Update on the Irving Johson

[Rumba Rue]

From Jamica Rose (PRP) and Claire Warren (Tales of the Seven Seas)

Everyone, below is an email I recieved from Allen Rawl, the master

shipbuilder who built the Irving Johnson, which recently ran aground and was rescued in southern CA. He gives us a detailed update on the condition of the ship and includes photographs. - Claire

From: "Allen Rawl"

To: >Subject: IRVING JOHNSON-GROUNDING UPDATE-4-15-05

Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 14:20:23 -0700

Et-al,

Last weekend, I rode to Ventura and checked out the damage inflicted upon

IRVING JOHNSON as a result of recent grounding. Two planks were removed port-side forward exposing some of the stem assembly.

The gripe, at the forefoot, was completely ground away by the apparent

pounding on the rock jetty the first day or two. This left the bronze

bolts hanging out there and as Providence would have it, she continued pounding her bow on the rocks and the bolts were “clinched over”, as one would clinch a nail, which “re-fastened” the bow assembly keeping it together. Although the stem was taken away nearly back to the rabbet, none of the hull planks let go—quite surprising. The only holes in the hull are two punctures forward where the rocks eventually punched-in a plank or two, between the frames, causing a leak. The forward-most piece of the lead ballast keel was disfigured and actually bent laterally, which will need to be removed and straightened.

When IRVING turned stern-to the rocks, her rudder was damaged considerably but can be easily repaired. The after-piece of the false-keel, just aft of the lead ballast keel was damaged and will need repairs or replacement.

Later in the episode, she was beam-to the sea swell, leaving her

port-side, at the turn of the bilge resting in the sand. This part of her hull is merely cleaned to the point where no further sanding will be necessary before painting her bottom. When the salvage crew arrived on site, they pumped her out to look at her hull from the inside then quickly had to pump water back into her hold, because she was not taking on water fast enough to keep her down in the sand so she wouldn’t continue pounding until they drug her off.

There is no damage to her spars or rig, except for the bob-stay, which was broken when one of the two lines was wrongly lead during the first attempt to pull her off, and some of the chainplates show signs of cracking near the head, which will be cause to remove all of them and have the weld there reinforced.

The folks at Channel Island Harbor say that the shoal there is notorious

for moving radically in a very short period of time and that IRVING is the

first wooden boat to survive a grounding there for more than a day.

As one local reported put it: there was “128 long tons---displaced” for

3-1/2 days.

Allen

Photos:Irving Johnson

Rumba Rue

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[Duncan McGuyver]

Thanks for the update and the amazing pictures

[Sealegs Constance]

Rumba lass I be thankin ye fer the update, and the pictures. :)