Sandy at Westerly Marina: Monday morning high tide at 1030, 11/29

This morning’s high tide was one foot higher than the one last night, as models predicted. Tonight’s high tide around 2300 will be the big one.

The parking lot is on the left.

The dock systems are cut off from the land.

Circle Line boats running north to hide.

Haul-Out

Another busy season on the river is behind us! We hauled out this past Friday, and while we're certainly sad to be back on land, we'll be back in the water before you know it!

Read about what an epic season we had here and here.

The Fletcher being lifted out of the water.

Check out all that growth on the bottom!

Riverkeeper and Hurricane Irene

In response to Hurricane Irene, the Riverkeeper Patrol Boat, the R. Ian Fletcher, retreated upstate to the Coxsackie area.  The photos in the following slideshow were taken before, during, and after the storm.


For photo captions double click on the image.

Our prayers go out to those affected by the storm, especially boat-owners in upstate New York.

The 4th of July on Patrol

We took these photos as we came southbound from Waterford folllowing the completion of our June water quality patrol. Results from our June patrol will be posted shortly.

Turtles and cormorants at Binnen Kill

Bald (headed) Eagle at Rattlesnake Island

Great Blue Heron at Catskill Point.

A little parade of boats from Hop O Nose Marina at Catskill under the Rip Van Winkle Bridge

Kayak hitchhiker at Four Mile Point

Then 3 guys in a broken down boat at Hudson…towed them to Catskill launch ramp

Folks at Coxsackie

Rip Van Winkle Bridge

The beautiful Hudson showing off this morning…

Frederic Church’s home (on hilltop) in morning ground fog

Winter Work: Starting to Put Her Back Together

Progress on the boat 3/28/11 through 4/10/11

Fourteen weeks in.

Patching and cleaning up sheer strake continues – we use it as a filler job – in between doing other things.

Luke shaping pins to fill old fastener holes in transom framing

Frames are pinned, ready for planking

New end of bottom transom plank finally glued up

Next plank up on transom gets new end glue up as well

This shows both planks with new ends installed

Chris and Luke cutting back plywood deck edge to install hardwood edge

Deck edge cut - detail

Luke shaping and fairing the repairs to side deck faces

Chris and his brother Jimmy glue first piece of hardwood edge on deck at transom

At this point anyone and everyone who knows Chris should be concerned about being forced to work on this job. 

My advice - leave town before he calls. 

No one is safe or exempt.

Except Chris’s sidekick, Toby. He refuses to help in any way...

Winter Repairs: Slow but Steady

Progress on the boat 2/28/11 through 3/12/11

Ten weeks in – slow but steady.

Chris gluing up white oak for new toe rails forward

Detail of glue joint

Steam box

Toe rails need to be steamed to take the bend at bow. Chris built a steam box. Propane fired steam generator is in the white barrel. Steam is fed into a PVC tube and toe rails are inside the tube.

He steamed for 1 ½ hours once temperature was up in the steam box

The inside end of the steam box is inside our tent so the stock can be removed quickly and bent over clamping forms. The wood cools real fast – there’s no time to waste.

Chris and Luke clamping the hot piece in place.
The oak was easy to bend – rubbery. 

There is some anxiety cause by now there is a lot of time invested in these pre-shaped, glued up pieces. If one broke it would be a bad thing.

Success – happy men

Steam bending toe rail on starboard side went well too

Chris in shop

Chris and Luke spent several days repairing small defects and rot patches in the six topside planks we removed earlier.

A couple planks needed new ends scarfed on.
This is aftermost top plank on starboard side.

More rot

We found more rot in plywood inside face of side deck at cockpit, hidden by fiberglass sheathing. We only saw it when we took off the sheer strakes and got to see the back side of the pieces.

Luke milling a step scarf to repair the rot in side deck inside faces

Detail of step scarf

Chris grinding fiberglass sheathing off deck edge forward
after removal of the old toe rails 

We’ll glue down new toe rails and we want a wood to wood joint – not wood to fiberglass.

Winter Repairs: Eight Weeks In

Lots of time in the shop milling.

Some new pieces being dry fit – Happy Day.

Chris removing plank fasteners to then remove rotten transom frame

Out comes the bad frame. Rest in Peace.

Luke Illian, carpenter working with Chris, making new white oak transom frame.

Dry fitting new frame

Repairing split top ends of transom framing. 

Original builders split them with fasteners, should have predrilled.

Luke feeding the planner. Making battens which will become new deck edge.

Finishing a piece of new ceiling stock. 

Luke just breaks the sharp milled edge with a plane.

Checking that cut was “fair”

Fussy Chris…..you’d think he was building the Space Shuttle

Milling yields a bunch of stock ready to fit

And a pile of shavings and sawdust

Luke fitting new ceiling strakes

New ceiling dry fit at transom. 

And you thought we would never start putting things back together.

Now all we need is planking on the outside!