#refitting

I then walked down to the dockyard to have a look at the Manilla, which was, as I had heard, a splendid vessel; went up again to order a mate’s uniform, and returned to the hotel. It was useless going to the ship at that time, as the marines and boys had only been drafted into her that morning; and there was nothing to do until she was clear of the shipwrights, who were still on board of her, and employed in every part of her.

— Frederick Marryat, Percival Keene

The ship was at this time refitting, and was what is usually called in the hands of the dockyard, and a sweet mess she was in. The quarter-deck carronades were run fore and aft; the slides unbolted from the side, the decks were covered with pitch fresh poured into the seams, and the caulkers were sitting on their boxes ready to renew their noisy labours as soon as the dinner-hour had expired. The middies, meanwhile, on the starboard side of the quarter-deck, were taking my altitude, and speculating as to whether I was to be a messmate of theirs, and what sort of a chap I might chance to be — both these points were solved very speedily.

— Frederick Marryat, The Naval Officer (Frank Mildmay)

Taken from /r/mildlyinteresting/

Refitting and Rebuilding II

As I wrote in my last instalment of the Refitting and Rebuilding of Capricorn Dancer saga, we now have a fully functional engine and brand new transmission.

Moving Capricorn Dancer from the repair marina back to her usual berth was a short but pleasant experience compared to when we first brought her south to Scarborough Harbour. The new transmission delivers more power to the propeller and…