maandag, 6 maart 2000 10.04

A fresh sight.

When you look at Sylphe now, she starts to show a little bit of her glory again. The last months and weeks were miserable, basically seeing her been torn apart and stripped. In a dirty workshop and more garbage around than one can imagine. I am not complainiing, it was part of the process, the destruction, cleaning, taking apart, etc.

The workhop has been cleaned out and organised. All garbage removed.

The interior of Sylphe has received two layers of paint, nice fresh and white. Thus giving the whole interior a new view. Spacious and clean, you know the feeling, like when you just painted that dark, gloomy, unused room in the house. The room suddenly becomes attractive to do something with.

The new frames can no longer be identified. All bad, rotten wood removed, the bilges nice and dry, the boat even smells new. However, before we were able to start painting, we had to thoroughly clean the boat. I think I must by now have gone painstakingly through the boat with a hoover in my hands….ten times. Every time when you took a brush and wiped all dirt down to the bilges, there was again a huge layer of dust, old paint and woodscraps gathered. And every time, we took the hoover and spend some two hours on our knees to collect all this. When we finally thought this was done properly, we took high-pressure air (like the one you use to fill a flat tyre of your car) and blasted the whole interior. To make sure that all dust, that escaped our brushes, was blown out of the smallest corners. And again we hoovered the boat.

The whole interior was treated with tri-chlore-ethyleen to remove grease, oil and other substances, before we put the two layers of primer-paint on it. This tri-chlore stuff is really lethal. One could not stay inside the boat longer than 10 minutes (with mask). You had to get out, to grasp some fresh air. Happily enough it vapourises easily, so the smell also disappeared again. In just two days, the interior received two layers of fresh, white paint. What a difference a day (or two) makes.

In the meantime, I am working on the mast and boom. All stays, spreaders, winches, etc, are removed, cleaned and serviced. The varnish will have to be removed and than simply ten (!!) layers of varnish will do the job for the next 3 years.

On deck, I have enlarged the wholes for the hatches and windows. The ugly modern plastic hatches are definately out. My father has (financially speaking) adopted the making of the new ones. A big, rough-edged hole is staring at you now.

A task which I apparantly do not get to finish is the removal of the bow-sprit. Although it looks that the bow-sprit was part of original design, I will have to replace her (she is damaged). But I seem not able to remove her. She is stuck solidly in her place. I already cut the steel wires that hold her in place, we also cut the bolts that tied her to the deck. And still, I can’t move her one single inch. Some more thinking needed, before we can get this one off.

The interior lay-out has been definately decided upon. A two-cabin layout with normal sized-beds, a pilot bunk in the rear of the saloon, plus the possibility to sleep another two around the table in the saloon. The galley and shower/head will be in the middle of the boat. The wood has been bought. The machines for sanding, sawing, cutting, etc are delivered to the workshop, the carpenter has hired his extra guys. The interior will be finished in cherry-wood. Solid cherry for the benches, cupboards, etc and some plywood with cherry-veneer for the walls.

First we will start with the four main partitions in the boat, making these walls (bulkheads) and than we will layout the framework for the floor. In just about one week from now, one will be able to get an idea of what she will be like again. You will see the sizes of the cabins, the height of the floor, the size of a bed.

We will keep you posted.

Love Roland