Boat building

Day 3686, regarding vessels.

Boat building, Daily picture

These are the rules, or better said, guidelines, we follow when we restore a protected wooden boat. The government department that issues grants (Riksantikvaren) to boatowners expects us to follow these rules as closely as possible, and if we want to deviate from the original (either as it is now or as it was on a well-documented date in the past), we have to ask for permission and explain why.

A proposal for antiquarian policies regarding vessels with protected states.

  • Vessel use and maintenance should have the primary objective of protecting its Cultural Heritage. So that the cultural-historical value is preserved.
  • Restoration should be carried out in accordance with principles that clearly protect the vessel’s original qualities from a thoroughly documented era in its history. The basis for all restoration work on boats with protected status should be a detailed restoration plan for the boat, built on well-documented historical research.
  • The work will be true to its origin. This means that the vessel will appear as just that
    vessel or the vessel type that is defined in a specific period in its history. Motor and other technical
    installations should only be changed so that they interfere in the least possible way with the vessel’s historical origins.
  • The work will be true to its material. This means that all restoration work is a copy of the existing solutions, using materials of the same type or equivalent: oak replaced by oak, brass screws replaced by brass screws, etc.
  • The work will be true to its craftsmanship. This means that, as far as possible, all the details in the hull, interior, and rig are made to the specifications of the time. Replaced parts shall be exact copies of the old and with the same dimensions.
  • The restored vessel shall be reasonably the same. The work will be done with traditional, woodworking methods and to the greatest possible extent with historically accurate materials. Work techniques should harmonize with the period the vessel represents. This means that an originally hand-planed surface shall not be planed with power tools. Natural oil paint should not be painted over with chemical paint or other materials.
  • There shall be established a protection and maintenance plan for the vessel, with the intentions and requirements specified in these plans. The contents of the plan shall be approved by the “Riksantikvaren ” or a “fartøyvernsenter”.

Day 2848, new keel.

Boat building, Daily picture

If you ever restored a wooden boat, you probably know what you see in these pictures and what it entails to change a heavily damage keel for a new one. If you don’t know what is going on, I would like to tell you, but not now; it will take a couple of hours because I don’t want to take shortcuts. You can, of course, become an apprentice boatbuilder for a couple of years and find it out yourself because reading about it or doing an internet search will not help you much. It’s like a metaphor for life and the many questions within; there are no shortcuts…

Day 2847, saw.

Boat building, Daily picture

Like a good philosopher who likes to read the source material, we wooden boat builders also like to go straight to the source instead of relying on standardized materials that almost never fulfill your needs. You might not see it in this video, but I am actually cutting 12 cm deep; for this, you need a lot of power from the machine and some skills to guide this dangerous cutting, another metaphor, you ask?  

Day 2846, love.

Boat building, Daily picture

Making a new keel for a 9-meter-long wooden fishing boat. The poor boat was thrown by the waves on large stones at the shore. It didn’t survive and sunk. It was rescued and repaired but not with love; it was put on land not much later and almost forgotten. The owner found some funds, and now the little boat will get some proper love and attention. 

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Restoration of Brottsjø 13

Boat building

This week Peder, the electrician finished his work on Brottsjø for this year. All the old switches, sockets and switchboards are cleaned, measured and repaired, if necessary using old parts where possible. Look at the results, they look like new again.

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

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Restoration of Brottsjø 11

., Boat building

Our smith has made a new part for the steering system. Chains from the steering wheel control this arm that is connected to the rudder, it was originally made by a smith so we used the same techniques to copy the old one.

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

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Restoration of Brottsjø 7

Boat building

This week we removed the “egnerhus”. There are parts from different periods, from the 1960 to the ’90. Under the glass fiber roof cover, probably from the 70’s we found small nails indicating that there was originally a canvas cover on the wooden roof. The sink and poorly made table are from the 90’s and have to go. When Brottsjø was used for fishing there was also a second stove standing in the “egnerhus” used for cooking and drying cloth, you can still see the round hole.

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

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Restoration of Brottsjø 5

Boat building

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

This week we started taking away the old “skandekk”, that is the construction at the side of the deck that prevents water that’s coming from the deck to leak in-between the ribs and so in parts of the boat that you can’t inspect and thus potentially can cause serious damage. Another important function of the “skandekk” is preventing the deck to get wider and wider, the way we make these decks water tight is by forcing hemp into the different seams between the planks, by doing this you create enormous forces sideways and the ” skandekk” stops these. At this picture you see how I check if the deck is straight or slightly curved. The “randplank” between the straight deck and the curved “skandekk” gets special attention because of its shape.

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