News from Cygnet Wooden Boats April 18, 2021 at 09:34AM

UIRA UPDATE NO 17. Where did the summer go? Last update I mentioned that we have been busy, well to say the least, we have been busier! In between the Australia Wooden Boat Festival Trail and a wee refit on SKOMER Matt, Jeremy and Lefke managed to spend time on UIRA. Along with more painting by Lefke, Matt has been busy making and fitting copper rods to secure the timber floors to the hull while Jeremy has been adding more interior trim pieces. The exposed parts of the keel and stem were damaged over time by worm strikes and hard knocks so Matt and Jeremy have been removing and replacing the exposed parts of the stem and deadwood and beginning the process of fairing the new outer planking into the keel and stem. To carry the 4.5 tons of lead ballast that hangs under the keel timber the builders used huge Pohutukawa wooden floors to do the job. While the wooden floors worked well there is an inherent weakness in this area, so to strengthen this part of her structure other restorers have added extra wooden floors. With UIRA'S sole being already crowded with these large wooden floors, Jeremy decided on a less intrusive solution and use cast bronze floors that will sit beside the wooden floors.They are now cast and polished and ready to be fitted! With taking part in the Australian Wooden Boat Festival Maritime Trail, we took the chance to clean up the shed and assemble UIRA'S finished parts to allow the visitors a view of what the finished boat will look like. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking!