Reconstruction of 1901 Steam Yacht Cangarda

For two years I worked as a subcontractor on the restoration of the 1907 steam yacht Cangarda.

The original hull was stripped and replated in the '80s. It then sank and laid in the mud south of Boston. Fortunately none of the machinery or carpentry was on board.

So the current owner purchased this basket-case from Elizabeth Myer of IYRS in Newport, RI. He hired Jeff Rutherford to put it back together. Tri-Coastal Marine had the original hull laser-scanned to gather a 3D point-cloud from which we created a new fair hull model which conformed well to the original. This new computer model was then off-set for shell thickness, sliced-up into frames and subdivided into floors, frames, hanging knees and deck beams. These assorted pieces were CNC cut and sent back to the shop. Most of the original hull was scrapped except the stern ring frame and the forward engine room bulkhead. Jeff Rutherford hired me to assemble the hull. I laid the keel, set up and supervised the assembly and welding of the frames, hung all the frames and bulkheads, welded most of the deck structure, helped weld the shell, and then spent another year on innumerable details.

The framing is just about complete except for the collision bulkhead and the forward ER bkhd.

Contraption I devised from a WWII surplus ballistics sight to provide minute control of laser to check shaft alignment. The original stern frame and cutlass bearing aperture had proved problematic in terms of achieving adequate shaft alignment. I was able to solve this problem by having the original cutlass bearing aperture removed and a new shaft log machined which included the cutlass bearing and the water-tight packing system. Once I had established the basic alignment, John Horton and I set up a high tension music wire to provide a center line while he welded the shaft log and the bearing supports.

After plating, we began fitting the engine room together, note the target on
the aft end of the engine to check the shaft log alignment.

I fabricated a hinge system for the original electrical panel. Note the original bulkhead behind the panel. We wanted to use this piece. However, arc-welding did not exist when the boat was originally made. So the steel had more carbon than modern mild steel, which led to fracturing when welded. To solve this problem, I suggested that we weld a backing plate to the new material along the seam. Then we riveted the old bulkhead to the backing plate. Thereby we were able to create a water-tight connection between the original bulkhead and the new material.

The original bronze port-holes were quite bent and cracked. I was able to repair them and make them water-tight again.