The restoration/reconstruction of the “Faneromeni” was a long and difficult job demanding great dedication, patience, and perseverance. There were many who contributed to this reconstruction project. Without their help, knowledge, skills, and zeal “Faneromeni” would not be as she is today. I have a high regard for all of these people and I want to express my sincere thanks to each of them for their contribution. I keep in touch with all and have become close friends with many.

The contributors are listed in a chronological order, corresponding roughly to the time during the restoration/reconstruction when they participated.

1.Thanasis Dritsoulas	11.Vasilis Konstantopoulos & Christos Tsevetkos	21.Chronis Papamichail
2.Bill Nady	12.Stelios Volyrakis	22.Tasos & Emmy Harhalos
3.Pachos & Yiorgos Papastefanou	13.Petros Philippakis	23.The Koupetoris Shipyard
4.Antonis and Manolis Mpekatoros	14.Michalis Christodoulou	24.Nikitas Prasinos & Pantelis Koukis
5.The Halkitis Shipyard	15.Stratis Afaloniatis	25.Lefteris & Ntinos Gaitanios
6.Xenophon Stratigos	16.Notis Mpilias	26.Yiorgos Delitzias & Vaggelis Tzachristas
7.Argyris Karantis	17.Paraskevas Papadimos	27.Yiorgos Loukanis & Dionysis Mpaklavas
8.Kosmas Mytakidis & Michalis Michailos	18.Theodoros Gkikouris	28.Stelios Harakoglou
9.Nikos Tryperinas	19.Kostas A. Damianidis	29.Rozina Kastrinaki
10.Delphinia Machine Shop	20.Elias & Kalliopi Veloudis	30.Vasilis Zairopoulos

1.Thanasis Dritsoulas

  

Thanasis Dritsoulas, my co-worker for many years, is very knowledgeable on the subject of caïques and was instrumental in my decision to buy “Faneromeni”.

After her purchase and during her restoration his help was substantial. Even today we often consult.

I am very fond of Thanasis, I have a high regard for him, and our friendship goes back for a long time.

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2. BILL NADY

 Bill Nady is a naval architect and skipper who has a vast experience with boats of many kinds, especially wooden and traditional. Bill gave me the basic ideas for the completion of this project. 

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3. Pachos & Yiorgos Papastefanou

Pachos Papastefanou, together with his son, Yiorgos, is the spirit of “Faneromeni’s” rebirth. Mastro Pachos came from a family of shipwrights from the island of Symi. He was a very capable and intelligent worker who loved his line of work pursued it with enthusiasm. And he was a great character, always with a smile and full of old stories about caïques. We became very fond of each other, and I found a lot of pleasure in his company outside the work at hand.

I remember with nostalgia all the wonderful meals we had together in Salamina and Piraeus, and never will I forget those evenings in the famous taverna Vasilenas.

Of course I know all of Mastro Pachos’ family, and I consider Yiorgos, who is continuing admirably in the steps of his father, a personal friend.

Here I include brief biography of Mastro Pachos written by his son, Yiorgos Papastefanou:

MASTRO “PACHOS PAPASTEFANOU” 1923-2007

Mastro Pachos Papastefanou was born in the Hatzikiriakio district of Piraeus. His parents were from the island of Symi, but they left the island when it fell under Italian occupation. His father, Mastro Yiorgis Agrioudis (his Symian nickname), had a shipyard (tarsana) in Symi and was considered one of the best shipwrights on an island noted for ship building. In the family’s next place of residence, the Hatzikiriakio district in Piraeus, Mastro Yiorgis had a shipyard at the location that is today called Mikrolimano. In Mikrolimano he built the wooden boats popular at that period.

When the authorities prohibited shipyards in Mikrolimano, the family moved to Perama, another district in Piraeus. There Mastro Yiorgis started another shipyard where he built all types of traditional wooden boats.

From his father, Mastro Pachos learned the craft of the shipwright. He was quite talented in his own right and built boats of all the traditional styles, from 2 m rowboats to 24 m caïques. During his long career he built over 200 boats, some of which are still plying the Greek seas.

