Wooden vessels need a lot of TLC! Dorjun was lovingly restored in the 1990s by Bruce Garman, Ed Louchard, and Steve Chapin of Point Hudson Shipwrights, but she still needs her share of maintenance.
Volunteers and NWMC staff have been busy this winter working on Dorjun. We've logged some of our progress below:
The happy painting crew at work (Gail and Bruce)
Surface Prep....now what color are those floorboards? (click to enlarge--Ace Sprague photo)
The floorboards get a fresh coat of paint with help from Gail, Bruce, Nancy and Casey
Bruce's grandsons Tanner and Casey scrub down the decks
Many hands make light work! A clean Dorjun is eased into the boat shop
In the shop, ready for annual maintenance
Dorjun was de-rigged and hauled out on December 17 to start her winter refit and make some preparations for the Alaska voyage:
Steve Chapin, Bruce Garman, and Sonya lash the gaff to the boom and start labelling and organizing the spaghetti-tangle of running rigging prior to lowering the mast.
Mast lowered via its tabernacle. Steve Chapin ponders the next move....
Refit tasks include modifying the outboard well to accomodate the 4-stroke engine, fixing the starboard cabin/deck joint, some re-wiring, and general maintenance.
The restored Dorjun is to head to Skagway, Alaska in 2016, retracing the route taken by Amos Burg and Roy Pepper in 1936. Their expedition was sponsored by National Geographic with the intention of producing a feature article. Burg likely used some of the material for his 1947 National Geographic article "Endeavour Sails the Inside Passage" (Nat. Geo. 1947:801-828. By Amos Burg)
Bruce Garman (seated, top right) leads the December 2013 planning effort at the Port Townsend Maritime Center