Irene Rebuild                                          

23rd November 2005  

An Exercise in Trunelling.

Trunells, the original word is tree nail, have been used in boat building, oak frames, barns, you name it for many centuries. A trunell is essentially a dowel with a difference in that it has a cut top and bottom in to which a wedge is placed and hammered home, thus making it a secure fastening. With age however trunells can work loose and with marine engines came vibration and trunell fastened ships that had sailed successfully for many years suddenly lost planking and fell to bits. Iron had in any case taken over much of the fastening on board vessels both in the way of bolts, rivets, bends and knees. The trouble with Irene’s fastenings is that they are one hundred years old, many are waisted, insecure and allowed too much movement when the planks are working. Worst of all they wept copious streams of rust all over her beautiful paintwork. 

We decided to go back to the concept of trunells but using epoxy to ensure they couldn’t vibrate loose. From all our oak slabs that were converted into frames there was as you may imagine, a mountain of off-cuts, a lot of it straight grained and knot free. The oak is cut into 1¼” by 1¼” and a length ½” more than the hole it has to fill. 

Centering

The lathe is used to turn the square into an accurate 1” diameter peg and a bandsaw used to cut a slit one in each end and in line.

In the Lathe

Quick & easy but not to be recommended

 The trunell is then hammered through a 1” former to ensure its passage accurately. A belt sander can take away the leading harris making it easier for the trunell to be driven through a 26 millimetre hole therefore a slight fraction wider than the pin.

Mark marks the spot

 Hole and pin are both coated with epoxy and the trunell driven through until it is 1/8” to ¼” below the surface of the outside wood. 

Generous with the epoxy

The wedge slit must be at right angles to the grain otherwise there is danger not only of splitting the planking but also the trunell becoming loose. 

Hammering home

With wedges hammered home the planking is solidly secured to the frame. When the epoxy is cured the protruding part of the trunell can be sawn, chiselled and sanded away.

HOW CAN I HELP?

It is clear that her rebuild is going to be a very expensive enterprise and we are therefore on the scrounge for help, financial or otherwise.  In addition because of the tax situation at this end, we have to demonstrate that Irene has an income, however small despite the disablement.  All ideas are welcome - one, which I think has mileage is the idea of purchasing “futures” in sailing time. 
We propose a price of £60 for day sailing to include food and a modicum of booze.  Or £100 for 24hr berth.
These can then be used separately or together, wherever and whenever Irene is sailing.  We plan to be mobile before her 99^th birthday, though my guess is that we will still be primitive at that stage.

First sail after rebuild and 100^th anniversary sail should be very special and we plan to deal with those on first come first serve.

23rd November 2005 (Update) 

You can join “Friends of Irene”.

This is an august body founded in November 2005 and wishing to include all those many friends of Irene scattered across the globe. You join by “owning” a bit of Irene. You buy a plank at the cost of £10 (more if you feel generous) and for that you get your initials discreetly carved into the fabric of Irene. There will inevitably be initials hidden by construction but we propose to replicate the initials on the beam above. You will also have your full name in the beautiful leather bound book with a reference to which plank you have sponsored and where your initials are carved. For the keen to be involved you are welcome to come and carve your own but if you do, bring your working clothes because you wont be allowed off the ship until you have contributed some labour or expertise in the drive to restore the old girl.

As a “Friend of Irene” you will have priority in booking a berth. You will also receive an invitation to have a birthday dinner on board on the 29th May each year – location wherever Irene is. “Friends of Irene” too will get preferential treatment should they want a shore side event, party, conference, exhibition, promotion for your firm, wedding anniversary to prove to your wife that you hadn’t forgotten. You can arrange photographs up in the rigging or dangling from a bosun’s chair. Any other ideas are welcome. But don’t be selfish about the plank it is a perfect Christmas present – buy one for your Mrs, another for your children and don’t forget the mother-in-law. We undertake to attach a piece of holly this Christmas to every plank bought as a Christmas present – photograph to follow.

We propose to have sweatshirts and t-shirts with the Irene logo plus FOI but I suspect there is a better name than “Friends of Irene”. In Latin it would be, I think, Amici Irenae, much too pompous. Or, you could be honorary mates in an organisation called “Mates of Irene” and HMI on your logo. I am sure there are better ideas out there somewhere. 

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“I want sincerely to thank so many who have wished us well. So many who have contributed time, labour, money, discount. Perhaps the most important message that I have personally experienced from Irene’s rebuild is that there are so many good people around. People who are generous in thought and in deed and who simply restore for me the rather battered image of mankind that we receive from the media. 

Thank you all.”

Leslie Morrish