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Phil Babb, ably assisted by Richard Clapham, started the restoration
work in the autumn of 1999. The opepe bottom boards were soon
in position; these are held together by the kelson, also of opepe.
The oak stern-post can be seen in the bottom right of the picture. |
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Once all the bottom boards had been secured, the cast iron knees
were fixed in place. This is the third time they have been used;
they were recovered from a previous boat when Raymond
was originally built. The oak planks need to be bent to form
the shape of the bow (and stern). After being steamed for 2 hours
a plank is quickly put into position and held by clamps until
it has cooled. The dry-dock becomes fog-bound! |
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Each plank is then planed to fit exactly and then riveted to
the bottom boards. |
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By mid-February the third row of planks were almost finished
- just two more rows to go.
Here we see Phil (right) and Richard marking out the scarf
joint on a third-row plank, note the clamp holding the plank
prior to final fixing. |
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The last side plank is fitted into place (8th March) while
three of the 'fund-raisers' admire the workmanship.
There is still a lot of work to be done before the boat is
fully restored. |
Photo: Tim Coghlan |
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By 16th March nearly all the shearings (half-inch vertical
timbers) had been nailed to the inside of the hull.
Next week they planned to be caulking . . . |
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It's the 23rd of March (2000) and
the hull is getting near to completion. Just over a week's work
remains to be done before she can be launched. |
. . . and they were! |
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29th March and the first coat of pitch is going on (left). |
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Raymond moored at Tardebigge soon after the very successful
launch on Sunday 2 April. [The white rectangles
are notices warning people of the tacky tar.]
She will now have the foredeck and cabin built before being
brought back to Braunston later in the summer.
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After 5 months of continuous work on Raymond,
Phil Babb took a bit of time off to attend to other commitments.
By early-May he was back on the job and by mid-May had done a
lot of work on the gunwales and is seen here discussing progress
with Alan Palmer while Richard constructs the cabin frames. |
  Work on the cabin progresses . . .
 . . .and
work has also started on the foredecking.
^ Photo: Philip Reeves |
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It is now early June and the end is in sight.
Phil is fitting out the cabin (left) while Richard makes and
fits the shuts (floorboards). |
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Its mid June and the final parts of construction are well
under way. Richard (right) slots the mast into place while Phil
(below) fits the (only) port-hole.
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