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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Reborn Bluenose work of modern art

Sails into Lunenburg after $16-M revamp

By: Michael MacDonald

Posted: 09/29/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

HALIFAX -- When the rebuilt Bluenose II slides into the water of Lunenburg, N.S., harbour today, the sight of its sleek, black hull will call to mind a bygone era.

But looks can be deceiving. This latest incarnation of the Queen of the North Atlantic is no museum piece.

Beneath its gleaming paint is a modern vessel built with a combination of traditional techniques -- still routinely practised at the Lunenburg Shipyard -- and the latest in high-tech know-how.

Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador has undergone a two-year restoration that cost at least $15.9 million in public funds -- the final figures are not in. The project included replacing the schooner's entire hull and much of its Douglas fir deck.

Some are calling her Bluenose 21/2.

Its two masts, canvas sails and rigging -- to be installed after the vessel is launched -- were taken from the first version of Bluenose II, built in 1963 by the Oland family of Halifax to promote sales of Schooner beer.

Even though the rebuilt vessel shares the same name and overall look as the Olands' reproduction, it is a substantially different craft. While the hull of the Oland Bluenose was made from red oak and pine -- as was the original Bluenose -- the newer edition is sheathed in angelique imported from South America. The russet-coloured wood is renowned for its strength and resistance to rot and termite-like creatures.

"We went through over $10,000 in band saw blades just cutting the laminates for the frames," says Alan Hutchinson, president of Covey Island Boatworks and a director of the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance, the consortium that rebuilt Bluenose II. "We had to cool the blades in water continuously."

Aside from the hull, the internal structure of the ship was strengthened using steel floors and components that are up to nine times stronger than steel. These modern boat-building techniques will help Bluenose II keep her graceful shape longer. The previous version had a bad case of "hogging," which means her bow and stern were sagging.

"Bluenose II had hogged more than 3 1/2 feet in the stern," said Hutchinson.

Not only is the new Bluenose II structurally stronger, it will be a much safer vessel, Hutchinson says. Unlike her predecessor, this Bluenose II complies with nautical engineering standards set by the American Bureau of Shipping.

Hutchinson says meeting those standards while staying true to the original plans of the Bluenose was the most challenging part of the rebuild.

There were some parts from the Oland Bluenose that didn't pass muster. Its portholes, hatches and companionways were cast aside for safer designs.

Despite the safety and structural overhaul, the new Bluenose II will look more like the original Grand Banks schooner built in Lunenburg in 1921, says Peter Kinley, CEO of the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance.

"This vessel will have a look that is much closer to the original," he says. "The Bluenose II was first launched in 1963 by the Oland family (and) the use of the vessel since that time has changed. She's more of a goodwill ambassador... that people would like to view in the light of the original."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 29, 2012 A22

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