What has the crew of the PICTON CASTLE been doing in Lunenburg lately?
As we wait for the ship to come off the drydock in Shelburne. She has been stuck up there since last fall on November 1 or so. Should be back in the water soon, though. We think.
We have two gangs of crew going here – one is at the ship with Dirk, and one here in Lunenburg with Dustin. While the gang onboard have been doing good things with their time, we have been pretty busy at our wharf and warehouse at 174 Bluenose Drive here in Da Burg. Our gang of stalwarts have been steady at a range of projects. Lots of good sailorizing jobs and lately plenty of stacking of fire-wood and snow shoveling. Winter came to Nova Scotia, even as other places are contemplating its gradual end.
Here is something of a list of things going on.
Rope. We have picked our new rope order from Rainbow Net & Rigging in Dartmouth. All new manila as is our way, and all very good quality too. Same stuff as the Canadian Navy uses. Enough to replace all the running rigging on the ship as needed. Some hundreds of pounds and a whole bunch (29) of big coils. From 3/8” to 1” thick. We have plenty of rope already on board too. When a ‘rope’ comes off the coiled and gets made into a piece of useful gear it becomes a ‘line’.
Baggywrinkle. The gang has been making baggywrinkle. This stuff with the funny name is chafe gear that gets made of short pieces of rope on marline or twin and then goes aloft and get passed around stays in critical spots so the sails do not wear out or wear through against these hard wires. We have a special way of making it particularly nice.
The Capstan. With the savvy wisdom and skill of our master metal worker over in Dublin Shore, Jacob Frank, we have repaired our excellent old HYDE No. 6 Capstan. Straight out of the ‘age-of-sail’, this capstan was still in its crate when we got it from the Topsail Schooner SHENANDOAH years ago. It had been destined to go on the focsle of a sailing ship (or a corner of a barge, truth be told) when it came to this bark a generation ago. So now we are loving up the new base so it lasts a very long time. Lots of wire brushing and coats of epoxy where the sun don’t shine, but seawater can get in. Need to make a new wooden base for it and bolt it down again on the focsle head. We warp the ship and haul down the tack of the foresail – and send up light yards as well. Must have a nice capstan!
The Skiff. This seaworthy work horse is getting a little more attention since we have all this the time. She was all done and ready for hoisting last October, but now getting a little extra good job done on her. Over in Plant 2 of the Dory Shop with the wood stove cranked up getting all cosmetically sweetened up. A 20’ long fiberglass Cape Islander, this boat is pretty heavy and is very seaworthy. And has an enormous capacity to carry a load. This craft makes a superb rescue boat as well as general utility craft.
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Boat building. A couple of the Lunenburg crew have been nearby over in The Dory Shop www.doryshop.com learning wooden boat building under the ever-patient Morgan. Morgan has a couple of small -Little Sister- dories on the go. These guys get the fire going in the morning to warm up the old ‘fish store’ and hopefully they help keep the place swept up too at days end. But they are getting a deep dive into the idea of turning trees into boats by the medium of the wooden plank.
But, wait there’s more! Coming anyway. Stay tuned and watch this space. This is a two part, three part story.