The Second Stage of Restoration – 18,000 New Rivets, Cooling, and Wheelhouse

In 2003, Darren sailed Bertha to Tottenville shipyard in Staten Island, New York, to continue her restoration on the hard. Using traditional techniques, Darren, a blacksmith by the name of Tom Ryan, and a team of workers and volunteers riveted the entire vessel. In total, 18,000 rivets were installed to hold her 100 tons of steel together. Other restoration work was completed in Tottenville including:

• Removing the original rotted rub rails and bulwarks and the entire deck house;
• Rebuilding new decks and deck house to historic integrity;
• Designing, building, and installing steel channel construction on the hull to circulate sea water to cool engines; and
• Removing the modern wheelhouse and designing and constructing a modified, historic, riveted replacement.

During this phase of restoration, Darren and his team hosted riveting demonstrations to the public at the Tottenville shipyard. Traveling on the John J. Harvey, over 50 people from Society of Industrial Technology Roebling Chapter visited the shipyard.