One small step for sailing, One giant leap for the Great Lakes. (The hole has been pluged!)

Just one year ago the Tamarack was almost sold for scrap. I can report today that Mike Litwatis has finished welding the new steel plates in the hull and installed the aft mast supports. The Tamarack has been saved from the scarp yard an is one step closer to setting sail.

(Picture: The aft mast support lowered in place with hi-lo while Mike guides it.)

Now the real works begin. After we finish priming the new steel and the remainder of the hull and cabin, the cabin floor has to be reconstructed using the original floor boards. We will examine the floor boards and add new wood as needed.

While one crew works on the interior, the small project team will continue with refinishing the bowsprit, helm pedestal and wheel.

 (Right: Midshipman Sawruk is reconstructing the navigation cradle. It will be finished with oak)

(Above: Mike and Sawruk putting the finishing touches on the mast support beam)

Tamarack Project weekly update 11/19/10

The hull is alomst completed. Mike the welder has welded in 2 steel plates on either side of the keel approx. 8' long x 36" wide. As seen below.

Primer is almost complete on the hull of the boat.  Midshipman Sawruk and Cadets Zimmer and Nelson (shown in picture) are part of the team priming the boat along with Cadets Sheilds and Bradley.

Headed up by Midshipman Sawruk, the "Structure Task Force" will start priming the cabin exterior and deck. Once the priming is complete, they will begin the challenging job of constructing a new cabin top.  The top will be built with 3/4" marine plywood. it will be approx. 15' long and 7' wide and will need to be convex to allow water to run off of it.

The engine team headed up by Mr. Ratinaud and cadet Ratinaud have rebuilt the started for the 2 cylinder Volvo diesel engine. The engine has been inspected and looks clean. The team will attempt to start the engine once they install the starter motor.

The Finish Trim Team includes Mr. Bardley and Navy League Cadet Bradley.  Their many focus at this stage will be to re-build the Captains Steering Pedistal and refinish the bowsprit and area around the bowsprit.

The interior team is still being assembled.  The first task they will have is to reconstruct the floor using the floor that was removed and adding to it as needed.

The immediate goal is to have the "Tamarack" water ready by June 2011.  This includes paint on the hull and deck, A cabin top, Working Engine, Cabin floor and all the equipment for navigation and safety as we see fit.

LAUNCH DATE JUNE 2011:

Work on the Hull begins

The entire rebuilding project of the "Tamarack" is based on the hull and how deterated the steel is and if we have the knowledge and equipment to repair it. It would be a shame if we did a quick patch job on the hull and put the hours and dollars into the boat to find out later probably in not favorable conditions that the hull is not holding up to the strain and stress of a sail boat. Both masts are connected to the hull so when your under sail all the force is being pushed onto the hull.

Glen Rowe (father of Cadet Rowe) hired Testing Engineers & Consultants (TEC) to conduct in-depth testing on the thickness of the hull.



The picture above shows Marvin from TEC performing his steel integrity test and writing the different thickness on the hull.

In the picture below is circled in red the area's which needs new steel. On either side of the keel going up the hull about 3 feet and probably about 6 feet long.

Tony Morris from TEC is willing to weld in the new steel if we can have the bad steel cut out and bring in new steel cut to size. Another thought Tony had is to just run new steel over the old and bondo the edges so it is flush with the rest of the hull.  I e-mailed Thomas Colvin (the designer of the Tamarack) to get his input on what the correct fix should be.

Below is his response:
        
          "Adrian,

The original thickness of the plating was supposed to be 10 ga. steel which is .1345" thick. However mill tolerance range is .1425" to .1265". In practice it is seldom to these extremes. As a builder when I ordered steel I required that the steel be of the nominal thickness or + and would never accept a -. There can be a slight variation from mill to mill and also in a particular run of plate from the same mill. Since wwll the variation from .1345" by different large mills has been negligible. About 10 years ago I did get a shipment of 5 tons of under thickness and rejected it. I never did get my money back as in the fine print it stated that all orders are shipped by weight.


Your questions.


