Gazela Preservation Efforts
Hull Planking
The Guild undertook the project to replace 10 hull planks in the area of the starbord foremast chain plates. Chainplates are the straps which are fastened to the hull and provide the attachment point for the shrouds supporting the foremast. Given the stresses on the foremast, the replacement of some rotten planks in that area was deemed a strategic need to ensure continued safe operation of Gazela.
White oak plank stock was purchased from a mill in Michigan, where each flitch was cut to 4.5" thick and a variety of lengths ranging from 18 feet to 33 feet. Twenty flitches arrived on a tractor trailer at 6 am and were promptly unloaded and sorted into piles for milling.
A small professional crew of four, led by Patrick Flynn, and supported by volunteers handled the demolition of the existing planks. The demolition consisted of chainsawing the existing wood into chunks which were pried out of the hull with long pry bars. The fasteners, spikes and bolts, were driven or pulled out, clearing the way for new wood.
Some of the frames inside the hull needed dutchmen to restore sufficient surface to fasten the new planks. Thankfully, most of the frames in that area were in pretty good shape. The worst damage followed the bolts for the chainplates, indicating areas where freshwater followed the bolts and exposed the wood underneath to rot.
The team milled 9 new planks using the Guild's 30" planer and transferred the planks near the ship. Patrick and Allen Freeman, the shipwrights, rapidly set up a tented area to cut the new wood. The team set up a steam box to soften and dry the new planks once the cuts were made. The actual installation of the planks was handled in under 5 days. By the end of the project, the professional and volunteer crew were able to install two planks per day.
Plank installation consists of lifting the long, heavy plank, sticking one end into the designated spot and using ceiling clamps, wedges and a lot of sledge hammering to force the plank fully into it's space. If the plank does not fit precisely, then it needs to be levered out, more wood removed with a hand planer and then whacked back in. Once in place, 1/2" holes are drilled for the galvanized lag screws, together with counterbores for bungs. Two lag screws are inserted for each frame. Once all screws are in, bungs are epoxied in place to ensure that water doesn't get to the fastener. 
After all bungs were inserted, the team used power planers to fair the extra wood down to match the rest of the hull. Caulkers began hammering in a seam of cotton and two seams of oakum. Once the second seam of oakum was added, the planks were primed. When the priming dried, the primed seams were covered with seam compound. When the seam compound dried, two days later, the whole area was primed a second time then painted with white gloss. The ten chain plates were reinstalled and the foremast fully attached.
Two weeks after all the planks were installed, a rigging crew arrived to install the fore topgallant mast and topgallant yard.