Greetings from Sailing Barge 'Thalatta'
Hello, thank you for supporting my restoration.
I thought you might like to know what I have been up to since you helped to raise so much money for me at the start of this important project.
Well, as you know, at first it was intended to just replace my outer planking and the worst of my frames.
Unfortunately it soon became apparent that most of these frames were rotted beyond repair and Andy and the boys at the St. Osyth Boatyard had more to do than was first thought!
In fact it as found that only my 'floors', that is the bottom cross-pieces of my frames, were useable.
The straight oak for my frames was easily found but the special shapes required for the curved frames was more difficult to obtain. The grain of the wood must follow the shape, not cut across it, if the timber is to be strong enough for the job.
Eventually the right shaped oak was found in forests in Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk .
For some of the timber Andy had to go into the forests himself with a chainsaw and cut the pieces of timber he needed to make the knees. Fortunately the trees had already been felled so he did not have to climb up and cut them off the tops.
Some of the other timber has had to be imported from overseas.
At the beginning of this year I suffered a bit of a setback when it was discovered that my hardworking deck beams were badly rotted at the ends where they join the hull and need replacing. Sadly this means that I will be out of the water a little longer and the work will cost quite a lot more.
We barges are always looking on the positive side however, and this means that I should not need any more work done for a long time. (Some people might say that I will be even better than new when I'm finished! Blush)
How times have changed since I was built 100 years ago. Then there were many shipyards producing barges and other vessels, often in the open. Not so easy today!
A special quay had to be constructed to hold the timber for my rebuild and a pontoon was converted to a dry-dock for me to sit in. Then a polythene 'greenhouse' was erected over me to allow the work to be carried out in the dry regardless of the weather.
Other things have changed as well. The long spikes (some 9 inches long) used to secure my planking can only be procured from a firm in Glasgow and the bolts have to be specially made to order. Obtaining some of the materials has not been very easy.
The curved planking is no longer steamed to shape in a long box and then manhandled into position. Nowadays a polythene bag is used to contain the steam as the plank is shaped while it is fitted into place. Some planks are 30 feet long and take some careful handling even so.
In July/August last year I looked (and felt) very sad as I was slowly taken apart. Now I'm much happier as with all my new bits I am starting to look more like a barge again. I am told that if there are no more problems, I should be back in the water sometime in 2009.
Fortunately the Heritage Lottery Fund has been very supportive in this project and the Trust is most grateful to them.
Thank you so much for every thing that has been done so far to help me back to life.
Please do keep in touch and help by making generous contributions towards the cost of the Project.
'Thalatta'
November 2007
East Coast Sail Trust
6 Wellington Road
Maldon
Essex CM9 6HL
Website: www.thalatta.org.uk
- See the entry for Thalatta in the National Register of Historic Vessels