On the Horizon
To properly build our ship, the order in which things are done is critical. This journal entry is aimed at giving you a deeper insight into what is happening in the weeks to come; complete with technical information, terms and diagrams.
A look at the exciting developments taking place at our shipyard “AstilleroVerde” in the next few weeks.
To properly build our ship, the order in which things are done is critical. I like to think of it like a game of chess. You have to plan many moves in advance, if you do something now, will it hinder you in the future? I try to imagine the ship as a whole, rather than individual parts, not just what is here now, but what is still to come. You need a strong game plan for success and that’s exactly what we have. It will be a little while before you see the next frame raising, but that's because we are waiting for the right moment, when a piece is ready to accept its mate without obstructing the next move. Very soon, we will have many large pieces of the ship's backbone construction placed inside the hull. Steel I-beams and huge sections of tropical hardwood lying in wait, ready for action when the time is right. This must happen now, as the entrance to our vessel is steadily closing. In a matter of time, we will be talking about the outside and the inside of the ship, another milestone in Ceiba’s historic journey.
People are excited in the yard, the atmosphere is electric. These heightened times haven't slowed us down. Constructions that seemed so far away are now coming together at once. For this stage of the build, the finish line is in sight. We will kick things off with a double frame raising, followed with a farewell to our original framing stage, making room for the keelson and keelson rider to be placed in the ship and finally hoisting and installing the stern assembly.
This post will have some sections more technical than usual and is aimed at giving you a deeper insight into what is happening in the weeks to come; complete with technical information, terms and diagrams, letting you know what is going on with links to each part.
Table of Contents & the Order of Events
Double Frame Raising
Goodbye Old Framing Stage!
Building the Aft Hoisting Rig
Installing the Aft Knee
Installing the Keelson
Raising the Stern Assembly
Steel Keelson Rider
Half Frames and Cant Frames
Looking Forward
1. Double Frame Raising
People around the world have been watching us raise Ceiba’s frames week after week, since February 2019. Now as we come to the end of the full midship frames, we don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t celebrate this and raise the final two together. As we will soon be saying goodbye to our beloved original framing stage, it makes sense to give it a good send off.
It truly is an impressive sight, seeing the simultaneous construction of the two frames and seeing Ceiba’s shape revealed as her lines taper gracefully aft. The curved shape of these frames with the horning stick in the centre resembles a bow and arrow, ready to shoot forward. At the time of writing this post, the finishing touches were being done on frames 10 and 11, ready for the double frame raising last Monday. The first frame (11) was raised as normal, by means of block and tackle, being pushed and pulled into place with the strength of our team alone. After this successful raising, with just a little coordination the whole team sprang into action, working incredibly well together. Split into gangs, some moved frame 10 in position, others did minor adjustments to the rigging set up, while the previous frame was secured into place with pre-cut shores (wooden supports) by separate teams on either side of the ship. These two frames were raised in around an hour which is a momentous achievement and we could not be prouder of our team. Truly a well oiled machine.
Of Ceiba’s 56 frames, the remaining 12 (including frames -1 and 0 at the stern) will be either half or cant frames, half because the frames are in two halves which will be bolted into the deadwoods, and cant because they will be canted obliquely from the ship's longitudinal plane, her centreline. You will find more information about the next stage of framing later in the “Half Frames & Cant Frames” section.
2. Goodbye Old Framing Stage!
Our time with the original framing stage, which has helped build so much of the ship and so many memories is coming to an end. This place has been a safe space from the elements, a home away from home. As soon as the keel was laid, the framing stage was constructed over the aft end. Though this was always intended to be a temporary structure, it was strongly built and braced out of 3” thick donated Cypress (Cupressus Lusitanica). The deck was built just above the top of the keel, to make sliding the frames off the stage a little easier. But as the project progresses, we have to make way for things to come. I will briefly mention these now and go into more detail later on, with everything linked to the relevant section. The stern assembly will stand on the aftermost end of the keel, the keelson and keelson rider directly on top of the keel and aft frames notched into the keelson and stern assembly. Work on dismantling the stage has already begun, with the forward sections of the corrugated tin roof already removed, making way for the tall frames as they are hoisted vertically. It seems like only yesterday when I first arrived, the walk from the framing stage along the keel to the forward frames was a long road, now, it’s spittin’ distance! This isn’t the end of framing, because this was planned for. A newer, improved framing stage has been built just behind the original so framing can continue without interfering with Ceiba’s aft constructions.
