A busy week ahead on the James Silver Chance

 This coming week is going to be a busy week on Chance, as I am going to be there for five days on the boat. The first job will be to make a start on removing the forecabin hull panelling which is not original and is not making not easy for the inside of the hull to keep air circulating around the inside of the hull and making it a damp trap. Which is bad news for any wooden boat and good ventilation is a must have to keep air circulating below decks. Then turn my attention to the aft cabin berth which as a non original and is stopping me from accessing the hull sides and bottom. The present berth is set out athwartships and not fore and aft as it was originally set out. and the whole area is going to be redesigned to go back as it was originally made with two single berths and a chest of drawers between the two berths. Then the aft heads compartment is going to come to bits as this is another damp trap. The more that I can remove to get air to the inside of the hull the better. It will also make it easier to refit the planks the way they were fitted originally with copper nails and roves and not the way some restorers and boat builders do which is to just re-fix the planks with bronze of stainless steel screws. As my master boatbuilder told me when I started my apprenticeship 44 years ago. Nail where you can and screw where you can not nail. Not nail a plank because it is easier to just screw a plank on, I have more faith in a well nailed copper nail and rove than any screw which these days are not made to last anytime at all. Once the three majors jobs are done then turn my attention to the clearing the bilge and make a start on the engine bay sorting out the wiring and the engines and the tankage which is in the engine bay outside the engines then tanks are under the sides decks between engines and the hull. Pictures to follow during the course of the week.