Mahdee has a traditional foredeck with bulwarks and “raised deck” aka “flush deck” midships with just covering board/toerail. Her sheer plank (top plank) and the second plank midships become the bulwark forward. The construction method changes a bit with the covering board as well. To install her deck and chainplates, it is easiest for the sheer and second plank to be off the boat. We haven’t hung the new sheer plank and bulwarks for this reason. But, David had to remove the 3rd plank down, as it turns out, to install a couple of the chainplate “riblets” near the mainmast. The whole decking/planking thing is very integrated in terms of what happens “next”.
The foredeck is “done” and now the raised deck work is underway. The aft section of deck (behind the cockpit) is included on the raised deck. Therefore, this past week, John began work on replacing a rotted deck beam at the aft end of the cockpit and building small side-decks along the cockpit. Mahdee’s cockpit originally went from caprail to caprail with no side deck and no cockpit combing to keep water on deck from entering the cockpit. We’re reducing the cockpit size a bit and adding combings. Though we know Mahdee has been offshore many times in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans with her huge cockpit, this is one thing that we’re changing to be more seaworthy. We’ve studied the book of SS Crocker designs to determine what type of combing and cockpit shape would be “Crocker like” and fitting for a boat of Mahdee’s size. The owner of Tyrone (a 1939 Crocker schooner 60′ on deck) sent us pics of his cockpit and we sailed Stargazer by Skookum III (a Crocker schooner 53′ on deck) to get a quick look at that cockpit.
Both those schooners have cockpits seats at deck level with a combing of about 8″ height. Mahdee’s seats sit about 16″ below cockpit level, so it is a very different situation. Even so, we’re able to come up with something that seems “right” based on those two schooners and the many other boat plans in the Crocker book.
