Stem Tied In

6 months since the last posting, and the usual Summer mayhem in Cowes has prevented very fast progress with Fedoa, but we have managed a few weeks to keep things moving forward. In February we were join by Dave Balaam who was employed to just work on Fedoa. He has now left to explore the Arctic on an hundred year old cutter, but he gave us 5 months of his time on Fedoa and enabled us to produce a beautiful stem now fitted into the boat. We sourced the oak in the winter from a local supplier - Whitefield Woodyard - who have a great stock of all shapes and sizes of green oak. We took our stem template (taken from the lofted out original drawings) and found a very good match. We also found shorter sections which they sliced into 4" sections for us to make up the new futtocks to replace the larger oak frames lower down in the bilge area.

The stem proved a challenge to get into place. Having spent a few weeks shaping it, we all downed tools on the other work we were doing and concentrated on getting things back together.

We had to adjust the keel scarf and the lead to allow room for the new piece, and the sheer size and weight of the stem caused headaches. Using large block and tackles we managed to get everything in and secure. The stem was then notched out for the new frames and we are now ready to close up the front end to the top of the new section, before opening up and replacing the bow section of the stem.

Another new member of the team is Paul Townsend (F.I.I.M.S), a highly qualified and experienced Marine Surveyor, who has agreed to guide us through the maze of rules and regulations needed to get Fedoa coded, as well as being a great source of wooden boat knowledge. His preliminary inspection found that the work we have done so far is all good, and that our plan of attack for the restoration concurrs with his ideas. Our use of bronze and copper for the fixings and fastenings is good, as well as the use of iroko floors on the heavier oak frames to tie everything together. We are now sourcing the bronze and copper, most likely from overseas.

We are very happy with the progress, and just wish for more time to put into the project. We are therefore planning on closing the workshop for a few months through the winter and getting the whole workforce onto Fedoa, so we can achieve our goal of finishing the hull in the first 2 years.

"Whale Remains found in Isle of Wight Workshop"....

Big day today, as the stem came out of the boat. It's now lying in the workshop, looking like the remains of a whale washed up on a beach. We've spent a good few hours preparing to take this out without the boat moving too much, and without squashing any Moreton Marine employees, both of which we managed. The idea was to remove it in one piece so we can use it as a template for the new one.

Having laminated in all the ribs that were to be replaced along the stem before Christmas - while the forward section was still intact - we took them out again so we could free the planks forward. With a few of the short planks removed completely we were able to put in acro props up to the beam shelf and deck beams, as well as supporting the bow from outside. Having done all this we were able to lower the stem out of the boat without incident.

The 1st batch of bronze floors have arrived back from the foundry at the beginning of February, so once we have remade the stem everything can be reassembled giving us a new strong bow section to support the front half of Fedoa before we lift her to remove and replace the keelson.

All we need now is a 25 ft section of oak tree with a 20 degree curve. . . . anyone seen one?