The 86-foot tall mast of “America’s Environmental Flagship,” the sloop Clearwater, will be removed as part of a more than $2 million restoration underway.
The tall ship has sailed for 37 years without a comprehensive overhaul. Today’s removal – or “unstepping of the mast” – is necessary to the sloop’s ongoing, comprehensive restoration which began in 2001 and will continue through 2008. The mast must be removed – or “unstepped” – to give unrestricted access to the foredeck, slated for replacement this winter. Activity and traffic on the boat, plus deterioration from sun, water and wind, have worn away one-half inch to three-quarters of an inch of the thickness of the foredeck’s planks, leaving a gouged and uneven surface no longer suitable for passengers and weakening the boat’s structural “girder”.
Replacing the deck will cost more than $150,000 for labor and materials. Together with replacement of the sloop’s old “standing rigging” (the metal cabling that supports the mast), deteriorated hull planking and electrical and plumbing systems, this winter’s restoration projects alone will require nearly $300,000.To date, the aft deck, cabin top, boom, sails and propeller shaft have been replaced, as have a number of planks and frames. The boat’s restoration will culminate in 2008 during a six-month haulout to replace major hull components, including sections of the keel, transom and stem.
Of the $2 million needed for restoration, more than $700,000 has been raised, including a $300,000 grant from The Dyson Foundation. Built in 1969 for less than $250,000, a brand-new Clearwater would cost between $3 million and $4 million now. Neither the historic skills nor boat-building grades of wood and other materials are as readily available as they once commonly were.
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