Whiskey Plank Party Celebrates Lady Washington Restoration Milestone

Aberdeen – The public and members of the media are invited to a traditional “whiskey plank” ceremony 1 p.m. Saturday, July 21 at Aberdeen Landing to celebrate an important milestone in the hull restoration project for the tall ship Lady Washington. Since June 14, Lady Washington has been out of service while a team of shipwrights and volunteers removed old hull planking and portions of frames from the ship’s starboard side. This week, the team is installing new hull planking, and the last plank will be spiked into place on Saturday. Ceremony attendance is free of charge.

The final closing plank is sometimes called the “whiskey plank,” because shipwrights and owners traditionally celebrate this milestone of ship construction with a tot of whiskey among friends. In the case of Lady Washington, the ceremony will mark an important step in a larger project to repair and restore the ship for its next two decades of service. Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority applied for and received $186,000 from the Legislature last year for the project.

After the whiskey plank is installed, the restoration team will continue the restoration project, preparing Lady Washington for her return to service in early August, which will include caulking, painting, and the reinstallation of her sailing rig. 

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During August and early September, she will sail with her companion ship Hawaiian Chieftain to Puget Sound ports. (Hawaiian Chieftain is currently in Port Angeles.) On September 4, Lady Washington is scheduled to arrive in Port Townsend for her biennial haul-out, which will include further restoration work on her hull.

Editors: Download high-res images of our ships at http://historicalseaport.smugmug.com. Click the “Media Images” category and select a gallery. Information is subject to change without notice. We welcome media aboard to observe operations and interview crew. Contact (media only) Joe Follansbee, 360-589-0766, jfollansbee@historicalseaport.org. A vessel fact sheet is available on the News Releases page at www.historicalseaport.org. Facebook: facebook.com/GHHSA; Twitter: @graysharborhist.