A new bottom for Freyja.

So, after I found the leak, we decided that, rather than patching the bad section, we would re-bottom her completely.

But, how to go about it? We only have a choice between going on the long trailer or on the rail-mounted dollies on the slipway, but then how would we do all those welds upside down?

Clive, the marina owner, came up with a solution :- 

Thirteen sheets of steel, laid out on the trailer.

The first two sheets champfered and clamped ready for welding, this means most of the welds will be done from above instead of from below.

We also had to weld extensions onto the trailer to support the pen-ultimate sheet.

When the weather turned we got around it by building a temporary tent over the next sheet of steel.

One very large plate, almost ready to receive Freyja.

The new baseplate is reversed down the slipway ready for us to float Freyja on top.

Perfectly placed first time.

After welding the base to the boat Bruce needed to cut the excess steel away.

Using an oxy-propane cutter.

Trimmed tidy! And we started to finger mould the welds with sealantto seal any pinholes (as we couldn't pressuretest the whole hull)