Another couple of weeks have past and another big step towards assuring Chinook’s future has been taken. Much has happened since I last posted, and probably the most important thing is that we have finished the first item of the restoration, namely the saloon table. A lovely simple design, which gimbals as well due to its clever system and it’s on board counter weights, lovingly restored by the team and which will now patiently await the end of the rebuild to re take its rightful place in the saloon. Sandra has made lots of progress on the various pieces of furniture, both interior and exterior and our helpful French chippie, Herve, has repaired and reconstructed the butterfly hatches the forward hatch and various door frames using only recycled Honduras mahogany saved from a variety of old parts of Chinook. The backstay hooks now have under deck backing plates using a slight variation in design on the original theme and the bronze hooks that came with her, probably fitted by a previous owner, Bill Fulton, back in the late fifties or early sixties when he worked for “Merriman”. The new chain plates will soon be ready to fit also and the tanks are nearing completion. The whole interior of the hull has had a coat of epoxy saturator to preserve the new timber from the humidity, and also because I don’t like lead based primers. The gaff is now finished and ready for some varnish and there is a paint and varnish booth being erected down at the back of the shed so we can work in a relatively dust free environment.

Jono.