A glimpse of the tall ship – coming into being
The skilled tradesmen shape rough-cut lumber into functional shapes that could be admired simply for their sheer beauty. Its like a tangible symphony of construction, orchestrated by master shipwrights directing craftsmen into developing beautiful form. Witnessing a glimpse of the final refit stages of the tall ship that will be our new home on the water is simply awe-inspiring.
Daily, almost 50 men allocate them selves into working teams based upon the job to be done that day, and then by their trade or skill set. They cheerily offer their morning greetings and workplace banter, then stream onto the various parts of the vessel. Men inspect and clean the rigging as its laid out for fitting, move into to the machine or carpentry bays, or down the shipyard and onto the haul to begin the days task. Welders, painters, mechanics, electricians and plumbers all under direction of the master shipwrights, work harmoniously in a very limited space. Occasionally images of ants in a nest, bees in a hive, or perhaps even sometimes, entertainers pouring into clown car come to mind.
My favourites are the carpenters. It’s because they shape the raw teak into the functional shapes that I recognize and know I will enjoy while sailing. I think more than that, I just love watching them create. At the beginning of the day, I listen to the daily jobs and know what the outcome should be, then I see the carpenters begin to fashion a few pieces of wood into something that has no resemblance to what I had imagined. For example, over the past few days I have watched them build the vent (dorrade) boxes from scratch. They built just one big long oval shaped hollow box that was about 2.5 meters long. I was perplexed. Then, having a little patience, I watched as the long teak tube was sliced like a loaf of bread into perfect 30 cm long dorrade boxes, as many as we need. Fascinating. Further, I have watched as the binnacle, which is to be my helming station, slowly coming to shape. I’ve made my contributions as to where the various electronics will be and decided on its functionality, but its beauty of form has come from the master carpenters hands.
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