Jonathan Greenwood
20/01/2013, Tunisia

Breaking news of the week is the gluing of the first layer of the ply subdeck and the second layer is now ready to fit. I keep wondering if we have forgotten to put any big items inside........ too late! This is a big step forward for us as it will allow new advances in other areas. The teak for the deck is due to be sawn in the next week or so and then we will really see the sparks fly! The deadwood is now ready to re fit and the whole interior of the hull has a coat of white epoxy to keep the water out. Sandra and I just returned from the yard having started to apply undercoat to the bulkheads. The boat is beginning to take on a new look.
The jackyard is now in one piece and will be ready for varnish by the end of next week. Sandra has begun to varnish the boom and has several bits and pieces in her shed in various states of finishing, such as blocks, locker doors and hatch grills. She has also finished leathering six of the mast hoops. No small task as each one represents two hours of stitching! Meanwhile, I have been concentrating on the metal work and have made good inroads into my job list. The bowsprit cone is ready for galvanising, the fitting for the dolphin striker has been modified, and I have made a new joining plate for the keelson. I am very happy that I have found a way to recycle almost all of the useable metal back into the boat but there is also much that is only good for scrap or melting down. I am still looking for a use for the old keel bolts, parts of which are in perfect condition and the new keel bolts will hopefully turn up during the coming week and I have a cunning plan for the keel which will be revealed in due course.
Our good friend, Bernard from Cannes, shows up tomorrow for a couple of weeks to give me a hand to get the engine placed and make some progress with the mechanics most of which had been put on the long finger and now needs some serious attention.
So we have got a bit on as you can see. Enjoy the photos and keep the comments coming!

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
13/01/2013, Tunsia

Twelve months have now passed since we started this wacky adventure and there remains an increasingly small amount of time to complete the work to be on schedule. However, we have entered the interesting stage of the restoration, for both you and I, and that is not to say that we have been bored up until now, but the next few months will really show the rebirth of Chinook as she nears completion and the starting line beckons.
As you can see from the photos, the interior is progressing well, the chainplates are fitted, the ply sub deck is ready to be glued, the keel and deadwood are moving along nicely and the new keel bolts are ready to pick up. The new rudder is being built, the mast is on the way, and we are starting to throw paint around the place. The interior design progresses apace and weird and wonderful ideas are thrown about with the odd one being adopted and converted into reality only to add to an atmosphere already thick with sawdust.
Many problems remain to be solved but nothing so difficult as to create despair within the ranks of this finely tuned team. One such problem, earlier on in the year, raised its head. How do you fit an owner 6ft 5 (1m95) tall into a boat with 6ft (1m80) headroom? Much soul searching went on, heads were scratched, yet again, and ideas were thrown out on the table, like should we lower the cabin sole, or raise the deck maybe or even make head shaped cut-outs in the deck beams? The solution turned out to be incredibly simple. We are buying him a helmet and the real beauty of the solution is that all the "Rock stars" in the America's Cup wear them now so it won't even look out of place!
Problem solved and enough tongue in cheek for now. All that remains for me is to wish you all a very Happy New Year from all of us here at the Chinook restoration.

Jono.

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
24/12/2012, France

As you can see from the photos for this past week, we made the right choice to change all the keel bolts, and relief all round when we saw the condition of the one in the picture. Quite amazing really that the 12 ton chunk of lead remained attached at all!
Have a look at the photos of Jim Reineck's lovely work on the various bronze parts for the rig, some of which are winging their way to us as I write.
Well, as I prepare to fly to the Emerald Isle for some Christmas cheer and a few pints of the good stuff all that is left for me to do is to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and especially, a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Next post, next year!

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
16/12/2012, Tunisia

The highlight of the week was obviously the ballast keel removal which went incredibly well but other things were happening too. For instance, work on the interior continued. The owner's cabin longitudinal bulkheads have been dry fitted, the galley has new lockers, and a floor, the fore peak also has flooring and some lockers. The saloon bunks are being placed and the floor will soon follow. The first layer of deck ply has been fitted, the mast timber has all been cut and is being prepared for scarfing. The jackyard is ready to glue together and work progresses nicely in all departments. The original bowsprit cone is undergoing extensive repairs and only using parts of steel from the original cross strapping.

