Restoration status: Painting and changing rotten planks
How we found out about Tina
Best things happen when they are unexpected. And that’s how we got to know about Tina’s existence – by chance and unexpectedly.
In June 2021, at the shipyard where we are used to storing our raft during the winter season, we asked the owner whether he had prepared the “gozzo” for us. Gozzo is a typical Italian craft, suited to a slow navigation, either on the sea or lakes. Massimo loves the style of such craft and always said he wished one. The shipyard’s owner pointed in the direction of Tina, standing on a base in a corner. We came back a week later to check it out again and ask for more details. It was love at first sight.
The transport
On October 15, Tina was moved from the shipyard to our warehouse. In total, it took us approximately 4 hours to lift it up and place the boat in the new space.
The way to the warehouse was quite challenging. We were afraid we would have had complications with the railway line’s power cables and not be able to make it through. Eventually, we managed to get it to the warehouse safe and sound, aware that Tina was within the limits imposed for the exceptional transport (with a width of 2.95 metres).
From now onwards, Tina’s new life starts!
The restoration
Before going into the actual process of the renovation, we had to empty the cabins, which happened to have both all sorts of objects from previous owners and original branded pieces belonging to the boat. The emptying took us an entire day, and it required the inventory of all we found on board.
As we finished this operation, we continued with the dismantling of the interiors, proceeding with one piece at a time. To facilitate the procedure, we installed movable headlights within the cabins, allowing for artificial light to come in and lighting the spaces. In order to be able to reassemble all components as they currently stand (an operation that is likely to happen in a couple of years from now when the renovation will be completed), we have mapped them all out on paper, cataloguing them by numbers and sections.
We found out that for most of the planks and details of the interiors a lot of nails were used, which made it difficult for their removal as we had to be careful not to damage the wood. The reason of the dismantling is to allow the evaluation of the condition of the shell and backbone of the boat. Thus far, we have noticed that some areas are badly damaged or even rotten, and it therefore requires the replacement of some of the planks and pieces with new wooden ones.