Best Laid Plans

Monday's plan to replace Shamrock's broken section of bulwark washstrake didn't quite go according to plan. The Mashford apprentices arrived and the morning was spent planning and shaping the new plank ready for fitting. The actual fitting of the plank had to be cancelled due to heavy rain stopping the electric steamer from being used. Fitting is now scheduled for Monday 31st, weather permitting.

Shamrock's painting season has started to gather pace with both main and mizzen tabernacles (the housings that holds the masts) having numerous layers of paint removed ready for painting, when a couple dry warm days arrive.

Main tabernacle.

Mizzen tabernacle.

  

Boatbuilding Skills

Anyone who wants a demonstration of wooden boatbuilding skills should visit Cotehele Quay on Monday 24th March as Shamrock is scheduled to have a new section of washstrake shaped and steamed into place. This is due to be completed by apprentices from Mashfords under the supervision of their Falmouth Maritime School instructor John Habgood and of course the watchful eye of Shaune. In preparation for this the remaining patched section of washstrake has been removed in one piece using hammers, wooden wedges and a large iron bar, then the exposed section of capping rail scraped and primed.

Paint seal broken.

The final lift.

Tough nut!

Exposed capping rail.

Ready for the new section.

Old washstrake and it's replacement.

Seasons Preparations

The preparation of Shamrock for the season's visitors is now well underway with the freshly painted aft deckhouse and fore skylight/companion-way taken back on-board and fitted into place. With the long awaited arrival of some warm, dry and sunny weather a start has been made on the painting of Shamrock's superstructure.

A look in the boat shed also reveals that the new gangway has been completed and is ready for use.

The good weather has enabled the crew's lunch to be taken al fresco, life's tough at times.

Bulwark Repairs

On the occasional dry days over the last couple of weeks Shaune has been quietly getting on with the repairs to Shamrock's damaged bulwark.
First to be done was the trimming off of the broken section and then any newly exposed wood cleaned and primed.  Next came the refitting of the recovered section of capping rail and forward oak section of washstrake, complete with staghorns.

Forward section with staghorns.

The separate ends of the capping rail have been shaped and a new section of oak scarfed in between the two sections.

Capping rail before

and after.

Over the next couple of weeks a new larch plank from the bow section to the midship cargo gate will be fitted and steamed into place to complete the job. This will also entail removing more of the previously patched washstrake enabling one continuous plank to be used.   

  

Season Preparations.

Meanwhile Shamrock is being prepared for the visitor season with the forward cabin table and stools being taken back onboard and a start made on reinstating of her rigging. 

Spring Tides

For once the most recent spring tides didn't flood the boat shed and only managed to give the dock wall daffodils a good watering! 

  

Ship Log

Whilst one of the volunteers was ferreting about in the store room, she recognised parts of a Walker’s Ship Log.  After much Brasso and polishing, the stamp ‘Walker’s Cherub III Ship Log’ showed up.  It’s an instrument used to record the distance travelled by a ship and so calculates the ship’s speed.

A dial on board the ship records the number of revolutions of a spinner or rotor towed behind the ship.  For this model, 900 revolutions of the rotor meant the ship had travelled one nautical mile.

A nautical mile is about 1.15 statute miles. One minute of latitude is about one nautical mile and one knot is one nautical mile per hour (it all depends on where in the world you are).  Nowadays, speed is determined by hull-mounted units which use RADAR, ultrasound or GPS.  Speeds measured with a GPS differ from those measured by other means in that they are Speed Over Ground (accounting for the effect of current), while the others are Speed Through the Water, which does not account for current.