In my yard a plate that had worn either by erosion or rusting that had lost more than 6% of it's thickness would be replaced especially if it were along the keel. If it were a small spot or pit surrounded by sound metal we would add sufficient weld metal and grind it smooth.


Running a strip of metal over the old metal is at best only a temporary repair as it will be destroyed by the plate you are covering up. That is like placing good wood over rotten wood and thinking that it is as good as new.


Rebuilding is a tedious and time consuming task of removing the bad material and prepping the structure for the new material. The time required is several times more than the actual repair. As for bondo it has been used in marine applications some times with success but it was not developed for this purpose. The feather edges seem to present the greatest problems.


Regards,


Tom Colvin"

We started to remove the old steel with a metal cutting saw to prepare for new steel.

Clink on link below to view video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDhvHOEYBwQ

Thomas Colvin design saved from the scrap yard

The real work began in January 2009 when the Sea cadets suited up in their hasmat suites, respirators, and goggles. The enormous job of striping the layers of paint down to bare metal began.

After the entire boat above the water line has been sanded and ground down to bare metal, the sand blasting began on the hull. Through 2009, the progress was slow and sparse as the diving season began aboard the "Pride of Michigan"

An examination of the hull discovered that the metal along the bilge was badly rusted. Conducting a scientific steel strength test with a hammer confirmed it as the hammer went through the steel with ease.

The project went from a fairly simple repaint job to a possible rebuilding of the hull. The morale among the Cadets and Dads dwindled as this project started to become over whelming at the surface with welding new steel in the most crucial area of the boat. With no budget and lack of experience to make the Tamarack sea worthy, the only option was to sell the hull as is or sell the steel for scrap.

After an attempt to sell it on Craig's List without any reasonable offers, It was decided by a few of us visionaries who had great imagination to take on the project as time and money would permit. The Tamarack's classic Thomas Colvin design deserves to set sail once again.

Glen Rowe who has a daughter in the Great lakes division stepped forward with two employees from his business with diverse mechanical backgrounds and an experienced welder.

The first task was to pull the engine, exhaust, drive shaft and water tank to get a clear view of any bad hidden spots that need attention. Jesus and Marco started on 2/4/2010 disconnecting the engine. By the end of the day, they had removed the engine, exhaust and drive shaft. The metal was in bad shape with flaking and thinning as thought.

The next step is to sand blast the entire cabin to expose all of the bad steel. To eliminate the sand covering the entire shop we decided to build a floor to ceiling dust curtain. Using old pallets, steel rods and a roll of fabric we had, Jesus and Marco used their ingenuity and began construction.

With our tight budget I had them collect the used sand from the floor, run it through a screen to separate large Derbies from the good sand and re-use it. The clouds of dust through out the shop grew thicker and it became apparent that we were blasting not only sand, but fine paint, metal and any other dust mixed in with the sand. By the second day, I broke down and bought another 800 pounds of sand.

Jesus and Marco after a long dirty day of sandblasting

History of the "Tamarack"

The United States Naval Sea Cadet Corp Great Lakes Division began the restoration project of the "Tamarack" in December 2008. The "Tamarack"is a 40' Schooner designed by Thomas Colvin in 1968. This one of kind steel hulled schooner was built by Cliff Richardson Boats LTD. in Medford, Ontario for Wilfred & Margaret Greaves. Mr. Greaves passed away in January 1971 after spending several years completing their dream boat for themselves and children. The boat was put on dry dock shorty after his death were it sat for 20 years.

(Above December 23, 2008 - "Tamarack pulled from the ice)

George Perrin of St. Clair Shores, MI. drove by the Greaves Residence in Pontiac, MI and saw the "Tamarack" on blocks with the wear and tear of mother nature taking her toll on the ship for the past 20 years. Mr Perrin purchased the "Tamarack" in June of 1993 were he spent the next four months restoring her. In 2001, Mr. Perrin donated the boat to the Sea Cadets were it was moored next to the "Pride of Michigan" until it was pulled from the icy waters in December 23rd 2008. She was trucked to my shop in Warren were the restoration project began.

(The "Tamarack on dry dock in Warren Michigan.)


L. Adrian Allen