Haikus and Keels!

English | Dansk


Beside his poetic facet, Silas is a talented shipwright that spent more than seven months at AstilleroVerde. As one of the leaders in the team, he took a big part in the success of our first milestone: laying Ceiba’s keel.

Getting the keel ready to be dry-fitted on the keel blocks back in late 2018.

Getting the keel ready to be dry-fitted on the keel blocks back in late 2018.

Luuk & Gero sawing the keel scarf joint as Joseph eyes the line.

Luuk & Gero sawing the keel scarf joint as Joseph eyes the line.

Cutting the keel - Luuk, Gero & Artur.

Cutting the keel - Luuk, Gero & Artur.

Shipwrights gathering
From many countries
Mangrove shipyard

Keel is laid
Exciting these days
Ceiba begun

The birth of a ship
SAILCARGO happening
Vessel will sail

Gero, Luuk & Silas work together to smoothly cut the keel scarf-joint.

Gero, Luuk & Silas work together to smoothly cut the keel scarf-joint.

“Start your day with a haiku!”

I’m sure those words have been spoken by an elderly wise Japanese person once or twice in the history of humankind, but I sure don’t know who it would have been. Neither can I say that it is something I have ever done myself; I've neither written a haiku nor a blog before.

But there is a first time for everything, like for example, building and laying the keel of a ship. In this case, Ceiba, the first build of the Ceiba Maritima shipyard and SAILCARGO INC. and the star of the future fleet of cargo carrying sailing ships that are planned to come out of this enterprise. All this, I’m sure you already know, so I won’t bore you with more about that part.

I will, on the other hand, bore you with some of the details in the process behind reaching this milestone. For even though I have never built or layed a keel of these dimensions before - thereby also doing this for the first time - this is what I do. I am a Danish shipwright/boatbuilder by trade and part of the team here in Costa Rica.

Long drill bit on the keel.

Long drill bit on the keel.

For even though I have never built or layed a keel of these dimensions before - thereby also doing this for the first time - this is what I do.
— Silas Bucher

That will have to do for an introduction. Now I’ll take you through the keel, the first part of the actual ship.

Tightening the keel bolts with a wrench. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Tightening the keel bolts with a wrench. Photo by Finn Richardson.

We started with massive trunks of ‘Tamarindo del Monte’ that our chainsaw team had shaped into 4 big beam timbers. They were passed on to me, Joseph - a French shipwright - and Artur from Poland. Artur spent a few days planing and squaring them all up while Joseph, Lynx and I were going over the plans and the lofting floor, measuring up, drawing and agreeing on how and where we were going to join the pieces. We had to be careful to not place them too close to any of the many other things going on or through the keel at a later stage. Frames, frame bolts, keelson bolts, keel bolts… so many things.


We scarf them, a scarf being a way of joining timber into one piece keeping as much strength as possible and putting coaxes into the scarf. Coaxes, also known as shear keys, are small wooden blocks that are fitted into the scarf to prevent any sideways movement that would put a lot of tension on the scarf bolts… Okay, done. Now we just have to actually do it on the wood itself.

Coaxes, also known as shear keys, are small wooden blocks that are fitted into the scarph to prevent any sideways movement that would put a lot of tension on the scarf bolts…
— Silas Bucher

The team at the shipyard is joined by Gary, a Canadian/American boatbuilder who will be here for a couple of months. Gary comes bringing gifts; specific tools we need to continue the works, a router, for cutting the coax holes and making 'dutchmen' on all the worst cracked up and broken parts in the wood. A 'dutchman' is when you cut out bad wood and fit in a new piece of healthy wood. The name maybe coming from all Dutchmen being bad… or healthy… not for me to decide! Anyways, Gary also brings the power drill and big long drill bits that we need to drill the bolt holes. The work can continue and it does by measuring out for the scarph bolts. Gary has taken over for Joseph working with me on the keel and we get the first holes drilled and the scarph dry fitted with the bolts in. The drill is passed on and we start routing and chiseling out for the coaxes. It has to be precise, since the coaxes need to all fit in between two pieces of wood that need to line up perfectly with the bolt holes and the rest of the scarf.

