November / December 2014

It feels like a long time ago that the stairs went in.  Fedoa's interior has come on leaps and bounds as the panelling through the saloon and entrance area has been completed.  We have now got all the cabin doors made and hung, and they have been taken out again for varnishing.  The varnishing on the mahogany started in December, and has brought the interior to life.  

Many many hours of prep work have ensured that a great finish will be achieved.  Some details of the interior are still to complete.  Cupboards in the sleeping cabins and saloon, as well as the owner's cabin still need to be done.  However, the galley and heads are almost complete, and getting some oil onto the sole boards has tied all the cabins together beautifully.

Having tried the engine box in the middle of the saloon, we decided that it dominated too much, so this has been cut back and redone to make this area cosy with a "gentleman's club" feel, but spacious enough to be practical.  

The introduction of bunk fronts and the chart table gives a good idea of the final layout.  The table over the engine is a stunning piece of mahogany which forms a great centrepiece for the room.

Fitting the stainless fridge and freezer means that the joinery in the galley could be finished off and this looks great.  Dovetailed drawers and fiddly door catches have kept us busy.  

The teak gratings in the two showers have been made to perfection which finishes off the traditional look in the heads, with just the sink and toilet plumbing to finish these cabins.

  The hull sides are being finished with painted cedar slats to line out lockers and visible areas throughout.  This is a great job for our young shipwrights to fine tune their accuracy and fitting skills.

The New Year brings plenty of new challenges.  The arrival of the air conditioning units and watermaker means that we now have all mechanical systems in place.  Some of us will continue below decks with the installation of these systems and the finishing off of the joinery, while others will turn their attention to the deck.  We are now ready to lay the covering boards and king plank in teak, before laying the cedar swept deck.  

The original hatches are currently being used to keep the interior warm for varnishing, and these will be refurbished and reused over the new deck as they are in good condition despite being nearly 90 years old.

It has been a fantastic year of boatbuilding for all of us, and the team at Moreton Marine have met all the challenges thrown at them with initiative and enthusiasm.  It is a great privilege to be able to restore a boat with Fedoa's heritage so completely, and we are making sure we honour Alfred Mylne by doing the job as well as we can.

History Update

It has been a great few months for learning more about Fedoa's varied history.  I was contacted by the children of someone who sailed across the Atlantic in Fedoa in the 1950's.  This led to another member of the crew getting in touch, who came to see Fedoa last week.  The conversation with someone who sailed Fedoa reliving their memories from 60 years ago was fascinating, and hopefully more pictures and press cuttings from their fateful crossing are on their way.  The following is an excerpt from an email I was sent regarding this passage, which involved a hurricane, an injured and hungry crew, and a memorial service for them before they arrived safely in Antigua:

"Nat used every fibre in his body to climb the mast in the atrocious and treacherous conditions in order to free the halyard which was stuck, preventing them from lowering the mainsail. Unfortunately his shoelace became stuck at the top in the main halyard pulley, but after struggling for some time he managed to break free. (For several years after this he refused to wear shoes with laces). Without any clear idea of where they were having been blown off course by the hurricane, and without a navigator, they decided to steer a westerly course.....  By a remarkable coincidence, the course they had chosen exactly bisected the entrance to English Harbour in Antigua, and two months after their departure from England they finally arrived."

We were also contacted by another relative of a former crew of Fedoa who had sailed her in the Fastnet in the 50's.  They apparently finished 35th out of 36!

October 2014

October  was all about the interior.  Steve and Ade have been concentrating on the mahogany panelling, which is completely transforming the interior.  The saloon and stairwell areas are now pretty much complete.  Simon has been fitting the door frames, which is tying together all the walls and bulkheads really nicely.  Paul has been concentrating on the heads and the galley, making and fitting cupboards.  With a painter working away in the background everything is coming together well.  We expect to finish all the cabins except for the Owner's  by the end of November.

The stove, fridge and freezer are now ready to be fitted, so the galley will be ready to go, and all the plumbing is now ready for a final fit.  Once the dust settles from the whirlwind of joinery we will get to work on the varnishing and final fit of the fuel systems and main electrics.

Other jobs tackled this month include fairing the hull, which after hardening up and refastening the whole boat is no small task (A new apprentice starting in November should speed this along).  We have also made the large mahogany table top to fit the engine cover, as well as starting all the mahogany joinery throughout the saloon, side tables and the chart table and mahogany worktops in the galley and heads.

The staircase has also been made and assembled, and is being fitted today.