Interior planking has begun and we are extremely excited! Shipwright and team leader Janek Lindemann sat down with media manager Jeremy Starn to discuss the process of installing the interior planking.

The quarter deck beams support this rear deck which adds another level to the ship. There is a large house which sits towards the end of the ship which accommodates the captains and officers quarters, an eating area, map room and workshop. The quarter deck is the upper deck which surrounds this deck house. It it took a team of experienced shipwrights to work out the complex curvature of this unique part of the ship.

See what the team has been up to! Our latest construction update was the complete installation of the top deck beams of Ceiba. Observe the last few months of work through an extensive photo gallery.

This piece is solid Gaupinol (Hymenaea courabril, Jatoba) and will secure Ceiba’s anchor chain. This complicated piece of joinery is notched into the deadwoods and top deck beams. This piece was cut out over a year ago and has been sitting in the ship waiting to be put up!

Video: Raising the Samson Post

Cargo hatch openings were made using traditional timber frame joinery to ensure structural integrity during cargo loading and unloading. Removable floor timbers are used during loading and a watertight cover secures the lower cargo holds. This provides extra security for the cargo and more floor space for the upper cargo hold.

Gallery: Cargo Hatches

Tween deck beams support the interior floor of Ceiba. The floor divides the lower cargo holds from upper holds. They have been in progress for over a year and are now fully installed.

Video: Tween Deck Beams
Gallery: Tween Deck Beams

Fairing of the interior of the ship has been a continuous process for over a year. Interior fairing is important because it ensures the tightness of the interior planking. Having interior flooring not only gives strength to the entire ship but will be make moving cargo much easier.

Video: Fairing
Gallery: Fairing

After bringing all of the largest interior timbers inside the ship the last frames were installed. Once everything was inside we raised the stern half frames. These half frames are raised one side at a time and connected over the deadwood. Now that the framing is complete interior decks and planking can begin.

Video: Finishing Framing - An update on Past Works
Gallery: Finishing Framing

We have installed the bilge riders. We steamed the long pieces using a wood-fired low-pressure water boiler designed and constructed by Jeroen Visser from the Netherlands.

IG TV: Steam-Bending Bilge Riders

The deadwoods are the aftermost massive timbers that create the backbone portions of our ship Ceiba. They are strategically positioned in an interlocking pattern to offer support for the stern half frames, rudder, transom, and propellers. There are twelve deadwoods in total, counting the stern post knee.

Gallery: Stern Deadwoods

The keelson has been put up and bolted into place. The massive bolts hold the keelson, frames, and the keel together. Fastening the keelson included drilling and bolting thirty holes, one for every full frame.

The vertical elements at the stern of the ship, extending from keel to deck, will be installed shortly. With our strong team, we are able to hoist all of the pieces by hand, as we did with the stem. Keep an eye on our social media channels (Instagram is best!) to see live-content while the assembly is taking place.

Video: Raising the Stern Post
Gallery: The Stern Post

The stem received its crown on March 25th. The cutwater, the forwardmost point of the ship, finally rested in its rightful place. The gammon knee is made out of pure Guapinol hardwood and weighs about 320 kg (700lbs+). 

Video: Hoisting the Gammon Knee

While we're far from being halfway through the whole Ceiba build, we have reached a symbolic halfway mark for the framing process. From now on the bevel of the next frames turn to the aft.

Blog: What a Good Week at the Yard
Video: Assembling Ceiba's Frames

Almost 7m long and weighing over 2 tonnes, the Guapinol stem piece was felled by a landslide 20 km from the shipyard. Adding shape and character to the ship, the stem now stands tall in its rightful place, overlooking the Gulf of Nicoya for the time being.

Video: Raising Ceiba’s Stem

Hoisting the first frame was achieved through pure ‘person-power’ ; hauling and lifting the giant that is Frame No. 48 up into the sky with the use of ropes rigged to keel, hanger and hand. Many strong arms heaved ropes through a pulley system, hoisting the first frame up onto the keel.

Blog: A Revival of Traditional Wooden Ship Framing
Video: TIMELAPSE - Raising Ceiba's Frames

During all those times we read history books about a ship beginning on the day the keel is laid, it had never occurred to us just how much work had to be put in prior to that special day... The keel of Ceiba was laid on January 8th, 2019.

Video: Laying Ceiba's Keel