A ‘dutchman’ is when you cut out bad wood and fit in a new piece of healthy wood. The name maybe coming from all Dutchmen being bad… or healthy… not for me to decide!
— Silas Bucher

With all coaxes fitted and holes drilled, the keel is almost done. We make our dutchmen and fill cracks with roofing tar to keep the water out. We are ready. But alas, we can’t lay it yet.

Keel blocks have to be stacked and leveled and staging has to be made to support the keel when we lift it up and join it.

Coaxes in their slots ready to be put into dry-fit. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Coaxes in their slots ready to be put into dry-fit. Photo by Finn Richardson.

It has to be precise, since the coaxes need to all fit in between two pieces of wood that need to line up perfectly with the bolt holes and the rest of the scarf.
— Silas Bucher

In between this, Christmas and New Years happens, the shipyard goes into holiday mode and most of the crew are out exploring the country we are all now living and working in. January comes and the 8th is nearing. Work starts up again and we build the staging. Half of the team have been up in the mountains cutting down wood for this to happen. I’m at the yard finishing everything off and then, Friday the 4th, Lynx calls from the mountains and asks if we can be ready the following Monday for the tractor to come lift the keel up. This is it. This means we’re finally laying the keel. We could potentially be ready for Monday, but we decide on doing it Tuesday in order to have the whole day to lay it.

Tuesday, January 8th 2019

This is the day. The day we’ve all been waiting and working for. The first shape of Ceiba, the birth of the ship. The keel.

Silas goes to sledgehammer the keel in place, in dry fit, to bring it tightly and exactly together.

Silas goes to sledgehammer the keel in place, in dry fit, to bring it tightly and exactly together.

This is the day. The day we’ve all been waiting and working for. The first shape of ‘Ceiba’, the birth of the ship. The keel.
— Silas Bucher
Lynx with the “Comedy Mallet”. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Lynx with the “Comedy Mallet”. Photo by Finn Richardson.

The tractor comes in the morning, everybody joins in helping and watching as the keel pieces, one by one get lifted up on the keel blocks and the staging, ready for us to move them into position and join them. That’s what we do. Back to manhandling the keel pieces, but this time, it will be the last and final time we’ll have to do it. Sledgehammers, ropes, chain hoists, wrecking bars. Move them close, line them up. We fill the scarphs with tar, put in the coax blocks, tar them up as well. Make sure the tar will squeeze out, lift the top scarph piece, move it over the bottom one and bash the end with our giant mallet, named the ‘Comedy Mallet’, for its appearance, and be satisfied as you watch the whole thing slide into place. The coaxes going into the coax holes perfectly, ratchet straps on, tar oozing out sealing the joints. And finally, first bolt going in, all bolts being first wound up with natural fibres and covered in tar, again to ensure a tight seal. Hammer it in and get the washer and the nut on the other end. Get them tight. It is a good day indeed, Ceiba now has its keel.

On this day, the date that I had bet on for laying the keel, we didn’t actually finish it.

We finished two out of the three scarphs and ran out of tar for the last one, and the local hardware store was out of stock as well. We had to wait until the next day to get any more. Bearing in mind that if we had the tar, we would have laid the whole keel, it was decided that I won the bet anyway. Being the closest one no matter what.

And my prize? Apart from finishing the first step of the build of Ceiba, we hadn’t actually put down any bet or prize. So the “Yardies” all wrote their suggestions on little notes and mixed them in a hat. I was to pull my prize from there without knowing what it would be.

There were many good suggestions, good prizes and fun prizes, but the one I pulled from the hat, the only one of that kind, was a kiss from everyone...

