Replica trader
L:
44.5 (13.6m). Tons:
25 grt. Hull:
wood. Comp.:
5. Built:
Perama, Greece; 1985.
Kyrenia II is a full-scale sailing replica of the
Kyrenia ship, a small Greek merchantman of the fourth century bce. The reconstruction was possible thanks to Richard Steffy's intensive study of the unusually well-preserved original wreck. His collaborators in the project were Harry Tzalas, President of the Hellenic Institute for the Preservation of Nautical Traditions, Manolis Psaros, a shipyard owner at Perama near Athens, and master shipwright Michaelis Oikonomou.
The keel, planking, frames, and interior scantlings were constructed from Pinus brutia from the island of Samos. The keel of the original ship was hewn from a single naturally curved tree, and it took four attempts to find a perfectly curved log of the proper size for the replica. After the keel was laid, construction proceeded according to the shell-first method. More than 4,000 oak tenons and 8,000 mortises were cut to fit the strakes. In the complex framing system, floors alternate with half-frames, futtocks continue the arms of the floors, and top-timbers extend beyond the ends of the half-frames. Hand-forged nails of pure copper were used to secure the frames to the hull. The nails were driven in from outside the hull through drilled holes, then bent and clenched over to bite into the frame tops.
In the bow a nearly vertical cutwater is dovetailed into the end of the stempost and reinforced with a substantial knee (this configuration is conjectural, as the original stempost did not survive). A bulkhead in the stern supports an afterdeck, from which the helmsman steers and the crew handle the brails. The Kyrenia site yielded 176 lead brail rings. In the reconstruction, brail rings were sewn in vertical rows on the leeward side of the single square sail, enabling it to be raised and lowered like a Venetian blind. In addition to the afterdeck, Kyrenia II has a small foredeck from which to lower anchors and handle the sail. Although the pine mast step was well preserved in the original ship, no trace of mast or yard was found. These were reconstructed in silver fir on the basis of literary sources, artistic representations, and the shipwright's practical experience. No evidence of caulking was found in the original Kyrenia ship. When the uncaulked Kyrenia II was launched, she was awash after two hours in the sea, but the next day the wood had swelled enough to close the seams, and she floated high and dry. The lower hull was later coated with a mixture of pitch, pig fat, and soot to retard weed growth.
In the summer of 1986, Kyrenia II was shipped to New York to sail in Operation Sail 1986/Salute to Liberty, and in September of the same year she made a historic 26-day passage from Piraeus, Greece, to Paphos, Cyprus, sailing over 400 nautical miles at an average speed of 2.95 knots. On her return voyage in April 1987, she reached speeds of 12 knots and sailed 138 nautical miles in one 24-hour period. In lighter winds, she was able to sail close-hauled 50-60 degrees off the wind and make over 2 knots. The voyages of Kyrenia II demonstrated that small ancient vessels could ply Mediterranean trade routes in rough weather and complete long open-water passages even without consistently favorable winds.
Katzev, "Kyrenia II"; "Voyage of Kyrenia II." Katzev and Katzev, "Kyrenia II." Spathari et al., Voyage into Time and Legend aboard the Kyrenia Ship.
