In today’s Luna update we are going to break away from construction and explain WHY we have certain holes in the hull. Last week we shared pictures of scuppers in Luna’s toe rails which has some folks wonder why holes would be put in boats. Normally holes in boats are bad as they let water in. In some cases we want to move water away from an area or run something through the hole so lets take a look.
Sometimes holes go in below the waterline. Yes, these make us nervous as we know water will want to enter the hull here. In this picture we have two holes. The rudder and propeller shaft fill them. Special fittings with watertight glands mount to the hull and the shafts fit through them keeping the water out. This is one of Luna’s two gun ports. It’s in its pattern and template stage right now. The wood piece at the lower part of the hole will prevent anything from rolling or falling overboard. The wood at the top of the photo is hinged and will fold down flush with the hull. There is a gap leading forward that is called a freeing port. It is about two inches high and runs most of the length of the deck allowing water to go overboard. This ones pretty easy to figure out. This is an inside image of a port light. The six bolts hold it in place. The hinge to the right allows the window to open and the wing nut to left locks the window in place keeping water out.Another special hole in the hull visible on deck allows docking lines to pass through and be secured with a bult in cleat.
So there we go. Some of the holes we deliberately put in Luna’s hull. Check back on Sunday for more construction updates!
We had another great Luna construction weekend with progress being made on the poopdeck and steering system. We had to spend some time Saturday cleaning up and doing some repair work to the construction site from the recent storm and the following down pour the next day. As we see what other tall ship programs are up to, we noticed a common theme- Maintain systems and prevent rot! If you’re not working on either of these you’re ships care can get away from you really quickly!
We’ll begin with the steering system. Steve has been working on this project for a while including having to design the aluminum tiller arm featured in an earlier article and now fabricating extruded fiberglass pads for the hydraulic cylinders to ride on.
The extruded fiberglass pad and wedges to support the high pressure hydraulic steering system. Bedded in place! From this angle you can carefully make out the various shapes machined into the rudder post that will secure the tiller and emergency tiller arms. The tiller arm fits onto the keyway and the emergency tiller fits over the square capIt fits!!!! Here, the cylinders and tiller arm are all fit and riding in position!
Onto the poop deck! Excuse the blue hue, but the tarp is keeping us shaded. To help remove water from the deck we have added three scuppers to each side. Scuppers are openings in the sides of the boat which allows the water to drain instead of pool and cause rot. As we build Luna we constantly look for these potential pooling areas and figure out how to eliminate them, preventing water from getting below or causing rot which is much more than a cosmetic repair.
A close up of the scuppers exterior on the poop deck. The tape line at the bottom keeps us in line with the other scuppers. They are four inches wide and almost two high. The trick is to make them flush with the poopdeck on the inside of the rail and keep them consistent on the outside. Nothing a bit of patience, time and eye for detail doesn’t take care of. A look from inside. The scuppers edges have been puttied to help direct water overboard. They will next be sanded to smooth out the rough spots, fiberglassed to ensure water tightness, then fared in to give a seamless appearance.
So there you have it! This weekends progress. We’ll be back on board this week and have more to share so check in regularly, share our blog and progress on social media and visit our website at www.colonialseaport.org