Article from "Trycksaken" no 22,
the member circular,
february 2001.

Regular active members plod along

There is hardly ever any lack of work for active members whatever the season. Right after New Year preparations for the coming season start and from early May to mid September there are some 35 public trips to carry out and and as many charter trips as we can manage. But after that the job goes on. As soon as Ejdern is layed up in the autumn the maintenance of the vessel starts. Every weekend active members plod on with this job until there is time for her to sail again.
In the last Ejdern-Telegrafen the changing of a deck was mentioned. It is the changing of the bad upper deck that started last autumn. The timber was ordered a year ago from a local lumber yard and has been planed smooth and put to dry during the summer. A couple of extra wide and sturdy planks had to be found somewhere else, which took a little time.

After the lay up the job started in late October by removing the old planks with a one meter wide gap on the port side as a result. Both stringer plates and deck girders were rusty and had to be changed. The stringer plates are 10 centimeter wide iron plates running along the top of the outer bulk heads to firm them up. It was decided to do this job properly and today there is no chance there will be more of the deck changed before the spring as all active members have other jobs for a living. Still, every Saturday, and sometimes even Sundays a handful of active members do their volontary and unpaid job to keep Ejdern in working order.This way `only´ the materials are payed for, hired labour would add to the costs and thus in the long run delay other jobs that have to be done.
Beside this big job some odd jobs are done, jobs that wasn´t time for before, the fore peak has been white washed, the rack holding the old brass compass cover is being repaired, and parts of the quarter deck too, and some more little jobs that can´t be specified. Anyway, in the morning at 9 the boys start with breakfast on the premesis and then they´re back for lunch, which other active members cook for them. A square meal is a must if you are to work hard all day. Not until 6 pm they call it a day and go back for a cuppa, a snack and a bit of talk.
Still it´s not just hard work that unites members, we meet every now and then and talk over a meal, watch video tapes with steamers or steam engines, old films that are of cultural interest, for instance from Stockholm that was (there are quite a few), snap shots from a member´s trip somewhere or whatever.

Birgitta Bengtsson.

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