COLIN ARCHER:

CHRISTIANIA 46 FT  |  SKILLS: woodworking, hull planking, laminating, engineering   |  PROJECT DURATION: 6 months

This traditionally constructed vessel was built in the 1960’s. It sailed to NZ in 2009 and came to us for an extensive refit. A large section of the refit involved the rebuilding of the stem and bow section of the vessel due to 'nail sickness' - an issue caused by fresh water sitting around iron fastenings that results in timber decay. Brin Wilson repaired the areas using both traditional methods combined with modern repair methods that enabled us to reduce the size of the area and the lengths of the replaced planks. The timbers used in this repair were New Zealand Kauri and an African hardwood called Iroko. The seams were caulked and puttied in the traditional manner to keep the style of the vessel.
Other parts of the refit included structural repairs to the engine room, a complete refit in the engine room including the replacement of the engine.