 

If you are interested in helping us continue to reach our goals with the construction of Ceiba and see this beautiful tallship enter the Pacific on schedule, consider becoming an investor and get in touch with us TODAY - simply click the button below to find out more.

Our project is funded entirely by people like you becoming shareholders through investing. Support the change you wish to see in the world by getting involved with us here @SAILCARGO INC.

info@sailcargo.org

CONTACT US

Together, we can #SeaShippingChange

 

Haiku og Køl!

Beside his poetic facet, Silas is a talented shipwright that spent more than seven months at AstilleroVerde. As one of the leaders in the team, he took a big part in the success of our first milestone: laying Ceiba’s keel.

Silas cutting the scarfs of the keel.

Silas cutting the scarfs of the keel.

Keel coaxes in dry-fit.

Keel coaxes in dry-fit.

Skibstømrere fra
Mange lande mødes i
Mangrove skibsværft

Kølen er lagt
Byggeriet igang nu
Ceiba er født

Et skib til verden
SAILCARGO er begyndt
Skibet vil sejle

A keel scarf at Lynx’s feet, ready to be hoisted up onto the scaffold and bolted into place.

A keel scarf at Lynx’s feet, ready to be hoisted up onto the scaffold and bolted into place.

"Et haiku om dagen, holder doktoren på bagen" 

Fred applying tar to the keel scarf and coax holes. Photo by Finn Richardson

Fred applying tar to the keel scarf and coax holes. Photo by Finn Richardson

Dette er ord der helt bestemt er blevet ytret af en gammel japansk vismand eller to gennem tiden, men jeg har dog ingen ide om hvem de i så fald var. Ej heller er det noget jeg nogensinde har efterlevet, det samme kan siges om både at skrive haiku digte og blogs. Ikke noget der nogensinde har præget min hverdag. Men der er en første gang for alt, for eksempel at bygge og lægge en køl. I dette tilfælde, Ceiba's køl, flagskibet samt det første der bliver bygget på Ceiba Maritima skibsværftet og af SAILCARGO INC. Det første ud af flere planlagte lastskibe under sejl. Men alt dette er allerede kendt, så jeg vil ikke kede jer mere med det. Til gengæld vil Jeg kede jer med nogle af detaljerne der ledte op til dette punkt i projektet, hvordan vi byggede og lagde kølen. For selvom det også er første gang jeg har bygget og lagt en køl i denne størrelse, så er det immervæk det jeg laver. Jeg er udlært skibstømrer/bådebygger, dansk og en del af teamet her Costa Rica.

Det må række som introduktion. Nu til hvad det egentlig skal handle om; kølen, den første håndgribelige del af skibet.

Vi startede ud med nogle kæmpe stammer Tamarindo del Monte, som værftets motorsavs team savede op i fire store stykker køltømmer. Herefter er det jeg kommer ind i billedet, sammen med Joseph, vores franske skibstømrer og Artur fra Polen. Artur bruger nogle dage på at rette alle stykkerne af og få dem i vinkel, imens er Joseph, Lynx og Jeg igang med at måle op, gå alle bygge planer igennem og beslutte hvordan vi gør og hvor stykkerne skal samles. Der er en masse der skal tages højde for, først og fremmest skal vi undgå at komme i vejen for alt det andet der senere hen skal enten på eller igennem kølen. Som spanter, spantbolte, kølsvinbolte og kølbolte... Så mange forskellige ting.

Vi lasker kølen sammen med almindelig platlask og putter låse stykker, lokke, ind i lasken. Disse lokke forhindrer lasken i at bevæge sig sidelæns og tager dermed en masse spændinger fra laskboltene. Sådan, teorien er i orden... nu skal vi bare føre det ud i virkelighede.

Disse lokke forhindrer lasken i at bevæge sig sidelæns og tager dermed en masse spændinger fra laskboltene. Sådan, teorien er i orden...
— Silas Bucher
Dry-fitting the keel.

Dry-fitting the keel.

Puljen er åben.