Mastro Pachos had two children, a boy and a girl. His son, Yiorgos, first studied naval architecture and then decided to continue his father’s traditional shipyard, still active today in Perama. Yiorgos worked with his father for many years and together they built many types of boats: rowboats, koutoules, trechantiria, peramata, varkalades and others. They also performed repairs and alterations to old boats.

One alteration was to the perama “Faneromeni” purchased by Nikos Riginos. “Faneromeni” was almost totally rebuilt. Everything had to be ripped away. Practically the only original part to remain was her hull. “Faneromeni” was re-built by Mastro Pachos and Yiorgos Papastefanou along the lines of traditional naval architecture.

Mastro-Pachos was one of the best shipwrights with tremendous experience and empirical knowledge of his craft despite the fact that he only completed grammar school.

Today Yiorgos Papastefanou, who holds a degree in naval architecture, still maintains the traditional shipyard in Perama, Piraeus, where traditional wooden boats are built and maintained.

THE FAMILY CRAFT AND THE TRADITION IN THE CITY OF PERAMA CONTINUES…

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4. Antonis and Manolis Mpekatoros

The Mpekatoros brothers played a decisive role during “Faneromeni’s” restoration. They undertook the reconditioning of her engine and its major overhaul a few years later.

In addition, they installed the Onan AC generator and performed many mechanical tasks and fabricated various components in their machine shop.

The Mpekatoros brothers’ machine shop was established in 1912 by the machinist Gerasimos Mpekatoros, father of Antonis and Manolis. It was one of the first automobile repair shops to operate in Athens.

 

The shop was in the center of Athens, at the corner of Academias and Sina streets. Business was good and the customers of upper class－who else owned a car at that time?－among them members of the King’s court. There was hardly any competition, only one other auto shop operated by an Italian.

In a few years the shop needed more space and was relocated to a larger building on Amalias Avenue.

The number of customers and jobs increased. Consequently the shop was relocated again to a location across from the temple of Olympian Zeus. The shop at that time employed 30 persons.

In 1927 the shop was once again moved to the Stadium area, at the corner of 1 Eratosthenous street and Vasileos Konstantinou. The sign over the shop read: “ΜΕΓΑ ΓΚΑΡΑΖ ΤΟ ΣΤΑΔΙΟΝ GARAGE STADION” (LARGE GARAGE THE STADIUM)1.

In that new location the very capable Mastro Gerasimos enlarged the scope of his business. He began buying army surplus vehicles that had been put in storage. He reconditioned them and then sold them to the newly established Greek airline TAE, the predecessor of Olympic Airlines. 
 

 

 In 1937 young Antonis, at the age of 14, became his father’s assistant. In 1939 his brother Manolis, then 13 years old, became an assistant also, following in his brother’s footsteps.

At the Stadium garage, business was expanded to include servicing marine engines.

Many of the shop’s wealthy customers, including Vasilis Rosolimos, the owner of “Χαρτοποιία Αιγίου” (Aigio Paper manufacturing), entrusted their boats to the capable and trustworthy Mastro Gerasimos for service and maintenance of the engines.

See below the yacht belonging to the Rosolimos family: 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Gradually the emphasis of the shop shifted from automobile service to marine work. The Mpekatoros shop specialized paticularly in the fabrication of shafts, shaft pipes, and propellers.

Among the boats regularly maintained by the Mpekatoros shop was the speed-boat of the prominent industrialist Nikos Kanelopoulos, one of the few speed-boats in Greece at that time. The Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece was known to borrow this boat frequently. The painter Vasilis Germenis, a friend of Kanelopoulos and also a customer of the Mpekatoros shop, made a painting of this boat.

Gerasimos Mpekatoros died in 1963. By that time his sons were occupied exclusively with marine work. In 1969 they moved the shop to their own building at 38 Fotomara street in the Neos Kosmos district of Athens.

I have been professionally associated with the Mpekatoros brothers since the 70s. During this long and exemplary association I have grown to respect and trust them completely.

