Photography and Inventory

Each timber was photographed, labeled, and entered into a database.

Wrapping

The timbers were wrapped in damp paper towels.

More Wrapping

Miles of paper towels were used, as any unwrapped portion of the wood could dry and warp.

Amazing Volunteers

Incredible efforts from volunteers helped the project finish on time.

Plastic Wrap

After the wet paper towels, the timbers were wrapped in plastic wrap.

Structural Timbers

The skeleton of the ship was very solidly built!

Foam Wrapping

After the plastic wrap, the timbers were wrapped in foam.

Staged

All the finished timbers were staged for loading.

Bon Voyage!

A farewell ceremony was held by the city of Alexandria just before shipping the timbers to the CRL in Texas.

Unloading

After the timbers arrived in Texas, the truck was unloaded and the custom-built shipping crates were opened.

Unwrapping
CRL staff, student workers, and volunteers worked to quickly unwrap each timber.

Unwrapping
Despite the long journey, each timber was still damp when the wrapping was removed.

Into the Water
Once unwrapped, each timber was re-inventoried and submerged in a fresh water vat.

Arranging
The size and quantity of the timbers meant that each vat had to be carefully arranged to maximize space.

Hefty Timbers!
Many hands make light work, but some of the timbers were too heavy to safely move by the number of hands.

Sinking the Keel
Once submerged, even the massive keel pieces are easy to move by hand, which made arranging the vats much easier!