Alle fra værftet vædder på en dato hvor vi har kølen lagt, samlet og boltet. Alle datoerne kommer på tavlen i kontoret. Jeg sætter mine penge på d. 8 januar.

Joseph havde tidligere bygget et lan til motorsaven som placeres oven på tømmeret så vi med vores alaskanske savværk kan skære lasken ud i den ønskede smig. Og han gjorde et godt stykke arbejde, så så snart vi var færdige med at måle op og mærke af, placerede vi skabelonen hvor vi ville have den og kaldte på Luuk og Gero, mangrovens berygtede motorsavs team. VRUM DUN DUN DUN VRUUUUUUUU sang det som altid over værftsgrunden og voila, laskene er skåret. Groft.

Vi fejrer det efter fyraften med hele holdet og øl på kølen.

Nu er det atter Josephs og min tur, det hele skal finpudses, tilpasses og tørmonteres så samlinger i lasken bliver så tætte og stærke som muligt. Frem med høvle, rettestokke og meterpinde.

Det er altid de opgaver der virker små der tager mest tid. Specielt tørmonteringen, da dette kræver at vi flytter rundt på de 13m lange og 33x25cm høje og brede jerntræs køl stykker. Alt ved håndkraft, så frem med forhammere, kædetræk, reb og løfte stænger. Det er tungt, man sveder og får ømme muskler, men belønningen, når lasken glider på plads og alt passer er det hele værd. Succes.

The keel after being laid atop the keel blocks. Photo by Jeremy Starn

The keel after being laid atop the keel blocks. Photo by Jeremy Starn

Vi får en ny mand på holdet. Gary, en canadisk/amerikansk bådebygger der er på besøg i et par måneder. Gary kommer med gaver, værktøj vi har manglet, såsom en overfræser vi skal bruge til at lave hullerne til lokkede og til at lave luse de værste områder i tømmeret ud (en lus er når man fjerner dårligt træ og isætter noget sundt træ istedet) samt en stor boremaskine og lange bor til at bore ud til laskboltene. Arbejdet kan fortsætte og Gary afløser Joseph som min makker. Vi går straks igang med at måle ud og mærke op hvor boltene skal være og borer hullerne i den første lask. Boremaskinen bliver givet videre og vi går igang med fræse og stemme ud til lokkene. Det er præcisionsarbejde, da lokkene skal passe i huller i begge dele af lasken samtidig med at de ikke trækker skævt fra bolt hullerne.

Keel coaxes in the sunlight. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Keel coaxes in the sunlight. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Det er præcisionsarbejde, da lokkene skal passe i huller i begge dele af lasken samtidig med at de ikke trækker skævt fra bolt hullerne.
— Silas Bucher

Med alle lokkene færdige og hullerne boret er kølen næsten færdig. Vi luser de sidste områder ud fylder revner og ridser med tagtjære for at holde vand ude. Vi er klar, men ak, det betyder ikke at vi samle kølen endnu. Først skal alle kølblokke blokkes op og vages og vi skal bygge stillads til at holde kølen når den bliver løftet op på blokkene.

I mellem tiden er det også blevet jul og nytår og værftet går i ferie dvale. Halvdelen af holdet er ude på opdagelse i det land vi nu alle sammen bor og arbejder i og fejre højtiderne. Det blir januar og d. 8 nærmer sig. Arbejdet starter op igen og vi fortsætter med stilladset. Halvdelen af holdet er oppe i bjergene for at skove tømmer til byggeriet. Jeg er på værftet for at færdige alting. Fredag d. 4 januar ringer Lynx oppe fra bjergene og spørger om vi kan være klar med stilladset til at løfte kølen op den følgende mands. Det kunne vi sådan set godt være, men vi beslutter at gøre det tirsdag istedet, så vi har hele dagen til det.

Tirsdag d. 8/1-2019

Idag sker det. Dette er dagen vi alle har arbejdet hen imod og ventet spændte på. Skibet begynder så småt at materialiserer sig, Ceiba bliver født, vi får en køl.

