lumber ports
The stern view shows the lumber ports. HAER CA-61, sheet 14
Through most of the length of the hull, the new upper futtocks could be joined to sound existing lower timbers. We had to remove most of the inner ceiling planking in order to get at these lower frame timbers. This “thin ceiling,” below the turn of the bilge, was 4 inches thick. For the most part, it was not in bad condition, but had to be sacrificed. We preferred to cut out the thin ceiling rather than the outer bottom planking. The thick upper ceiling planking, running through the turn of the
bilge and up to just under the main deck, was temporarily left in place during the re-framing process to serve as a pattern for the hull shape. It was entirely rotten, however, and was eventually replaced. It was only in the ends of the hull that the lower sections of the framing timbers were rotten and had to be replaced. Over the years, fresh water had sometimes pooled in these sections and rot had taken hold. We ended up removing and replacing the bottom timbers of the last four full frames in both the bow and the stern. To do this, we had to remove portions of the lowest strake of bottom planking — the garboard strake — and sections of lower sister keelson timbers fore and aft. Dealing with the keelsons proved a tricky proposition. Six keelson timbers, each about 18 inches square, run down the centerline of the hold, strongly fastened with steel drift rods to the upper surfaces of the frame timbers. This stack of heavy timbers is a vital strength mem-
After the station frames were in place, the long and repetitive process of wrecking out and replacing the intervening frames got underway. It would be the work of many months. The new frame sections butt into the original floors and first futtock behind the retained original bottom planking. 2004-06-30(8)
Frame Timbers The Thayer’s frame timbers, like those of almost all traditionally built wooden ships, are double-sawn. Each frame is built up of pairs of individual timbers called futtocks. Each futtock is sawn out of 10-inch thick, straight-grained material. Each frame is two layers of 10-inch futtocks, or 20 inches thick fore and aft. The futtocks are arranged so that the joints, or butts, in one layer lie midway in the solid span of its framemate. The butts are simple right angle joints. The whole structure is firmly tied together with wooden dowels, or trunnels, driven tight through the full 20-inch thickness of the finished frame. In original construction, a full frame was fastened together on a flat floor and then lifted in place as a unit. In repair work, like the Thayer job, the futtocks of the standing frames must be replaced individually, and the process is very laborious indeed.
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