By DPA
Castellamare di Stabia (Italy) : Hidden away in a warehouse within the compounds of a military facility near Naples lies a floating masterpiece which dozens of craftsman and carpenters are painstakingly trying to restore.
For the past two years, Italian ship owner Federico Cuomo has been following the slow but steady resurrection of La Spina, a classic racing yacht from the 1920s, which he acquired in a deteriorated state from a shipyard in Spain.
Having owned and restored other boats in the past, the 22-metre Bermudan schooner with a mizzenmast has been the most challenging project to date.
“Unlike a piece of furniture, a painting or a sculpture, a period vessel cannot be restored in order for it to become a piece for a museum – it must come back to life to plough through the waves again,” he says.
“It is something which takes years and millions of euros to accomplish because restoring things is more difficult than rebuilding them.”
The story of La Spina’s rebirth one that involves the craftsmanship and expertise of naval architects, engineers, surveyors, riggers and sail-makers, illustrates what is perhaps the most expensive and time-consuming hobby in the world – classic yacht restoration.
La Spina’s lineage can be traced back to the Baglietto Shipyard in Varazze whose first owner, the Genovese marquis Franco commissioned a high-speed and elegant vessel to be constructed in 1929.
Over the following years, La Spina changed owners a number of times and was transformed from a 12-metre sloop to a 22-metre ketch, complete with a central mainmast and smaller stern.
Later, in the 1990s, the vessel sat abandoned and heavily eroded in a shipyard in Vilanova, along the Catalan coast of Spain. It was during this period that Federico decided to purchase the boat and bring it back to Italy to begin its restoration.
When it came to restoration, much thought was given to the right route to take. One option, which has been followed with many of the ‘vintage’ boats around today, is to adopt a rebuild strategy: taking La Spina’s shell as a starting point and then redesigning the boat by adding new materials and equipment.
Since this option did not appeal to the owner, he sought the most difficult route – using traditional methods and preserving as much of the original boat as possible.
With the help of architect Stefano Faggioni, who is known for his work on other classical yachts the ambitious project began.
“We tried to keep the spirit of the boat alive,” says Faggioni.
Nearly 85 percent of the yacht’s interior is original, including much of the mahogany and maple panelling, furniture, bookshelves, wardrobe and drawer handles. The folding porcelain and wood washbasins and writing table, initially designed for the marquis are original too, as are the antique cookers in the galley.
The crew’s sleeping quarters were kept according to the original design of the vessel, with sleeping compartments hidden underneath the bow of the boat while in the salon, the architect plans to use luxurious tapestry to refit the extensive sofas.
As the ship’s architect, Faggioni spent countless hours hunting down wall lamps in antique shops and designed ceiling lamps reminiscent of the 1920s.
“When pieces were missing such as parts of the panelling we made new ones that resembled them. You cannot tell the difference between the new and the old,” he says.
While a considerable amount of the boat’s original interior materials had survived, an extensive part of the boat’s exterior has suffered irreparable damage after years of too much sun, rain and salt.
The decades that La Spina spent beached underneath the strong rays of the Mediterranean sun had decayed and dried out much of the structural skeleton, deck and planking beyond repair.
At the shipyard, 15 men, including yard owner Nino Giovanni and La Spina’s future captain Giovanni Maresca have spent countless hours reconstructing the oak hull as well as the stern which was filled with dozens of fist-sized holes.
“Before you start a massive project like reconstructing a boat you never know how much it will end up costing because as soon as you dismantle the vessel and remove the planking you will come across all sorts of surprises,” says Giovanni.
Using Khaya Ivorensis mahogany for the planking, it took two teams of men working round the clock more than five months to place them onboard in the traditional manner. In the end, more than 25,000 specially designed copper nails, were drilled, all by hand, into the frame to bolt the planks on.
Some parts, such as the deck, grille and skylights, had deteriorated beyond repair and had to be completely replaced with authentic replicas out of Douglas Pine while lost pieces including the 29-metre mast and boom were recreated using Canadian spruce.
Even after so much time and effort, the work on La Spina continues.
The owner hopes for a technical launch shortly in the New Year and the crew, led by Captain Maresca, hope to finally have her ready to take part in the Panerai classic yacht circuit and 12-metre races by the summer.
Asked whether he will be a part of the crew, Federico says he “would not miss it for the world.”