Tarred coaxes ready for the two scarves to be fitted together. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Tarred coaxes ready for the two scarves to be fitted together. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Fred applying tar to the coaxes and scarves of the keel of Ceiba. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Fred applying tar to the coaxes and scarves of the keel of Ceiba. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Idag sker det. Dette er dagen vi alle har arbejdet hen imod og ventet spændte på. Skibet begynder så småt at materialiserer sig, Ceiba bliver født, vi får en køl.
— Silas Bucher

Traktoren ankommer om morgenen og alle er nede og være med, mens kølstykkerne en efter en bliver løftet op på plads, klar til at blive rykket i deres endelige position. Det er det vi nu gør. For sidste gang skal vi håndtere de store stykker tømmer på plads, frem med forhammerne, kædetrækkene, rebene og løftestængerne og manøvrer dem ind så de er klar til at blive samlet. Laskene tjæres ind, lokkene kommer på plads og tjæres ligeledes, og den øverste del af lasken bliver løftet ind, rokket frem og tilbage og med et sidste slag fra vores kæmpe træ muggert, kaldet Comedy Hammeren, glider stykkerne sammen til en perfekt lask. Samlingerne bliver spændt sammen, så tjæren bliver presset ud, og boltene, ligeledes tjæret og beviklet med naturlige fibre, bliver hamret ind. Spændeskiver og møtrikker kommer på og bliver spændt, godt og tejt. Det er bestemt en god dag.

Ceiba har endelig fået sin køl.

Pulling the keel into place. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Pulling the keel into place. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Slotting the keel into place. Photo by Finn Richardson.

Slotting the keel into place. Photo by Finn Richardson.

På denne dag, datoen jeg havde væddet på som dagen hvor vi lagde kølen, viste sig faktisk ikke at være den rigtige dag. Vi samlede to ud af de tre laske og løb tør for tjære, den lokale isenkræmmer havde heller ikke mere, så vi måtte vente til næste dag med at få mere. Men, med tanke på at vi ville have lykkedes den dag hvis vi havde haft nok materialer og faktum at mit gæt stadig var det tætteste på, blev det besluttet at jeg vandt alligevel. Problemet var dog at vi faktisk aldrig havde fået samlet en pulje for væddemålet. Så hvad havde jeg vundet? andet end at have lagt kølen til vores skib? Alle fra værftet skrev ideer ned på papir og smed det i en hat og så kunne jeg ellers bare trække. Der var mange gode forslag, mange sjove forslag, men sedlen jeg trak var den eneste af sin slags. Jeg vandt et kys fra hele holdet...

Silas grinning as he Charlie and Fred begin measuring, cutting and planing the first frames of Ceiba!

Silas grinning as he Charlie and Fred begin measuring, cutting and planing the first frames of Ceiba!

Silas on the beginnings of the framing stage above the keel.

Silas on the beginnings of the framing stage above the keel.

Today, late January 2019 - frame pieces on the assembly platform.

Today, late January 2019 - frame pieces on the assembly platform.

 

If you are interested in helping us continue to reach our goals with the construction of Ceiba and see this beautiful tallship enter the Pacific on schedule, consider becoming an investor and get in touch with us TODAY - simply click the button below to find out more.

Our project is funded entirely by people like you becoming shareholders through investing. Support the change you wish to see in the world by getting involved with us here @SAILCARGO INC.

info@sailcargo.org

CONTACT US

Together, we can #SeaShippingChange

Silas Bucher

Silas received his formal qualification at the Erhvervsskolen Nordsjælland (Craftsman College) and holds other various qualifications, such as Able Seaman from the Martec Maritime and Polytechnic College. Silas has been part of the keel construction and contributed most of his work to the assembling of frames.

VIDEOMaking and Raising Ceiba's First Frames

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Laying Ceiba’s Keel