. COTTON BLOSSOM II Q5 Cotton Blossom arrived in San Diego by trailer from Blaine, WA in late June 2003. Johnny Smullen and his crew began by removing the 8 bulwarks and entire deck and cabin top, all of which had been installed in the early 1950s. The modification had given her better accommodations for cruising and near shore ocean racing but had altered her looks substantially from original. In short order CB was stripped down to a bare open hull, supported athwartships with enough temporary structure to keep her shape. Each frame was replaced at the rate of two to four each day. With each new frame came new fastenings. About 80% of the original mahogany planking remained in place. The floor timbers were replaced and some wood was replaced on both stem and horn timber. At the same time early photos were analyzed as well as the one set of original line drawings in order to determine how to restore her to her original looks. New spruce spars were built and new bronze pieces were designed and custom made...
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 10:18:39 +0000