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This is the Thomas J as we first saw her. She was in desperate need of repair. While still seaworthy there was a disturbing amount of corrosion as well as missing paint and damaged woodwork.
As you can see in this close up picture. Her aft section was in a bad way. Thankfully the repairs that were needed were not as extensive as it may appear.
Preparing to be lifted her dead rise stands out against the grey sky.
This is our first time putting her back in the water. Before repairs can begin we needed to sail her nearly 8 hours to her new home on the Chester river. Notice the poor condition of the deck and the absence of a mast.
Now that the ship is floating we are breathing easier. After so much time in dry dock there was some speculation about how well she would sail.
Looking towards the bow as we prepare to sail her out of Georgetown Marina.
Captain Tom and Jarrad take a break from the post launch preperations to pose for the camera.
After her first summer of restoration the Thomas J is coming along famously. With a newly repainted pilot house, new railings and a refurbished aft section she was looking and sailing almost like new. However it was our descission to take the last few weeks of summer and re-plank her bottom. This step was to ensure her hull entegrity and eliminate the numerous water logged and plethy boards below deck. This photo features Tom and Dennis removing the first few boards and beginning our nearly 2 week project.
After the first few boards were removed, the keel and sister keels were in excellent shape. However the chime needed to be replaced for nearly 18 feet.
This picture depicts the efforts of past ship builders to shore up the hull of this sturdy and storied ship. All told we reclaimed 200 pounds of seven inch ship nails. All of the holes were filled with 3/8 inch square dowels.
Here you can see the process buy which we installed the new two inch by ten inch mahogany boards. By bolting with 3/8 by eight inch lags and then using a special marine sealant to ensure that these boards would not leak between the bottom planking and the chime.
Here is Tom Sr. Applying the sealant to one of the boards.
Tom is now preparing to put the final board into place. With the jack at the ready he measures up the space and how they will wrestle the 10 foot plank of Mahogany into place.
With Dennis' help they wedge the board against the keel and then jack it into place where it will be sealed and then lagged onto the frame.
Our finished bottom installed ready to be sanded and have the bolt holes filled.
Notice in this photo the replacement chime bolted into the starboard side, created with five inch by twelve inch mahogany beams.
The new stainless steel rub rails on the bottom and the fresh coat of blue/green paint we applied. The white wash was also reapplied and the deck house and rails were repainted.
With her Jolly Roger in the wind the Thomas J prepares to test the seaworthyness of her new bottom.
After three days of soaking the boards in the newly replaced hull swelled to fill their sixteenth of an inch gaps. This made the hull water tight again. We then unstrapped her and sailed her into a slip for monitoring. After a week of bilge pumping and prayers she was ready to sail again. She is now resting back in her slip at Rolphs' Wharf. Awaiting next seasons wave of restorations.
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