# Mayflower II white oak



## Terry Conners (Aug 10, 2014)

David Keller (DKMD) asked me about the woodworking that do, and I had to confess that I've too little time for my shop. Here's a woodworking project I'm involved with that's a wee teensy bit bigger than anything I've been involved with before - the renovation of the Mayflower II!

Here's the back story, and I hope I've got the details right: the Mayflower II (a replica, as best as can be fashioned, of the original Mayflower tnat brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth) was made in Britain and sailed to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1958. Two different groups had started thinking of this at about the same time, one on each side of the Atlantic. In the end, it was brought over and given to the American people as a gesture of thanks for all we did to help the UK in WW II. The ship was made of English white oak, and the ship wright's in Massachusetts who keep this ship alive told me that the decks were originally washed down with salt water and that there used to be nets containing salt in between the inner and outer hulls. At some point, fresh water washing became the norm and the salt between the hulls was apparently not replenished. Imagine what happens to wood in a warm, wet environment and you'll have an idea about what happened to the Mayflower II. It has suffered serious decay, and timbers and planks need to be replaced.

My family is from Plymouth (we aren't related to Pilgrim families, we're latecomers), so when I heard that the ship needed timber I started to look for it. Both planks and futtocks were needed for the hull (futtocks are the curved timbers that form tne shape of the hull. They have to be cut from trees with natural sweep, otherwise they'll be too weak.) The shipwrights found the wood for the futtocks, and I called all over the US and found wood in Georgia for planking that was sent to Massachusetts last year. This wood was enough for 30 planks but we need 30 more. Each plank must be about 30 feet long and a foot wide by three and one half inches thick - and mostly clear on one side, with only small knots, and the back side has to be almost as nice. This past spring, with the help of Clint Patterson, the forester at Berea College in Berea, KY, we identified about 10 large white oaks that might work for planking, and we assembled a team that included Erie Tebeau a sawyer from Ohio with a Lucas mill (the Lucas mill people helped us out by selling us extensions so Erie could cut 32' logs, Holger Groessler, a German-born and -trained wood and veneer specialist who cuts KY trees for his main business, a couple of other saw miller's who volunteered their time, Bobcats, chainsaws, etc., and a host of hangers-on that included me! Holger cut two trees and Ernie sawed them, and we photographed and video'ed the heck out of what we had so we could send pics to Plimoth Plantation (the ship's owners), and the ship wright's at Fairhaven Shipyard in SE Massachusetts. I'll post a Dropbox link when I can so you can see what we did.

We're going back to cut the rest in a month or two, and the head shipwright will be joining us to make sure he gets what he's looking for.

Meanwhile - we aren't sure that we have enough white oak that's big enough for this project - and there's more renovation to come! If anyone knows of some large white oak that might be available, please get back to me. (Sure, you can make a donation - but that's not the expectation! Berea College is recouping its expenses for this project, everyone's getting good paid, for example.)

Reactions: Way Cool 5


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## Kevin (Aug 10, 2014)

Terry, did you get those futtocks from Steve Cross? He has cut large timbers for tall ship restorations including the futtocks for the restoration of the San Salvador going on in San Diego. I can put you in touch with him.


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## Terry Conners (Aug 10, 2014)

Kevin said:


> Terry, did you get those futtocks from Steve Cross? He has cut large timbers for tall ship restorations including the futtocks for the restoration of the San Salvador going on in San Diego. I can put you in touch with him.


That's right, I did! Steve's got quite the sawmill, doesn't he? All home-brewed, I think there's even parts of a forklift in there, way up high. If you've never seen it, he's got videos up on YouTube.


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## Kevin (Aug 10, 2014)

I know Steve well. He must have ran out of big logs because I never knew Steve not to finish a job if he was treated fairly. What happened?


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## Terry Conners (Aug 10, 2014)

Kevin said:


> I know Steve well. He must have ran out of big logs because I never knew Steve not to finish a job if he was treated fairly. What happened?


Actually I'm not sure. I know that Steve supplied what he agreed to, but I'm out of the loop - appropriately! - on arrangements once the introductions get made. The price of freighting wood from GA might have been a factor but that's 100% guessing.


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## Terry Conners (Aug 10, 2014)

Next time you see Steve, tell him Hello! from me.


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## Kevin (Aug 10, 2014)

Of course he supplied what he agreed to. That's who, and what, he is.


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## Kevin (Aug 10, 2014)

Terry Conners said:


> Next time you see Steve, tell him Hello! from me.



Tell him yourself.


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## barry richardson (Aug 10, 2014)

Good stuff Terry, looking forward to the pictures....


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## DKMD (Aug 11, 2014)

Sounds like an interesting project! I'm looking forward to seeing the photos and/or video.



Kevin said:


> Tell him yourself.



Steve has been active on the forum in the past, so perhaps he'll pop in here.


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## Terry Conners (Aug 11, 2014)

Aha! I didn't know that he's a member here. I hope he does so we can catch up. Well, I'm back on the road ...


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