nemaritimetrust.co.uk

Nearly the full night-shift in tonight working on the Cygnet, they have done some great work. We’re fitting the thwarts and building the fore-deck framework at the moment. Shouldn’t be too long before we start thinking about launching her,

Nearly the full night-shift in tonight working on the Cygnet, they have done some great work. We’re fitting the thwarts and building the fore-deck framework at the moment. Shouldn’t be too long before we start thinking about launching her.

Rib-tickling fun. Fitting ribs in is more complicated than these guys make it look. It includes selecting correctly grained oak stock, machining timber to get the optimal grain direction, steaming to get the right amount of pliability then bending and most importantly twisting the rib just right to get a good fit. At the boat-building sessions, John, Alan, Ian and John have learnt this skill and as you can see, they have done a great job. Thanks guys!

Phil looking on with pride as the boat building crew fit the last starboard plank on the “Cygnet”. It’s great to see how much the guys skills and knowledge have really developed. A fine example of NEMT’s aim, “to educate”.

Boarding Boat ‘Cygnet’

Progress is slow but then this is a vessel being built from scratch, in just a few hours a week by the backshift team.

Here you can see two views of the initial planking built up from the frame and keel.

It takes time and patience to achieve the correct shape and rebates to fit the planking in a smooth form around the frame.

So this is what Cygnet will look like! We’ve been planning the planking by tacking battens on to mould sections. How did we do it? Find out more on our blog at http://nemaritimetrust.co.uk/…/02/starting-the-planking/

Not the real thing but an exact scale model of our new build “Cygnet”, made by one of our volunteers.

Not only is the ” Cygnet” a new build, it is our very first build and the first time a lot of our members have ever built a boat, particularly a motorised one.This has meant a lot of assembly, dismantling and reassembly until we are happy everything is just right. Latest photos show the Keel final assembly including bronze keel bolts into brass barrel nuts.