Note: The information and material for the above text was provided by the Mpekatoros brothers in February of 2009.

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5.The Halkitis Shipyard

  

 The Halkitis family is an old shipwright family. They still maintain a shipyard in the Perama region of Piraeus.

At the Halkitis shipyard I first hauled out “Faneromeni” after purchasing her in March of 1987, and it was there that the first tasks were performed on her hull, namely burning, re-nailing, caulking, and, finally, painting.

I was very impressed by the quality of work performed by all the members of the Halkitis family in completing these first tasks.

The following year I wanted to keep the boat on land for about three months (the winter months) in order to allow the wood to dry and thus to extend its lifespan. The Halkitis shipyard, however, could not accommodate her for such a long period because of their heavy workload. So I moved her to the Koupetoris shipyard, at the island of Salamis.

Since that time I haul out “Faneromeni” in the Koupetoris shipyard every year.

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6. Xenophon Stratigos

Xenophon was the first caulker who worked on the “Faneromeni”. He was a nice and straightforward person. I was very upset when I learned of his sudden death.

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7. Argyris Karantis

 

 

 Argyris Karantis was a collaborator of the late Xenophon Stratigos. He still does the yearly caulking of the “Faneromeni”. Argyris was born and lives on the island of Salamis. He is a family man and an excellent craftsman. Working with him is a pleasure.

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8. Kosmas Mytakidis & Michalis Michailos

 

 

  

 

Kosmas Mytakidis and Michalis Michailos are painters specializing in boats. During the original work on the “Faneromeni,” Kosmas’ own wooden boat was under construction and nearing completion in the hands of mastro-Pachos.

Kosmas and Micchalis are professional craftsmen and both have a very good reputation in Perama, Piraeus.

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9. Nikos Tryperinas

The painter Nikos Tryperinas was recommended to me by Thanasis Dritsoulas, both of whom come from Saranti in Biotia.

Nikos Tryperinas undertook all the painting of the boat (with the exception of upper works and bottom), namely the gunwale, deckhouses, deck, and all interior spaces.

He is an excellent craftsman and highly dependable.

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10. Delphinia Machine Shop

At that time the Delphinia machine shop was owned by Yiannis Michalelis and the brothers Grigoris and Antonis Nikoloudakis. Yiannis, a very capable and bright man, was the soul of the shop. In addition to being a skilled machinist, Yiannis had been a professional seaman for many years. This combination enabled their shop to complete many special orders successfully.

Yiannis and his co-workers fabricated all the special metal fittings needed for the “Faneromeni”.

Today Yiannis Michalelis is the very successful technical director of the renowned Barbayanni ouzo distillery in Plomari, Lesvos island.

I maintain a family friendship with Yiannis to this day.

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11.Vasilis Konstantopoulos & Christos Tsevetkos

Vasilis Konstantopoulos and Christos Tsevetkos are electricians specializing in boats. They completed most of the electrical work during the first reconstruction phase of “Faneromeni”.

They are both pleasant men and good at their work.
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12. Stelios Volyrakis

 

Stelios Volyrakis is also a boat electrician doing specialty work. He undertook the installation of the windlass and of all the light fixtures in the new deckhouses.

Stelios is a serious and reliable technician. Not one of the items he installed has ever developed a problem.

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13. Petros Philippakis

Petros Philippakis was the third electrician to work on the “Faneromeni”.

During the three years of reconstruction work, various components and instruments were installed with temporary electrical connections. In the end this was not satisfactory. After everything was installed, I thought that a new electrical panel was in order to service all the new equipment and instruments. And, with a new panel, all the temporary cabling had to be replaced by permanent cables.

We chose new cables, compliant with marine specifications, with tin-plated copper wires. This new installation (cables and electrical panel) was successfully undertaken by Petros Philippakis. He worked diligently with attention to detail and completed the work.

During this installation, my brother Vasilis, an electrical engineer with much practical experience, made detailed recommendations and oversaw the work.

Petros Philippakis is “Faneromeni’s” current electrician and to this day does all the necessary electrical maintenance.

