Boat Repair Workshop

Cache Seel practicing plank caulking.

For the last couple weeks, Brian has been teaching basic wooden boat repair skills at Kodiak College, using the Thelma C as the main teaching tool. A group of very enthusiastic volunteers has been coming to the College woodworking shop on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and Saturdays from 10-2 to learn planking lay out, caulking, and other such wooden boat building skills. The volunteers have also been invaluable in chopping out the ice that had accumulated in the boat shed and cleaning up the rottern timbers, planks, and plywood debris generated by the boatwork itself.





Suzanne Bobo working under the wheelhouse

Much of the work so far has involved tearing out rotten hull and deck timbers and planking around the wheelhouse and replacing them with new wood. To accomplish this, the wheelhouse was jacked up and secured to the hull with temporary timbers while the decking around and under it was torn out and replaced.



The deck around the wheelhouse has now been almost completely replaced and new ribs and planking have been installed around the bow.