The wood left to dry out in June is ready:
On 2OO2, November the 26th we were at the solar dryer in SAILLAGOUSE:
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A few days before, I got a call from Mr. BAILLES, of
the chamber of trade of
Cerdagne in SAILLAGOUSE, to inform me that the hygrometry in the oak wood
had dropped down from 50 per cent to 10 per cent. The wood was now
completely dry and available for construction.
We came to get it back in this unique solar dryer.
Upon arrival, we made a sad discovery: some vandals had damaged
this fantastic tool during the winter. On the picture, the dryer itself
lies behind the solar panels. |
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You haul
sixteen tons...
After some efforts we hauled the cart that held our five tons of wood on the track. It had been piled in June, by hand. Each board soaked with humidity weighed then between 40 and 8O kilos. The job granted Vincent CANTIE and I with a good night' sleep...
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Our joker... Aware of that, I asked a helping hand from JOEL BARNEDA, who runs a haulage company named JOKER, whom I’d met at the chamber of trade in Perpignan. He did the job in no time and at friendly price! Thank you Joel!
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The crane easy does it , two tons at a time, and the
wood starts it descent from the mountains to the seashore. In
the distance, the summits are already snowy. |
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Mister BAILLES, from the Cerdagne chamber of trade:
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We owe him a lot, and he deserves many thanks. This
modest and efficient man supervised the whole drying operation . He made
it possible to use the traditional local oak wood for the restoration.
Only the additional power consumption will be charged to the association.
The work on the ribs ( enramada) can start in January like planned.
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Meeting with Pierre Du Mouza:
On friday, december the 13th, we met Pierre du Mouza, an old navy fan.
Former
owner of the sardinal “PLUIE DE ROSES”, he was desperately looking for a
mast in order to get along with the
restoration of another ship, the “NOTRE DAME DE LISIEUX”, a “moure de
pouar”, a Marsillian boat.
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Since the
mast of “ideal” had been sewn off by the firemen , he could not be
reused for our purpose. Vincent Cantié and I decided therefore to give
him what was left of the mast. With the help of some planning, it will be
perfectly suitable for the
"NOTRE DAME DE LISIEUX”. |
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It was a very friendly moment. To thank us, Pierre Du Mouza offered us an old postcard where Ideal appears.
The picture has been taken in PALAVAS, probably in the fifties, time when it was owned by Roses, from BARCARES. On the dock is a JUVA 4, AHG2 model, a motor car that dates back to 1945 and was produced till 1960. Ideal bears her rigging, ready to sail. The stern shows the post-war restoration. The “Antenna” is a lot thinner than the one we had. The “orla” is much like it was after the 1996 restoration. The deck is a mess of rigging. The crew is surely nearby. It is a working vessel, and the tank on the deck ensures us that the engine was working at that time.
There
we are, on the day of my holy patron, the restoration has begun. The false
keels or “escuas”, has been removed in order to allow taking down the
dimensions. The boat will be easily tipped down on one side.
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2003, February, the ribs are replaced:
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One
after the other, the ribs are replaced, every either one and carefully.
Good news is that their binding on the keel is in good shape and doesn’t
have to be replaced.
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The
workshop is not very wide, we share it with a small sardine-fishing boat,
whom I'll talk about longer some other time.
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March the 20th., a lack of progress:
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Due
to the peak period for work, our “IDEAL” is on standby. Fishermen and
passenger ship are eager to get security work done before summer. Some
tension outcomes between me and BERNADOU...
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Pierre
SARRAU and his “Mon possible”
I told you I would deliver further information about SARRAU’s boat. Built in 1932 in LESCONIL by the LECOEUR shipyard, this sardine fishing boat, typically Britannian, shares the same dock. He bears a one third sail of 28 square meters. Pierre is a good helping hand when needed.
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The Baudoin engineThis is a picture of the 5hp engine that dates back to 1927, gas powered, which Pierre has found to power his boat. A treasure!
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2003, may the 5th, back to work!
After
a month break, the work has started anew. Despite the delay, Bernadou
claims he will be on schedule. The deck (coberta) has been removed
entirely, and the ribs stripped down up the the stem (roda de proa) and
replaced by new ones. It is a long and painstaking job. |
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Details of the reconstruction: On this picture one can easily see how the ribs are cut on the bias. The side makes a square angle with the boat axis and fits perfectly the planking. Thereby the deck lays down flat on the top. It is the traditional work like we had seen on the Jean et Marie at the Maritime Museum in Barcelona. |
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| restoration p.1 | |
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The catalan maritime patrimony
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