CANADA’S COMMERCIAL MARINE MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 WESTERNMARINER.COM 33squirrelly grain relegated to the bot-
tom of the pile. Patterns were shaped
and used for all curved sections, also
to lay out and machine scarfs and
joints, allowing simple and accurate
replication. A work station with a 20-
foot table-width bench was set up under the covered aft deck, allowing
90 percent of the machining to be completed without carrying the rails
around the ship, with only final fitting requiring adjacent sections to be
moved into place.
Although essentially applied to flat, existing steel bulwarks, the cap
rails had to accommodate 14 side deck stanchions, numerous cleats, sub-
tle irregularities in the steelwork, and interesting changes in plane in the
forward main deck sections. Rail lengths were scarfed together at the stan-
chions wherever possible. Elsewhere, nibbed scarfs were fashioned and
through-bolted with 5/16" stainless readyrod. The sections were sanded
and 95 percent prefinished with Le Tonkinois varnish prior to installation.
Scarfs were glued with epoxy and the rails bedded in Sikaflex 291 and bolt-
ed to the steel bulwark with 3/8" stainless carriage bolts.
Remaining Khaya mahogany provided material to fashion complementa-
ry exterior woodwork including three carved name boards (with two main
boards measuring almost 10' long by 14") and hailing port (photo middle,
right). Finishing exterior touches included a solid step/seat with teak treads
for the hot tub deck, a base for the tub, and several backing pieces.
Interior tasks included a new bookshelf built into the salon’s entertain-
ment centre, shelves and an emergency systems panel enclosure in the
wheelhouse (photo right), countertop fiddles and a corner cabinet in the
salon and wet bar, plus miscellaneous trim. The challenge in these areas
was to match the appearance of the existing aged Kauri interior (Kauri is a
protected wood and not exported from New Zealand), which was done us-
ing Eastern Birch and a custom-formulated stain from Schenk’s Furniture
in Victoria. –S.H./Keith BattersbyPHOTOS COURTESY BATTERSBY WOODENBOATS