Synara Restoration Project

The Synara restoration project is progressing day by day, with a focus on first-class shipwrights and specialized engineers invited from Europe and the United States, along with talented young Japanese woodworkers.
The Shinara was launched in 1927, making her 92 years old this year, and in eight years she will reach the glorious age of over 8. By chance, the Riviera Group, which inherited this precious, historical large wooden sailing ship made in England, floating in Japan, hopes that ``100 or 50 years from now, the Shinara will still be able to sail the seas in its beautiful form.'' I am working on this project with.
The team of more than 9 engineers from nine countries who are passionate about the unprecedented challenge of full-scale restoration of a large classic yacht is led by a veteran shipwright from the UK like Sinara. They are Paul Harvey and Benjamin Hobbs.
Mr. Harvey describes one of the difficulties of the restoration process as follows:
``When I first saw the ship before starting the restoration, the hull of the Shinara, which had been built for 90 years, was very old and had suffered a lot of damage.The shape of the ship as a whole was also distorted. It was obvious when you stood there: the mast was bent and the varnish was peeling off, but at the same time the ship was incredibly well-maintained."
This is probably because we have devoted ourselves to refining Cinara every day in order to "honor the good old things with care and preserve them for the future", which is the spirit of the Riviera. Many of the original fittings and parts that could be brought back to life through restoration were carefully removed. It was a pleasant discovery that this is a rare project in which less than 8% of the entire Shinara can be preserved as it was originally built.
Mr. Harvey continues.
``In particular, we found that nearly 9% of the teak plank could be saved and reused through restoration.However, it was also clear that the restoration would be a huge undertaking. One of the difficulties of restoration is that it is not clear what work will really be required until the ship is actually dismantled. As restoration work progresses, we are constantly asked to reevaluate our judgments about whether or not we should do something.It is our daily routine to face unexpected realities and seek solutions."
The Shinara restoration team, along with Chairman Watanabe, who is leading the project, is working together like a family to tackle this difficult task.
Restoration work on the Synara can be broadly divided into four areas: the hull, the mast and rigging, machinery such as engines and generators, and the interior. Work to date has included rebuilding most of the hull's structural materials such as frames and beams, correcting and correcting distortions in the overall shape, and pasting all of the outer panels to restore its original beautiful shape. Ta. After completing the installation of the engine and various tanks, work on installing the deck began this summer (4). As for the masts, the masts had been ordered from British company Noble Mast, known for manufacturing strong, light, and beautiful wooden masts, but they arrived at Riviera Sivonia Marina before summer, and a foreigner in charge of the rigging arrived. A team of craftsmen has also joined us and we are preparing for when we will erect the mast next year. For most of the wooden interior materials, original parts from the time of construction can be used, so each piece continues to be carefully restored and regenerated.
Meanwhile, the progress of the project is attracting a lot of attention in the European and American classic yacht world. David Eisher, former Commodore of the British Royal Yacht Squadron, who has a deep connection with the history of Synara, heard about the work being done so far and said, ``I've heard that it has been beautifully restored. I take my hat off with this.''

Riviera Chairman Mr. Watanabe's desire for this project is to ensure that the beautiful "Sinara, Lady of the Sea" will be passed on to the next generation 50 or 100 years from now, and to that end, he wants to restore it to the highest quality possible. This is also reflected in the procurement of parts that are not available in Japan.
Shinara uses many iron members called floors and knees to reinforce the wooden structural members. The iron used in these items is called wrought iron or real iron, which is now a valuable iron that was made before the 20th century. It is said that the iron production process at that time was different from that of today, and impurities were mixed into the iron ingredients. However, thanks to this impurity, wrought iron has excellent corrosion resistance and has the property of lasting hundreds of years without any processing. For this reason, it has been valued as a material for ships and construction since ancient times. However, there are no companies that make this kind of steel anymore. However, there is only one company in the UK called Topp & Co. that recovers this old iron from shipwrecks, recycles it, and passes on its processing technology to modern times. Riviera sent this company all of the Shinara reinforcing parts made of wrought iron, had them take molds, and have new identical parts made from this iron. Instead of relying on a substitute alloy, we use wrought iron as per the original. Each of these choices is also the Riviera Group's message in the restoration project.

Shinara's mast was already at the end of its lifespan before the restoration began. Therefore, the main mast, mizzen mast, boom, gaff, bowsprit, etc., collectively called spars, all had to be newly built. There are several companies in Europe and the United States that make wooden masts, but Riviera chose a company called Noble Masts in Bristol, England.
The company's founder bought a friend's idea for an innovative way to create a hollow mast and turned it into a commercial product. It was an eye-opening idea to build a hollow mast by assembling eight pieces of wood into an octagonal shape. The Noble of Noble Mast is a name given in honor of its inventor. By assembling the materials into an octagonal shape, it was possible to secure a larger bonding area, making it extremely superior both in terms of structure and strength. Word of mouth quickly spread about its quality, and Noblemast became known around the world. Currently, the founder's son has taken over the company and continues to manufacture high quality wooden masts.
Shinara's spars were almost completed by the company in April of this year, shipped in wooden crates, and arrived at Riviera Sivonia Marina in June. The beautifully varnished spar of the Noble Mast is then coated with many more layers of varnish and then outfitted. I am looking forward to the day when this mast will be installed at Shinara.