Have a look at the photos for week 43 for the full heads up on progress.

We are away to France for a break from North Africa and to do more research for those final hard to find bits and pieces. Not much Christmas atmosphere here anyway, all the beards are the wrong colour! We will return to the job on the 2nd of January but I hope to keep you all in the loop while we are away.

Meanwhile, we wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas and New Year. We look forward to your comments in 2013 and count on your continuing support as the project nears completion.

Cheers,

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
14/12/2012, Tunisia

It is with a certain degree of satisfaction that I can inform you all that we separated Chinook from her 12 ton ballast keel today and all without incident. I wonder if it is the first time in 96 years? Anyway, it is a necessary task in order to remove all doubt about the fastenings and to ensure that she will have a new long life ahead of her. The keel has been slowly inching it's way towards the shed door all day and we hope to have it outside by the end of tomorrow.

More news and photos on Sunday.

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
10/12/2012, Tunisia

Week 42 ended with Sandra and I in Paris for the boat show. It was an eagerly awaited opportunity to catch up for a chat and a drink with friends, ask some pertinent questions, dribble over the latest technology and, most of all, eat pork! Dinner with Jean Rene and friends was great, but unfortunately the "Dali exhibition" at "Le Centre Pompidou", so eagerly looked forward to by Sandra, proved to be a total failure. We queued for an hour and a half and then found out that we had to queue for another hour and a half to get in. By that stage the sore feet, cold, and hunger pangs were too much to bear. We did have a nice view of Paris from the top of the building though.
We started the repair on the original bowsprit cone as it is really not so badly damaged. It is galvanised steel so a bit of cut and shut will sort it out. The construction of the new galley is advancing nicely and we have started to prepare the first layer of the ply deck. The 14 mast hoops have been glued, copper riveted, and treated with epoxy to seal them. Next stage will be leather. The first batch of bronze parts has been shipped from the States and I hope it will arrive before we head home on the 18th. The preparations for removing the ballast keel are nearly finished and I expect to separate it from the boat sometime this week. The tanks are in the finishing stage and we will see things come together fairly quickly from here.

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
02/12/2012, Tunisia

As I write this, the fleet of the Panerai Classic, which just left Cascais in Portugal a few hours ago, have begun their fantastic adventure and our thoughts are with our friends on "The Blue Peter" many of whom are regular "Rowdy crew". We wish them a safe and successful crossing and follow their progress with much envy.
Meanwhile, back at the Chinook restoration, more good advances have been made this past week. All the openings in the deck have been made, excepting the companionway, and the cockpit structure is now in place. All lateral bulkheads, new and old, have been fitted and the floor line has been located throughout the accommodation, with the galley floor now fitted in order to mark out the work tops. The new nav station has been designed. The original layout didn't have one and I am happy that we have not strayed too far from th. The engine is in the process of being positioned and to my dismay it will most likely end up a little further forward than I would have liked. Good for the weight distribution in the boat but not so good for the internal layout. There may be a way to overcome this but it will require a bit more scratching of my ever increasing bald patch!
We are also building a very long ramp which will allow us to remove the ballast keel from under the boat without too much effort, I hope! The idea is to jack up the build cradle, boat and all, using the four 12 ton jacks that are fixed to the corners of it. At max height, we will then chock the hull independently of the cradle. Once the hull is secure, the keel bolts will be severed between deadwood and lead allowing us to jack down the 12 tons of lead and put it on special rollers for its trip down the ramp and out of the shed door. Once free of the lead, the cradle can then go back up to bring the hull back down to a suitable height for the continuation of the fit out. The manoeuvre is planned for the end of the coming week and I hope to refit the keel by the end of January with new aluminium bronze bolts which are in fabrication.
Next week's post promises to have some interesting photos so stay tuned.

Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
25/11/2012, Tunisia

After 40 weeks of work, representing some 14,500 man hours, I can't help feeling proud of what we have achieved so far. It hasn't always been without its problems but with a little reflection, the application of ingenuity and a lot of hard work, most of these were overcome quite easily and we look forward to the next 10,000 hours which will be required to complete the restoration.
On the shop floor the boom is being shaped, the bench for the mast construction has been completed, deadwood is being repaired, Sandra continues to apply copious amounts of varnish to just about anything she can lay her hands on and I shuttle back and forth between the boat and the office, juggling the many balls that I have in the air and hoping that none are dropped!
Up on the boat, the two structural bulkheads around the mast area have been permanently fitted and since the original ones no longer exist, it was decided to beef up this most important area. We now have a clear idea of how the galley will look and templates of the galley sole have been made. We will build up from there using the original plans. The new chain plates are being dry fitted and the mast step has been made and also dry fitted in place. The last floors have been finally fixed in place and now that the structure is nearing completion, we are turning our attention to one of those balls in the air, namely the imminent removal of the ballast keel which we hope to achieve before too long. That promises to be a very interesting exercise! The original bulkheads are in final preparation for fitting and the cockpit structure continues to take shape. We have slightly modified the structure to be stronger and provide more stowage all the while taking care not to add extra weight where it is not wanted, yet keeping the original aspect. I am very happy that we have remained faithful to the original interior layout and have only introduced some minor changes to cater for the modern usage of this kind of vessel.
The standing and running rigging are in fabrication, and we expect a visit from the sail maker in the near future to discuss the sail plan and take measurements. We eagerly await the arrival of the custom bronze forged items from the US and those items that are still missing to complete the fit out, are actively being sourced using all the resources available to us.
More next week.
Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
18/11/2012, Tunisia

The further into this project I get, the worse my literary skills seem to become and I have the feeling that I don't have much of any great interest to write, but at the risk of boring you all, I will attempt to capture your attention for a few moments and try to share with you this latest chapter in the rebirth of this wonderful yacht. (Now that's a big sentence!)
Having spent hours designing and drawing modifications to the beautiful gimballed saloon table in order to accommodate more alcohol, as suggested by my Dad, and purely as a counter weight, of course, I couldn't bring myself to take a saw to it so I left it as it is and turned my attention to more pressing matters.
On a more serious note................
The cockpit opening has been defined and cut out but behind the scenes, much analysing of the drawings took place in order to establish the true location and dimensions of this feature before the first saw cut could be made. And this is true for all the openings in the deck and also for the various fittings which will be bolted to the deck. These require hardwood backing pads and it is easier and quicker to place them before the deck goes on than after. More head scratching. Time is of the essence!
A repair to the stem is well underway and the final floors are almost finished. The deck beams are now all fastened and the central whatchamacallit is being glued into place. More deadwood has been removed for repairs and we are now preparing for the removal of the 12 ton keel which will hopefully happen in the next couple of weeks. The bench for the mast construction is being made and we will also start the mast soon. We also took delivery of the electric package, the propulsion package and a large amount of general chandlery. It was almost like my birthday...........only not!
Keep the comments coming. I am always delighted to know that someone is reading this stuff and it is not for nothing.
More next week.
Jono

Restoration

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Jonathan Greenwood
04/11/2012, Tunisia

The deck beams are finally being fixed and one can really see the boat taking on its final shape. The anchor points for the runner hooks have been fitted and I am at present working on the new chain plates. The knees which support the deck and provide additional rigidity to the structure are being shaped and will be fitted next week and the remaining floors are being made and I also fitted the original steering supports. Meanwhile, on the shop floor, the original bulkheads are receiving much attention in order to look their best when re fitted inside, and the butterfly hatch grills are well advanced. Original locks, catches and hinges have been cleaned and polished and are being fitted to their respective doors and drawers. New equipment continues to be delivered and we are expecting the arrival of the electrics package on Monday.
We are away to France on Tuesday for a short break and will be sourcing those items that have, as yet, not been found. The suit of sails has been ordered as has the standing and running rigging, and I believe that the custom bronze work going on in the US is well advanced.
All in all, not bad progress.

Jono

Restoration

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