The old team on the framing stage back in September 2019, note how far away the ships frames were
3. Building the Aft Hoisting Rig
Work on the stern post assembly is well underway, but before we can think out about fitting it in the ship, we have to get it in there! Built of solid Guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril), this will be a construction of considerable size, in total weighing in at approximately 4.3 tonnes (almost 9500 lbs) we will need a substantial rig to lift it! For more information and deeper insight into this incredible wood, check out my previous blog “Harder than Steel”. In order to hoist the forward cant frames and Gammon knee (a huge knee timber bolted to the stem, to support the bowsprit, approx 320 kg or just over 700lbs) a 14 metre Cypress (Cupressus Lusitanica) crane was built, again raising with human power by means of block and tackle. As this forward crane was so successful, we plan to build a similar one aft, modified and beefed up to accommodate the extra weight (1.5 tonnes or 3300 lbs) of the stern assembly. The new one will be an A-frame construction, with extra shores to support the framework.
4. Installing the Aft Knee
Definition - The aft knee will connect the after deadwoods to the stern post.
Dimensions - 0.92m x 1.54m x 0.25m (~36”x60”x10”)
Weight - Guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril) has an Average Dried weight of 910kg/m3, making this knee around 160kg (~355lbs)
The aft or stern knee is a large roughly triangular timber with curved grain, and is an integral part of the stern assembly. Our Guapinol aft knee will sit on the keel, with its back against the stern post, sandwiched in between the aft deadwoods, see diagram. The deadwoods are large blocks of timber, closely fitted to the upper side of the keel, placed upon each other to a considerable height because the ship is so comparatively narrow at this point. Located in the fore and aft of both the stem and stern assemblies.
This huge knee will be securely bolted to both the keel and the stern post. Drilling the holes through this incredibly tough Guapinol knee, into the even tougher Tamarindo Del Monte (Dialium guianense) keel is a challenging job and very hard to get straight. Both of these hardwoods are incredibly dense and durable and the Tamarindo is filled with silicates (fine sand particles) which have a severe blunting effect on the drill bits and all edge tools. Custom made drilling jigs will be employed for each time consuming hole. This knee, along with the stern post and rudder post are the crucial first steps in the stern assembly. The three will be assembled prior to installation, with the rudder and stern posts dropped into the ship as one unit, closely followed by the aft knee. The heel of the stern post will be mortised (notched) directly into the keel, by our talented timber framer, Guillaume (Belgium). More about this in the “Raising the Stern Assembly” section. Progress is coming on well with this section of the stern assembly, with only the port side rabbet (groove to accept the planking) still to be cut, due to the difficulty of rotating the colossal timbers.
5. Raising the Stern Assembly
Definition - The stern post is the perpendicular piece of timber fastened to the after end of the keel. Forming the portion of the framework of the ship and is the timber to which the after ends of the lower planks will fasten.
Dimensions - The stern and rudder post alone are just over 5.9m x 1.2m x 0.25m (~19’4”x 3’11”x10”) The complete assembly with deadwoods is a roughly triangular shape nearly 6m high with a 6m base.
