Gipsy Moth IV repairs well underway

by Sail-World NZL on 29 May 2006 Repair work is proceeding apace on the repair of Gipsy Moth IV at the Emirates Team NZ base in the Viaduct Basin.

The iconic British sloop was severely damaged when she was run aground on the North West corner of the Rangiroa Atoll, part of the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia and she arrived by freighter last week in Auckland.

Bob Wilson of Wilson Boatbuilders is the Project Manager for the reconstruction which is proceeding around the clock to meet the original departure date from New Zealand of 23rd June.

Chris Fewtrell the New Zealand co-ordinator for Gypsy Moth IV explained last week that the aim is a launch date of around the 20th June, allowing for some sea-trialing before Gipsy Moth sets sail for Sydney.

When Sail-World visited on Monday morning tremendous progress had been made over the weekend, with boatbuilders working shifts on the project.

The old damaged parts of the hull on the starboard side have been stripped away. A large section of the hull has been cut out and temporary framing put in place to support the ribs and outer skins.

Further forward of the worst damaged area, some of the hull skin has been stripped back to facilitate a replacement outer skin being laid.

On the keel the forward part has been cutaway to allow access to the keel bolts as a preliminary part of the keel straightening process.

Sail-World expects to have an official update from the Project Managers later in the week.