Shamrock Sculpture

Shamrock Feature: After raiding the boat shed for some old rope, a few blocks and Shamrock's old “transom fashion piece”, the plank in which the name of Shamrock together with her Port of Registry is carved, a model of Shamrock features as one of the sculptures on the Daffodil Discovery trail at Cotehele. This was created by a group from the National Association of Flower Arrangers Society.

Work progressing on Shamrock

• All her bulwark stanchions have been caulked with oakum where they pass through the covering boards and had 'Jeffery’s No 2 Black Marine Glue' (tar) hot poured into the seams. An old chip fryer is used to melt the glue.

• Tenons have been cut into the top of the stanchions and two of the 2 in (50 mm) larch capping rails cut, shaped and fitted.

• Larch for the three 1 in. (25 mm) strakes of bulwark planking have been cut, reduced to the thickness and length required from 32 ft. (9.75 m) planks, and each strake is also having their different profiles cut. All this has been creating a bit of a mess in the boat shed.

Daniel making the first cut.  

No comment!

Extra Shipwrights

Since Josh left for Iceland Shuggs has been joined by Julian Gray, Mark Lane and Daniel Butlin on various days. Daniel is a volunteer work experience student from Falmouth Marine School. The crew is wondering how Shuggs is treating his helpers as Julian has already left for Thailand!

• With the fitting of Shamrock's last ‘Shutter’ plank, her hull is now complete. Nail hole pugging and fairing of her new planks is being progressed.

• Camber has been added to the cargo hatch coaming ends, eight new shoe-cleats have been bolted to the inside of the coaming these take the two 'drop in' hatch beams and four ends of the six fore and aft beams. Each of the six fore and aft timbers have rebates in their upper faces for the edges of the hatch-covers. The existing beams have been dropped into place along with the hatch boards. The hatch boards are being checked for fit with some trimming still required to make them flush with the coaming.

• Oak packing pieces have been fitted to the bottom of the ‘Hawsepipes’ to enable the extending of the line of the covering boards to the ‘Stem post’.

• Both port and starboard sides of the ‘Breasthook’ have been through bolted back into place

• A start has been made on the caulking of the new hull plank seams.

Shutting Up Shamrock

The latest news from a busy Cotehele Quay.

• After a final check for size and a layer of ‘black butter’ the fitting of Shamrock's covering boards has been completed.

• Her bulwark stanchions have been through bolted into place.

• The sheer strake and top hull plank has been marked to insure the shutter plank nails are driven into solid wood thereby missing any existing metal fastening.

• The starboard forward shuttering plank has been steamed, temporarily clamped into place and allowed to cool. Once released the set of the curve is clearly visible. Shutter planks are the strake of planks below the sheer strake and the last to be fitted shutting up the hull.

• Shamrocks new deck timbers have been moved to the boat shed to dry ready for cutting and shaping.

• ‘Nancy Belle’, with the first of her river trips due in April, has been hauled into the boat shed and is having a lick of paint and some minor alterations ready for the new season.