Weight - The stern and rudder posts weigh approximately 1.5 tonnes (~3300 lbs). The complete assembly will be around 4.3 tonnes (almost 9500 lbs)
Following the successful installation of the aft knee, stern and rudder posts, the first of the aft deadwoods can be precisely cut, butting up to the aft face of frame 10. This is because it is simply more accurate to take measurements from what is already installed, rather than solely relying on dimensions from the lofting floor. These huge deadwood timbers will rest tightly against the stern post and keel, being deep enough to allow the heels of the aft cant and half frames to be secured into it. We will use coaks (round ‘puck’ shaped pieces of hardwood for sheer strength and alignment) in the deadwood timbers and fastenings will be driven through at varying angles.
While the assembly is still on the ground and easier to access, our experienced team, Dylan (Canada) and Guillaume (Belgium) have been cutting the rudder gutter and planking rabbets. This rabbet is cut slightly undersized to allow for any natural movement in the wood so that when the time comes to fit the planks, there is only a little material to shave off for a perfect fit.
The counter timbers are being cut on the ground with a chainsaw jig to cut rolling bevels, much like our antique ship saw but more suited to dense tropical hardwoods. The counter timbers extend aft from the stern post to form the rake (upward sloping angle) of the stern. There are two side counter timbers and one centre counter timber called the horn timber, just aft of this will be the Transom centerline timber, in line with the keel. The team are dry fitting the horn timber (which helps support the counter, while sloping upward and aft from the keel) where the rabbet will extend, prior to the assembly being in the ship, while the angles of the construction are easier to access and take measurements from. These side counter timbers are placed each side of the stern post and are set into grooves cut either side of the stern assembly, and are securely bolted to the stern post, deadwood and to each-other. The complete assembly will be huge, an almost 6m tall and 6m long (~19”8’ x 19”8’) triangular structure raking aft. Ceiba will have a transom stern, which will give her greater deck area aft, a simpler construction and also provide an improved flow around her stern.
6. Installing the Keelson
Definition - The Keelson, or Kelson - An internal Keel, laid upon the middle of the floor-timbers, immediately over the keel, and serving to bind all together by means of long bolts driven from without (without board, outside of the ship), and clinched on the upper side of the keelson.
Dimensions - The keelsons will be around 22.5m x 0.25m x 0.25m (~73’9”x10’x10’)
Weight - The four keelson sections will weigh approximately 1.28 tonnes (~2800lbs) in total
Only after frames 10 and 11 have been raised, only after the vast majority of the stern post assembly has been raised, and only after the first aft deadwoods are in place can the keelson finally be fitted to them. The keelson is a timber placed immediately over the keel and frame floor timbers, extending from forward deadwood to after deadwood. It unites in one solid structure the keel, floors (frames) and deadwoods. The main keelson is built up of a number of pieces scarfed together, ours will be four pieces of Guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril) with three scarf joints. The keelson is also the foundation for the remainder of the aft deadwoods where the heels which will be notched into, completing the stern assembly. When laying out the keelson, it is crucial to locate the scarfs in areas where they are not over a keel scarf. By doing this, each scarf is supported and strengthened against hogging (stress in the hull causing the ship to bend upward from the centre) and sagging (the reverse of hogging) strains by the solid timber immediately above or below. These scarfs are nibbed and have a length equal to two frames.
Our keelson is currently being constructed by Haja (Madagascar) and Manu (France), who are also in the process of making filling timbers, heavy duty blocks custom fit to the gap between each of the frames, where bilge water may wash. This creates a solid mass of wood on which the keelson and keelson rider will sit. At Ceiba’s forward end, the first main keelson has been already scarfed into the deadwoods and fastened in place with bolts that pass through the floor and into the keel.
7. Steel Keelson Rider
Definition - Keelson rider / False keelson - a piece of timber wrought longitudinally above the main keelson. - Sailors wordbook
Dimensions - Roughly 21.8m (~71”6’) long, in two sections.
Weight - 1.5 tonnes (~2200 lbs) each, 3 tonnes (~4400 lbs) total.
