All the various things we’re doing to get Mahdee into shape
Yep, that’s the overhead made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The deck beams are douglas fir, the knees are tamarack. As usual, click on an image for a larger view
Two pics of the final product and one of John putting it together after milling the cedar into 3/4″ x 3″ T&G.
Lots of crawling around on the deck beams for this installation.
December has been busy. David and John worked on getting the deck made and in place. That involved a number of “supporting” tasks. They had to laminate what we call “riblets” which are the small extra frames that back/support Mahdee’s chainplates. On each side there are 3 chainplates near the foremast and 4 near the mainmast. Plus, she has two chain plates per side for the running backstays. So 18 “riblets” later, the chainplates have their backing! The tobin bronze was ordered in strips of 3/8″ thick x 2 1/4″ wide by the various lengths required for each chainplate. David and John rounded the ends and pre-drilled for the shrouds. Then, David bent each plate into the shape fitting the hull at its particular location. Below are a couple pictures of the chainplates and David drilling.
This is David pre-drilling the holes through the “riblet” and through the chainplate below it. Then, the combined set will be bolted into the boat.
these are some of the new chainplates ready to be attached to their “riblets”
these are the old chainplates which were removed from the boat
Its been a busy month. John and David have worked on getting the deck beams and associated stuff in place for laying the new deck. Here’s a picture of David using a sledge hammer to get the 5/8″ bronze rod down through the rather tight 5/8″ hole through the mast partners and into the compression post below. It appears that John has drawn the short-straw since he’s the fellow stuck holding onto the bronze as David pounds on it. Everyone calls it a “compression” post but really it seems to be a “tension” post from its function. This post is a wood post with bronze rod inside it installed about 6″ forward of the main mast that the deck pulls up on (post in tension) while sailing. If the deck is pulling up putting the post in tension, the 5/8″ rod then helps hold the deck “down” because the rod is bolted thru the deck on one end and thru the mast step (down in the bilge) on the other end. There are two of these posts–one right in front of the main mast and one right behind the foremast. The tension comes from the fact that the sailing loads on the chainplates place a load inward literally squeezing the hull. The cambered deck beams will arc further up allowing more hull movement without this post in place. Why it is called a compression post is beyond me unless the folks calling it that are thinking about the poor boat getting squeezed! But, it is the tension in this post that comes to the rescue preventing the squeeze/compression!
