The Grayhound is a replica of an 18th century Cornish sailing lugger, a 63ft ship that will become a floating home and a traditional-sail training vessel working across the world's oceans which has been built with the help of Makita power tools.
Over the past 18 months nearly 200 tonnes of local timber have been crafted into the traditional structures of the beautiful hull by Cornish shipwrights. When the Grayhound is launched this autumn there will be a further year's fitting out to complete it before the ship sets out on her maiden voyage.
The project has been conceived and managed by Marcus Rowden and Freya Hart who have sold their home to fund the construction. The team of traditional boat builders is headed by Chris Rees.
A wide variety of Makita power tools have been used to create Grayhound. The main workhorse has been the Makita KP0810CK 82mm heavy duty planer. This 1050watt planer will remove 4mm of timber on every pass and has proved invaluable for the many shaped timbers used in this beautiful nautical creation. The KP0810CK has a constant speed control and with twin cutting blades on the drum, capable of rotating at up to 16,000rpm, enormous amounts of timber can be removed quickly and a fine finish results. As the ship's construction rapidly heads towards the August launch date Marcus comments: "We have worked these tools very hard to push the build along but the KP0810CK planer has proved its worth for Grayhound."
The original Grayhound was built locally as a real privateer and had an illustrious record having been built for speed and fighting. Grayhound was built by a celebrated builder of fast coastal craft, John Parkin, who started boatbuilding at Cawsand Bay and then expanded to Cremyll, Cornwall.
The lug rig design provides a vast 3,000 square feet of sail area which drives the boat through the ocean and also makes a very striking picture in every port. The timber construction is using more than 4,000 handmade treenails, wooden pegs that fasten the planking to the wooden frames. They do not rust and last for 100 years whereas a metal fastening will only survive a quarter of a century.
Grayhound will be open to the public at the launch event on the 4th August at Southdown Quay, Millbrook, Cornwall from 2pm with the launching ceremony at 7.30pm. As well as Makita being present there will be live music and refreshments throughout the day plus the opportunity to book your first voyage.
For more information on this fascinating project click here or visit the Makita website for specification details of all products in the vast Makita inventory of innovative power tools.
DETAILS:
Contact: Makita
Tel: 01908 211 678
Makita Power Tools put to good use!
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