Our sturdy keelson rider will be placed on top of the main keelson for the purpose of giving additional strength to the whole longitudinal structure of the vessel. Our architect has chosen two massive steel I-beams instead of a traditional wooden structure, a powerful marriage of old and new technologies. This will be bolted down through the keelson, frames and keel to another two I-beams beneath the keel, consolidating everything into one solid structure.
The two huge heavy duty I-beams arrived a few weeks ago and work began straightaway. To make moving these huge 1.5 tonne pieces easier, I-beam shaped holes were cut in the centre of two trunk offcuts to make wooden rollers, lovingly referred to as ‘welding manipulators’ by Jeroen (Netherlands) as it turns moving these giant pieces into a one person job.
Measurements were taken from the lofting floor and then measured directly from the ship so the 45 degree ‘butt’ joint will land in the centre of the watertight bulkhead. The keelson rider is currently being worked on by Jeroen and our hardworking metalwork apprentice Eli (Canada). The cut was made diagonal to make stack welding easier. Holes for the bolts to fasten the keelson rider all the way through the keelson, the keel and the two extra I beams for the false keel (an additional keel secured under the main one, to protect it should the ship strike ground) were cut with the acetylene torch.
These Riders will be placed in the ship prior to installation, as they won't be needed for a while and soon we won’t be able to get them in! We are also planning to fit lead bricks into the I-beam Gaps for maximum space and weight efficiency.
8. Half Frames & Cant Frames
The Next Stage of Framing
Along the centre portion of the vessel, where the shape does not change very much, the frame timbers have been placed square to the longitudinal plane. If you’ve been following our build you will have seen these large wide frames being raised weekly. But at the ends (bow and stern) where the shape changes considerably, the frames must be placed at angles to the centre-line, and for this reason are called cant frames. After Monday’s double frame raising, all the remaining frames will be half frames, constructed in two sections and notched directly into the dead woods, with the final few being cant frames. This means that before framing can continue, a tremendous amount of work must be fitted into the ship, so it will be some time until the next frame is raised. The production of frames will continue as normal on the new framing stage, but they will be placed to one side until they are required.
The reason these frames are canted is because in parts where the deck outline merges into the stem or around the curve of a stern, square timbers would have to be beveled to an excessive degree to make planking lay across the frames for their full width. This excessive beveling would greatly weaken the frame. By canting or inclining each frame so the outer face parallels the deck outline, the amount of bevel necessary is greatly reduced and an additional strength of frame is obtained without adding material.
The cant frames do not have floor timbers (parts of the ships timbers which are placed immediately across the keel) but have their lower ends mortised (a ‘pocket’ cut into the deadwood to accept the heel of the frame) directly into the deadwood or other piece of material against which they rest and fastened by means of bolts that pass through the frames, deadwood, stem, or stern. These bolts are placed alternately high and low to avoid the structural weakness from a line of bolts holes. Cant or Half frames are shaped and assembled in the same manner as midship, but being in two pieces, they are raised differently. For our forward frames we used harpin ribbands for the purpose of holding forward cants in position while being fastened. We will use a similar stern ribband aft to hold the remaining cants in position.
9. Looking Forward
We have a lot of exciting developments to look forward to in the near future. Of course there is the completion of the stern assembly and the completion of framing. Huge holes will be drilled through many of the aft frames for the propellor shaft. Soon the bilge riders will be installed on the inside of the hull and fairing for this has already begun. Following this we have the clamps and beams to be installed for the tweendeck, main deck and forepeak. These are strong traverse pieces of timber stretching across the ship from one side to the other, to support the decks and retain the sides at their proper distance. We will firmly connect these by means of large hardwood knees, large pieces of supporting timbers specially selected for their curved grain. When the keelson and keelson riders are installed work can begin on the samson post, a large strong post resting on the keelson and supporting the beam of the deck.Once these pieces are installed and the rabbet is cut, planking can begin. We are planning on doing both hull (exterior) and ceiling (interior) at the same time. We have so much to look forward to and want you to join us on our journey.
