Team Carpentry got a new member this week! Drew, a shipwright who’s worked with Niagara for years, arrived from Seattle to help us rebuild the waterway timber and wrap up some other winter projects. As of today, we’re still in the “making splinters and breaking things” stage of rebuilding, but we’re making good progress. The foredeck is looking more deck-like, too–we’ve reinstalled six planks so far.
Meanwhile, out on the plaza, we’re building a little house to protect the foremast and bowsprit while they get painted and repaired. (As the captain pointed out, at certain stages in the process our frames looked suspiciously like an upside-down boat. Like Adam says: we can build you anything you want, as long as it’s ship-shaped.)
The rig shop crew is making good progress, too. For months now, they’ve been working through pallet after pallet of blocks, lines, and assorted rigging, but the end is finally in sight–they’re almost finished with the pallets. That’s definitely not the end of winter maintenance, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.
Note: Our next sail training day is Saturday, March 11! If you’re new to our sail training program, you can email volunteer@flagshipniagara.org to talk to our second mate, Chris, about getting involved.