Can You Just

The day is Tuesday and it's getting late, Shaune is about to lock up for the night when Joe, Cotehele's head ranger, appears at the door with a box of old bike bit's. "Shaune can you just make some trophies for the weekend's King of the Hill" he asks.
As Shaune is not known for refusing a challenge most of Wednesday was taken up with designing and producing what can only be described as a couple of more unusual trophies.

The following event blurb describes the weekend's King of the Hill event.

King of the Hill cycling race
19 October 2013 10am-3pm
This is a knock out cycling competition organised by the Plymouth Cycle Club. You'll start at the Edgcumbe tea-room on Cotehele Quay and cycle up the hill to just near reception at Cotehele House. The morning event is a race to decide who will be in the King of the Hill race and the afternoon event is the King of the Hill race proper.

Winter Preparations

Shamrock's staysail has been removed to the boat shed where it was dried and folded before being stowed for the winter. Only the main and mizzen to go.

Web News

Last week's visitor obviously decided there is a better chance of catching flies at a different location and has now moved web to above a table near one of the sheds windows. Still no signs of any flies getting caught though.

Arachnophobia Alert!

Life on Shamrock and in the boat shed is starting to get quiet with the number of visitors reducing every week. We have even managed to leave one visitor to the boat shed hanging around above Shaune's boat.

Not that all activity has ceased with work continuing on the new gangway. The design has been changed and instead of using the existing gangways stanchions these are now being manufactured from wood, along with the hand rails. One result of this activity has been that we now have a tidy wood rack, well almost.

The ‘Thursday gang,’ hoisted the jib so that it dried in the sunshine and at the end of the watch unbent it and took it into its winter quarters in the shed. Just to prove to Shaune that they were not slacking while he's away!

More Jobs!

A job that was omitted from the last blog is the construction of a new gangway. This job is already under way in the boat shed and is now awaiting some new wheels and the stanchions to be removed from the existing gangway, at the end of the season.

One visitor to the boat shed also suggested that Shaune should make a cat-o-nine-tails. Something to do with keeping all the volunteers in order!

After last week's photo of Shamrock sat on the mud in the afternoon sun, this week's shows her afloat in the morning sun.

While on the subject of photo's here's one of the mud buggy. Lovely lines for keeping the mud out.

Winter Working

As Shamrock basks in the autumn sun, winter working plans are being discussed.

During the winter Shamrock normally sits on her cradle at the top of the slipway with her winter cover on, this cover is very low and restrictive. So this years plan is to leave her in the dock, remove the rigging and some of the spars and leave at least the main mast standing. The idea behind this is to use the masts and possibly the booms to support a higher cover over the deck to enable wet weather working without being on your knees.
The list of planned jobs seems to be growing and as with all Shamrock's plans a lot depends upon the weather.

Shamrock Jobs

• Remove the after deckhouse* to the boat shed for repair and painting.
• Remove the forward hatch cover** to the boat shed for painting.
• Remove the existing caulking from the hold side decks and the after deck. Replace any rotten planks from these decks and then re-caulk them. Easily said but not so easily done.
• Grease/oil the stay wires.
• Later or in the spring get out the mud buggy*** and paint the hull to the mud line.  

* Referred to as skylight/ companion-way in Shamrock's restoration book.
** Referred to as fore skylight/ companion-way.
** Mud buggy, a large open top rectangular wooden box that's lowered into the mud alongside Shamrock and used work from. Top job.

Nancy Belle Jobs.

• Either secure at the top of the boat shed slipway or take into the boat shed.
• Remove deck boards and engine.
• Paint the bilges, refit and realign the engine.
• Make new soundproofed engine cover.
• Clean and paint the hull. 

One thing we can be sure of is that these lists will be changing.

All Quiet on Shamrock

Regular followers of this blog may be wondering why there has been no mention of any maintenance activity (painting) on Shamrock over the summer period. This is mainly due to the fact that she has been open for visitors on most week days and as we have found out visitors and wet paint don't mix very well.
The plus side of this is meeting lots of very interesting visitors from all walks of life and some inquisitive children who think it's great that they can walk below deck while the adults have to stoop. Either that or walk into one of the very low beams.
As plans are already being drawn up for winter working we are sure this lack of activity will soon come to an end.

Bonus Trip

Due to the success of the Nancy Belle river trips a bonus trip has been organised for Sunday 15th September. Don't all rush to the phone to book a place though as this and tomorrows, Thursday 12th, trips are already fully booked.

Early Owners and Masters

A list of known Shamrock's owners and masters from before the 1970's restoration.
This information was originally researched and compiled by Alan Viner of the National Maritime Museum.

Date	Owner(s)	Shares	Master
1899 4th September	Tom Williams Lighterman of Torpoint	64	Tom Williams
1907 27th May	Tom Williams Fred Williams Lighterman of Torpoint	32 32	Fred Williams
First Registry of vessel closed July 14th 1919. – Registered anew after structural alterations and the addition of a motor as a sailing vessel with an auxiliary motor.
1919 3rd October	William Betty Merchant Saltash William Betty Merchant St Germans Robert Telford Merchant Saltash	Joint 64 owners	James Garland
1920 20th January	William Betty Robert Telford	Joint 64 owners	James Garland
1926 15th February	Ethel Steed Widow of St Germans	64	Richard Hoskins
1928 4th May	Steed Bros. Notter River Quarries	64	Richard Hoskins
1932 23 June	Charles Dunn Company Secretary Saltash Arthur Russell Accountant of Bodmin Ethel Steed Widow of Plympton	21 22 21	William Trebilcock
1936 1st November	West of England Road Metal Company	64	William Trebilcock
1962 17th July	E. Richardson Horticulturist Falmouth	64
21st July	Costal Prospecting Co London	64	Ernest Stephens
Second registry of vessel closed 6th August 1963. – After the installation of two diesel engines registered anew as a twin screw motor ship.
1966 2 May	Richard Curnow Engineer of Helston	64
1973 28th April	Robert Fildew Driver of Plymouth	64
1974 11th February	The National Trust Westminster London	64

For the purposes of registration, a ship is divided into 64 shares; most maritime nations (the United States being an exception) follow this custom.

Why 64 Shares?
As normal there appears to be more than one explanation.
The three that follow seem to be the most popular.

1. The fact that ships traditionally had 64 ribs

2. Under Queen Victoria ship owners were taxed 36% and left with the remaining 64%.

3. Or maybe it's part of the easy maths way to divide up a unit
1
1/2
1/4
1/8
1/16
1/32
1/64
Originating in the earliest trading days when the owner wanted to split the risks of voyaging between his financial friends. No decimal or % business in them there days!
All the "sixty-fourth" shares were sold off and could be split again by the new purchasers, but so long as all the fractions added up to 1, the risks were properly shared out.

On a lighter note

This week has seen the arrival in the boat shed of one of Rob Roy sailing canoe's direct descendants.