieces together and faired it.  He will then fiberglass the outside.  This should allow just enough space for a propane tank and the fittings necessary for the lines that will carry the propane to the stove.  It will also be watertight. 

This is the deck cutout for one of these lockers.  The lid will have a ¼ turn screw to unlock the locker and allow access to the tank.  We have done much better than I thought with reference to how long each tank lasts.  I believe we get about four months with each tank even though I cook at least 5 to 6 days a week, and of course, there is always morning coffee.  Once Skip finishes this project and he was ready to put the first tank in place, he found he had misjudged the height by less than an inch.  He will end up modifying it slightly to allow for the regulator, which must go on top. 

In order for me to use the stove, I go to the electric panel at the chart table and turn on the stove switch.  There is another electric switch in the galley, which allows the gas to run to the stove.  It is nice to have a few ways to turn off the gas to the stove, and I appreciate having a few different locations to do so; one at the propane locker, one at the chart table, one in the galley, and of course, the stove itself.  Originally, MISTRESS came with a 4 burner gimbaled oven broiler, which appeared to be in excellent shape.  It would turn out although it looked nearly brand new it was actually a 1976 model.  Of course the galley was built with this stove in mind and on our first trip to the river property the stove died.  No one would consider repairing it considering it’s actual age.  We would order a Force 10 three burner oven broiler which was smaller than it’s predecessor.  This then afforded me an additional area forward of the stove for my cookie sheet and a glass bake dish.   

Skip has finished all the work he wanted done to the rudder and has returned it to its proper place.  The rudder is steel and hollow.  Skip sand blasted it first, then primed it, and then faired it with epoxy.  For the fun of it, he then Awlgripped it.  Once finished, he put coal tar epoxy on and then two layers of bottom paint.  He fashioned it with Delrin bushings so the rudder would move with very little friction.  Once all the steering was hooked up you could move the rudder from side to side with just a two-finger push although it weighs two hundred and fifty pounds.  In this picture, you can see the two bladed prop.  Within the first year, Skip would end up careening MISTRESS and changing the prop to the three-blade prop she has now.  This two-blade prop would vibrate at anything over 2700 RPMs.  The new three-blade prop would resolve that. 

It’s just over one and a half years until we launch MISTRESS.  With so much work still needing to be done, Skip goes full time with her while I work full time in the granite industry.  His schedule for himself is strict by anyone standards and there will be a few times before launch that he will complain about his ^&(**() boss.  Friends and some of Skip’s customers drop by to see the progress.  Most thought they already knew just how fast Skip gets things done. They quickly learned that to stay away for even one or two months, meant the next time you saw her you would think ten shipwrights had been at work.  Yes, he is obsessed at this point.  He can finally see the end-product nearing completion and it will take the help of good friends and family conniving some plan or scheme to get Skip to take even a half day off.  While Skip is not completely finished up on deck, it is the interior which he really enjoys doing.  My job is to pay the bills, feed him, and force him to sleep at night so he will have the energy to get him to launch day. 

Using ½” fir plywood, Skip has completed the sub-sole at its correct height.  At this height, there is ample room for the water tanks, hoses, and their connections. 

Skip tries to help me see what he has planned for MISTRESS’s new layout.  As you move forward, you can see a step up.  This area he has reserved as my office.  You see, just before Skip and I finished our final negotiations for a schooner that would sail us around the world, one of my requests was to have a space, all to myself.  An office, with a door, that would be my retreat.  Skip quickly agreed and we often joke about his motives behind this agreement.  The office will be on the port side and my hanging locker for clothes, and the cubbies for both our tee shirts, will be on the starboard side.  The next step up, you see the foremast step.  Just outboard of it on the port side will be a chain locker, which holds 300 feet of chain to be used with the 100lb fisherman.  Just forward of this area, will be the V-berth and just forward of where the picture ends, will be the Sampson posts and two more chain lockers for her working anchors.   It this picture, MISTRESS has all of her interior paint.  There are several coats of Awlgrip and she is ready for her interior. 

I guess you can figure out which room this is.  It is located port side as soon as you come down the companionway.  Both Skip and I wanted head aft keeping galley forward away from that hatch.  The first thing Skip did was fabricate the shower pan with a hole for the sump pump.  He used marine plywood and fiberglass with epoxy to make up the shower pan.  The walls he built from customized core material and if you look closely, you can see the core material on the right hand side.  The core is ½” plastic honeycomb core with 1/8” Maranti plywood bonded to each side.  It is a wonderful material for boat building.  It is as strong as marine ply, weighs less then half as much, and water does not affect the core.   The actual head in this picture, came with MISTRESS however, less then one year after the launch, we would end up replacing it with a

Raritan.  You will be able to obtain access to the front of the engine through a watertight bulkhead.  This access also doubles as a small shelf.  If you look outside the head, you can see other areas being built.  Take note of all the circular holes.   Throughout MISTRESS, everywhere you cannot see without opening a locker or such, Skip cut out holes for ventilation.  Once he completed making all the holes, he then got PVC pipe and cut it up to fit within the holes giving them a fair finish.  He did this because I said it was too much money for the oscillating spin sander he really wanted to add to his collection of toys, opps, I mean tools.  Anyway, most of our good friends enjoyed teasing Skip for such a task saying they thought it was a bit anal even for him.  I made the mistake of asking Skip about the weight we would save because of the holes.  Like any sailor/boat builder, weight was always a concern.  He informed me the original PVC pipe was actually heavier then the hole it was fitted into, and therefore he had to go back to Home Depot for thinner stuff.  Overall, it did not save much in the way of weight; it was really more a matter of good ventilation.