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14. Michalis Christodoulou 
Michalis Christodoulou is an electrician specializing in batteries and battery related equipment (chargers, inverters, etc.).

He installed a lead-acid deep cycle (with cylindrical cathodes) 24 V, 720 Ah service battery bank and another starter (conventional) battery bank in “Faneromeni”. He has also installed various other battery related equipment: smart electronic chargers, monitors, inverters, etc.

For the above work, I consulted with my brother Vasilis, who is an electrical engineer. His input was instrumental.

Michalis is a reliable, straightforward, and knowledgeable person. He is very highly regarded in the Greek boating world. I am fond of him and consider him my friend.

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15. Stratis Afaloniatis

Upon hearing that we needed tree trunks to fabricate masts for the perama caïque that we were restoring, the handsome woodcutter Stratis Afaloniatis immediately showed great interest and enthusiasm. With his help we found the right trees for our project.

Stratis Afaloniatis is a warm, joyful character, full of zest for life. He was with us continuously during all the days that we spent in Lesvos. Mastro Pachos and I had a great time with him, and we particularly honored Lesvos’ renowned ouzo tavernas.

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16. Notis Mpilias

 

As mentioned in the main text, Notis Mpilias oversaw “Faneromeni's” rigging.

He was of one of the last surviving traditional riggers, and at the time that the masts and their rigging were installed on the “Faneromeni” (July 1988) he was 85 years old.

Born on the island of Salamis, Notis Mpilias was renowned as rigger throughout Greece. Unfortunately he, too, is no longer alive.

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17. Paraskevas Papadimos 

Paraskevas Papadimos is a carpenter/cabinet-maker specialized in boat-related woodwork. He was for many years the head of the carpentry department of Olympic Marine in Lavrion, in its heyday when the company was called Olympic Yachts and it built sailing yachts.

Paraskevas undertook certain interior delicate woodwork requiring his skills as a cabinet-maker.

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18. Theodoros Gkikouris 

Theodoros Gkikouris is also a carpenter who worked for many years at Olympic Marine. He undertook certain additional tasks.

Theodoros Gkikouris continues to this day to do various woodworking jobs in “Faneromeni”. I like him and appreciate him.

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19. Kostas A. Damianidis 

Kostas A. Damianidis was graduated in 1984 from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, with a degree in architecture engineering. In 1990, after successfully defending his dissertation, Vernacular Boats and Boatbuilding in Greece, he was awarded his doctoral degree.

His doctoral dissertation was translated into Greek and published in 1996 by the ETBA Cultural Foundation (ETBA - Ελληνική Τραπεζα Βιομηχανικης Αναπτύξεως - Hellenic Industrial Development Bank) under the title: Greek Vernacular Boatbuilding.

Kostas A. Damianidis has published widely on the history of shipbuilding and on the restoration of traditional craft.

He collaborates with several museums and cultural organizations involved with the study of the history of boats and boatbuilding in Greece.

During 1998-1999 Damianidis drew complete naval construction plans for the “Faneromeni.”

We are family friends. I greatly admire him as an authority on traditional wooden boats.

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20. Elias & Kalliopi Veloudis 

Elias Veloudis (Louis) from the island of Angistri undertook the cutting and the stitching of the canvas sails.

One of the last traditional surviving sailmakers in Greece, he worked with enthusiasm and dedication. With the help of his wife, Kalliopi Veloudis, he made all of “Faneromeniʼs” sails: the mainsail, the foresail, the main jib, and the fore staysail.

I want to mention here one detail to illustrate mastro-Eliasʼ professionalism and dedication.

When I brought him the canvas fabric from Scotland (from the house of Francis Webster, as noted in the The Story), mastro-Elias first cut it into proper sections and then washed it. He did so in order to prevent any subsequent shrinking of the canvas fabric when sea spray would wet the finished sails.

The final sails were of such high quality that even today, after the use of so many years (they are, of course, properly maintained), the sails are still in excellent condition.

Elias was a very nice and pleasant man. I was very fond of him and Mrs. Kalliopi. I was very sad to learn recently of his death. 

