Ester’s deck is made of 16mm mahogany. We’ve measured what was left of the original deck and looked at marks on the remaining components that give us an indication of the original thickness and copied that. This is quite thin for 50’ deck and does not offer a great deal of rigidity. For this reason, the deck beams are placed every 250mm and are supported by the diagonal bracing (fakverk) previously written about. Many thanks to Leif Wikberg for the gallery below. The boards used for …
Blog
The Keel
Ester is keeping her original fin keel. It is made from an iron fin with a lead bulb, presumably cast onto the bottom of the iron fin. The plate that makes this 'fin' is then bolted into a pair of stainless angle irons, fitted to the hull. The pair of angle irons is bolted through to oak floor timbers that span the flatter sections of the boat. The bolts used to fasten the plate to the angle irons were made for Ester. A special drill was also made for the rebated holes. Thanks to …
Decking, Engine Beds and Sunshine
The team to continue to work on the deck, installing the engine beds and then the engine. One hears that the summer in Örnsköldsvik has been beautiful and warm. Bo even felt it necessary to express how bored he was of the sky being so blue everyday. Leif Wikberg has been a regular presence in the boat shed. Leif and filmmaker Jan Dufva have been working on a larger project involving the Ester. One of the by-products of this work is these beautiful images we've been given …
The Coverboards and Deck
Since the most recent post, the team has been working on the sheer line, the deck and some of the preparations for later installations, such as the rigging. The engine has also arrived. The internal hard points, perhaps we could call them chain plates, for the shrouds have been welded up and bolted to the frames. A metal load bearing beam has been bolted to the underside of the deck to keep the shroud positions athwart-ships. The cleats or noggins that run the full length of the deck planks …
Steamed Oak Ribs
September 2017 - Steamed Ribs Having sanded and oiled the inside of the hull planking, we now begin to prepare the oak to steam into shape. We collected the oak from a sawmill near Gothenburg called AB Werner Abrahamsson Trävaruaffär. Having driven it back to the shed in a trailer, we assessed the timber, marked up what lengths we could get and the best line to split the planks on. One straight cut allows us to rive more lengths from both sides, staying parallel with the grain. These …
A look back
Since migrating to our new website, we’ve collated the posts and information from the old site so we can present it on the new. This post is designed to bring the older images and events in to our current narrative. June 2015 – The salvage team, with the help of MTB Dyk, have discovered Ester at a depth of 60 metres. The vessel lies on the seabed waiting for the diver to prepare the lifting cradle. Video communication allows the team to observe events at the bottom. Strops are secured and …