The following 3 minute slide show illustrates the progress of the restoration of the Alma Doepel hull since being raised on the barge. The slide show tarts at 2013 when the Alma Doepel was raised from the water to the significant milestone of completing the framing of the hull in May 2019.
A Framing Out ceremony was held on Thursday 2nd of May, to mark the completion of the framing of the hull of the Alma Doepel. The attendees included the major stakeholders who have provided the necessary purchased or donated goods and services , cash donations or volunteered their time to get the Alma Doepel this far in the restoration effort. Below are photos of the ceremony with the last section of frame being installed, followed by shots showing some of the completed frames.
In the week before Easter many more frames were finished being shaped and then painted. Several planks that had been positioned and fixed earlier ( mid 2017 ) have been removed for further fairing of the frames. This has necessitated the removal of spikes and dumps from the frames. These were cut to remove the planks. The planks will be reinstalled to the same position when the shipwrights have completed the fairing of all the frames.
The bulkheads need to be watertight and sometimes this is difficult. This bulkhead does not align with the appropriate frame and a possible solution is to make a third frame section to butt up against the bulkhead edge or end. Caulking would then be effective in making the frame water-tight.
This bulkhead is better positioned near the frame and will be easier to make water-tight.
When each frame is attached and the fairing begins, each frame is examined and the work required is noted. Below are some examples of the work noted and required on some frames.
All frames are now in place and the shipwrights are beginning the task of fairing the frames to the correct shape. Some sections of frames will need timber planed off them and other areas will need hardwood timber added to give the correct shape. It is a very skilled task to fair the sides of the hull symmetrically.
In the foreground of this photo is a frame that has been laminated with the laminates vertically aligned. The last 4 or 5 stern frames have been made this way – easier to accommodate the double curved shape required.
Photos below show close – up some of the last frames installed.