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21. Chronis Papamichail 

Chronis Papamichail owns today one of the most successful and modern sail lofts in Kalamaki, Athens. He undertook to make “Faneromeni’s” tents.

There are three tents: the main tent which is attached to the two masts and covers the area between them, the aft tent attached behind the aft mast, and fore tent attached in front of the fore mast.

Note that I consider the tents vital in reducing exposure to the sun--for both man and boat. For this reason I paid particular attention to the way the tents were designed so as to allow them to remain in place as long as possible and to protect both people and boat, even when the boat is under power.

My specifications were followed perfectly, thanks to Chronis' inteligence, skill, and zeal.

Chronis and his wife Rena, for many years a vital member of the sail loft, are my good friends. I have a high regard for their skills and professionalism.

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22. Tasos & Emmy Harhalos

 

Tasos Harhalos and his wife Emmy made all the mattresses, pillows, bed sheets, and covers needed to convert “Faneromeni” from a cargo ship to a comfortable and inviting yacht. They also made all the protective covers needed for the deckhouses during the winter months when the boat is not cruising.

Tasos is a clever man who finds practical and aesthetic solutions which he executes with good results. His wife Emmy is the rock of the family business and plays a decisive role in production. In recent years their son, Achileas Harhalos, has followed in his father's footsteps and now works energetically in the family business.

I like this hard-working family so very much. To this day they welcome any challenging request that I might make.

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23. The Koupetoris Shipyard

The Koupetoris Shipyard is a traditional shipyard that has been in operation since 1920. It is now owned by the third generation of the Koupetoris family.

The yard was founded by the seaman Dimitris Koupetoris in the location now occupied by the Nautical Club of Salamis. He had eight children: Vaggelis, Nikos, Lefteris, Spyros, Olympia, Kyriakoula, Eleftheria, and Paraskevi.

Because the original location of the yard was swampy one of the children contacted tuberculosis. After a few years the yard was moved a small distance west to its present location.

A single shed made up the work area where they built small boats and caïques. The family lived in a two-room stone house located inside the yard and furnished with a small wood-burning oven and a well. The outhouse was a wooden shack on a pier over the water. 

All the children worked in the yard, even the girls who operated the hand-turned windlass used for hauling out the caïques.

The oldest son, Mastro-Vaggelis, was born in 1918. He specialized in installing engines. When I went to the yard for the first time (1988), Vaggelis had retired and did not do any work. But he was a friend of Mastro-Pachos and partook of many dinner parties with us. Unfortunately he is no longer alive.

Nikos was also retired at that time. He, too, is no longer alive.

Lefteris did not regularly work in the shipyard, but he did help out on occasion and consulted for them. He had a lovely gaita (γαϊτα a variation of a small trechantiri) with which he often went fishing. He, too, participated in our dinner parties. I liked him a lot because he always had a kind word in his mouth. He, too, died recently.

Mastro-Spyros, the youngest son, worked regularly in the yard. He was an excellent boat-carpenter. He was in charge of “Faneromeni’s” keel replacement. I am particularly fond of him. He is now retired.

Regarding the Koupetoris girls, Mrs. Paraskevi operated a café-fish-taverna within the yard which is still there. A lot of our dinner parties took place there with almost all the people involved with the work on the “Faneromeni”.

Mrs. Kyriakoula has two children: George Karayiannis, who was part of the yard crew and is a boat-carpenter and cabinet-maker, and Christina. Christina is married to Dimitris Prasinos, also part of the yard crew-- an intelligent and very capable man. 

The third generation consists of:
° Vaggelis’ children, Mimis and Manos,
° Lefteris’ son,Titos,
° Mastro-Spyros’ son, Dimitrakis,
° Christina’s son (Christina is married to Dimitris Prasinos),
° Yiannis.

The Koupetoris Shipyard has a good reputation throughout all of Greece, this is particularly true among the older seamen who brought their boats for repairs and ordered new boats.

Today the shipyard, still under family ownership, has been largely modernized. They operate a mechanical trailer for haul-outs. The yard’s crew now consists of Mimis, Manos, Titos, and Dimitrakis.

