On the port side Joost is busy changing more planks. We are still changing less planks than anticipated and it looks like it will stay that way.

Click here if you want to read the Introduction/first post.

On starboard Peter is also busy changing planks.

The wood we bought for Brottsjø is not always of the best quality but for the skin the planks are good. These “rekkestotte/spants” or ribs are showing cracks but they will be covered with skin plancks but we found out that the rekkestutter that are exposed to the weather originally were made from pine instead of spruce and that makes sense, now we can use a better quality of wood.

To keep the shape of the boat intact we used a lot of crossbeams. In the video below you see how we put a beam at the inside at gunwale level, in Norwegian its called a bjelkeveger (beam bearer). This beam will help strengthening the construction.

Here you can see the beam clearly.

Here Martin is working with the “livholt”, three 2 inch thick planks that go the full length of the boat and are impotent for the construction. At the point were Martin is sitting in the picture all three of the beams were rotten. Because of the strength they give the boat we decided to replace two the full lengths and repair the third one.

Life of a Norwegian fisherman in the days when Brottsjø was in use. These video’s are useful for us, it can tell us where you can expect the most wear and tear on a boat like Brottsjø for example but it’s also a nice look in a world that is forever gone.

 

Martin repaired the two ends of the “livholt” and now Joost is helping to see if they can get one of the rotten pegs out, next week they have to see if they can find the peg on the outside because from here it isn’t working.

This is one of the last “rekkestøtte” we shifted and while doing Peter discovered a rib that was not so fresh any more so he is preparing her to take it out.

Almost all of the “rekkestøtte” are changed, here you see the new one’s standing on the starboard side. Brottsjø is very well maintained during it’s life but because of the construction where the rekkestøtte go “in” the deck it is hard to keep them water tight. Water leaks in when heavy fishing nets are pulled over the side or when the boat hits the pier to hard.

Because all the deck beams are gone Joost had to strengthen the construction while mounting the 3 inch thick “bjelkeveger” or beam-barer. It’s an extra thick plank on the inside of the hull where the deck beams are mounted on, we wanted to make sure that the original shape of the hull was not changed wile pressing this thick plank in.

Here is the same plank looking forward.

And here you see the connection, at the same place as the original and with the same dimensions.