Chief Plugger

Joe Lawrence, who has recently handed over his role as Cotehele Head Ranger, is now working on Shamrock until his retirement at the end of July. Joe who pushed for Shamrock's current conservation program, sources most of the wood and materials required and is also currently assisting in the cutting, fitting and paring of the hundreds of wooden plugs. These are required for Shamrock's deck and hull planks.

• To stiffen the deckhouse side decks, four support straps have been fitted between the ‘beamshelf’ and the deckhouse coaming support beams. These are slightly larger than the side deck straps, and to allow for the deck camber the outer ends are ‘tenon-jointed’ into the ‘beamshelf’ and the inner ends dropped into shoes fixed to the coaming support beam.

• After being moved back onboard the forward companionway and aft deckhouse have been fitted to their respective coamings.

• Another twelve deck planks have been cut, shaped and are in the process of having their underside painted.
• The extension on Shamrock's temporary cover is now down, with the main structure due to be removed within the next few weeks.

• Painting of Shamrock has been in abeyance for over a year, due to all the work being carried out, so the crew have started priming the covering boards, bulwark stanchions and capping rails. This is the first stage of some protracted ‘Paintbrush’ activity.