The smaller section of the yard operates as a traditional shipyard, hauling out boats by means of the old fashioned docking blocks. It is operated by Dimitris Prasinos, his son, Yiannis, and George Karayiannis.

I have excellent working relations with the whole crew and I haul out “Faneromeni” in their yard every year.

Note: The information for the above text was provided by Mimis Koupetoris in February of 2009.

 

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24. Nikitas Prasinos & Pantelis Koukis 

 

The machine shop within the Koupetoris Shipyard once belonged to Pantelis Koukis but Nikitas Prasinos, the son of Christina Karayianni and Dimitris Prasinos, had a share in the shop at an early age. When Pantelis retired a few years ago, Nikitas became the sole owner of the machine shop.

During the winter months, when “Faneromeni” is on the hard for maintenance at the shipyard, I have ordered a number of items to be fabricated in the machine shop. All the items made by either Pantelis or Nikitas were machined carefully and reliably.

I was very saddened recently when I learned that Pantelis had passed away.

In the meantime, Nikitas is keeping up Pantelis' standards and is his worthy successor. I like Nikitas and I trust him. 
 

 

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25. Lefteris & Ntinos Gaitanios 

As I have already mentioned, since the second year of my ownership of the caïque down to this day, I haul her out every winter in the Koupetoris shipyard. The Halkitis Shipyard, where “Faneromeni” was hauled out for the first time, is not available, owing to their heavy workload, for the approximately three-month annual stay on the dry that is needed.

Mastro-Lefteris (Zempekakias), with Ntinos, his son, painted the hull and underbody every year until Mastro-Lefteris passed away. A fact that greatly saddened me.

Since then Ntinos, who apprenticed for many years under his father, continues the annual painting of the caïque, doing a careful and meticulous job.

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26. Yiorgos Delitzias & Vaggelis Tzachristas 

Yiorgos Delitzias and his co-worker Vaggelis Tzachristas are engine mechanics specialized in generators (gensets).

Since the first Onan genset was installed in the “Faneromeni” by Mr. Antonis Mpekatoros in April of 1991, they have been responsible for its maintenance. Both of them are honest, respectable and dependable professionals experienced with gensets.

During the period between December 2009 and January 2010 they undertook the removal of the old Onan generator and the installation of a new Kohler model 7EFOZD 6.5 kW/1.500 RPM8 230V/50Hz 28.3 A. Thanks to their skills the installation was completed very successfully.

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 27. Yiorgos Loukanis & Dionysis Mpaklavas

 

Yiorgos Loukanis and his co-worker Dionysis Mpaklavas are painters who have painted, over the last few years, all the deckhouses, the gunwale, deck, and other structures of the “Faneromeni”.

Before they started working on the caïque they had no experience in painting boats — and wooden boats at that. But after some guidance, and because of their diligence and zeal, they achieved good results and became part of the regular maintenance team. Both are of good character and I like them very much.

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28. Stelios Harakoglou 

Stelios Harakoglou is my friend of many years. During the time that “Faneromeni” was being reconstructed in the Marina 4 of Glyfada, he owned a beautiful sailboat that was moored right next to the “Faneromeni”.

Stelios has vast boating experience (many boats have “passed” through his hands), a highly-developed aesthetic sense, and because of his high intelligence he quickly grasps technical and construction problems to which he finds practical and aesthetically attractive solutions. So it was natural that he would have opinions and propose solutions to the many issues arising during the restoration of the “Faneromeni”. His opinions and solutions carried a great weight with me.

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29. Rosina Kastrinaki 

Rosina Kastrinaki is my spirited companion. During the first cruise of the “Faneromeni” she was the “engineer” operating the engine levers from inside the engine room since there were then no engine controls. She also put up with the primitive conditions on the boat during restoration and stoically endured all the adversities.

Rosina participated decisively in the choice of various materials, fabrics, and, in general, the aesthetics of the interior spaces.

I must mention also her unsurpassed cooking skills and improvisational abilities in creating wonderful dishes with meager ingredients