New Paint Locker

A recent addition to the boat shed is a new 'Control of substances hazardous to health' (COSHH) locker. As far as the crew is concerned it will be known as the 'Paint locker' replacing the existing large wooden paint locker. As the existing locker has been flooded frequently in the last few years the new one has been raised off the floor. The old one will be used for storing oakham and other bit and pieces but only on the shelf leaving the floor area free to flood.
Oakham is used in the caulking of Shamrock.

Shaune has been busy renovating the pram dinghy with the fitting of new oak gunwales ready for varnishing. Well the oak is too good to just paint over!

Winter Working

Jobs are being prioritised for this winters working. The main one will be removing of the main mast into the boat shed ready to be surveyed for rot and then it will be stripped back to bare wood, allowed to dry and finally painted and varnished ready for a new season.

All the rigging will be removed from Shamrock, and looking at the state of some of the pulley blocks these are going to need a good sanding and a few coats of varnish as well.

Venting Shamrock

As the nights are drawing in, and it should be getting wetter, Shamrock's cargo hatch canvas cover has been replaced for the winter after being removed in May. As Shamrock tends to sweat when she is shut up for the winter the port forward and after hatch boards have been removed and replaced with sheets of plywood angled with large wooden wedges to create a venting gap at each end of the hatch coaming. The temporary boards are covered with the canvas which in turn is held in place by metal straps and wooden wedges finally the original hatch boards are placed on top. This discourages visitors trying to use the temporary boards as a ski ramp! One more advantage of this setup is the extra light it lets into the normally dark cargo hold.

Nancy Belle Trips

Accompanied by glorious weather the Nancy Belle has completed her last public river trip of the year. During the trip she managed to navigate a lot further up the Tamer than normal, this is down to the fact that some of the large trees that were blocking the river above Morwellham Quay have been removed. The problem with the Tamar River is when a tree is down you cannot be sure what’s under the water around it due to the murkiness caused by silt, this makes the water very murky. There is a rumour that Nancy Belle is due at least one more trip upriver this year, this time for the volunteers, we just hope the weather is as good.

Nancy Belle returns.

Can we use her for water skiing?

A single bat has been spotted under the eaves at the front of the boat shed. The crew not being chiropterologists (bat experts) have no idea what species it is or if it wants to become a member of Shamrock's crew.

Hanging around.

Another photo of Shamrock.