Nancy Belle Update

As the Nancy Belle 2016 river trips are scheduled to start on the 29th April she is currently getting most of the crew's attention, not to mention the fact that it is dry in the boat shed. The foredeck has now joined the afterdeck and been ripped out due to a wet patch, discovered when the forward bulkhead was removed, failing to dry out. Deck support stringers plus cross members have been manufactured, checked for size, removed and are now ready to be painted. With the removal of her after deck and bulkhead, access to the after section of inner hull and transom is a lot easier. This section is being slowly scraped and sanded back to bare wood.

At present the only activities happening on Shamrock are the occasional pumping out and salting.

All Go

After being washed out, Nancy Belle is now stored in the boat shed where she is starting to look a different boat. All her seats, the after deck, forward and after bulkheads have been removed, painting her will now be a lot easier. Any patches of wet wood are being allowed to dry out before the decision is taken on exactly what is to be replaced, this will be in addition to the couple of ribs already known about. After someone mentioned the word 'varnish’ to Shaune, her gunwales are being striped back to bare wood in preparation for a coat of varnish, that’s in addition to some of Shamrock's blocks already in the process of being varnished.

Nancy Belle view forward

View aft

Preparing For Winter

Shamrock

With the days drawing in Shamrock's winter preparations have continued with the main and mizzen sails, booms, gaffs and some blocks removed. Removal of the mast blocks has been delayed until the wind dies down. The most physical job to date involved removing the anchor and all the 61 plus meters (200ft) of anchor chain.

Boat Shed

Most of the gear removed from Shamrock has been stowed in the boat shed, due to a rip in the sail cover the mizzen sail did need to be dried before being folded and stowed. The anchor chain has been flaked out on the floor and the anchor placed on top. A section of workbench has been set-aside as a block cleaning and varnishing area. Items that have not got a stowage space and are not in need of immediate maintenance have been moved to the wood store. The shed has also been tided and rearranged ready for Nancy Belle.

Anchor and chain.

Ready for Nancy Belle

Nancy Belle

As the first winter storms have arrived Nancy Belle has been moved from her river mooring onto Shamrock's slipway. When the tide is right and the crew available she will be hauled onto the boat shed slipway. Finally after she has been washed out she will be moved into the boat shed ready for a few repairs and another coat of paint. Shaune has also been muttering something about moving the waterline down as it has been to high since the new lighter engine was fitted.

End of Season

Life in the boat shed is now beginning to return to normal after a week of being used for the Halloween activities on the quay. It looked a bit of a mess after all the pumpkin carving, mask and broom making, The crew is not sure who enjoyed it the most, adults or children. These activities, being so close, resulted in a large number of visitors on board during that week.

Abandoned broomsticks. 

Winter working has started with the removal of Shamrock's life rings, navigation sidelight boards, cabin furniture and anything else that is easily removed. The cargo hatch vents have been fitted and a temporary winter gangway manufactured. Due to the recent wet weather the sails have been left for a dryer day.

Temporary gangway.

One of the winter tasks is to list what is required to fit an engine in Shamrock. It is planned to install one either: early in the 2016 season, or during the winter of 2016-17. A decision also has to be made as to where the work is to be carried out. If the work is to be done on the slipway at Cotehele Quay then either, new slipway rails need to be fitted or the old sleepers removed, which is proving harder than expected, and the holes filled with concrete. If this option is taken then a new set of different style wheels will need to be purchased for the cradle.

Working on Shamrock's slipway.

Cargo Hatch

To enable easy access to Shamrock's hold the 22ft (6.7m) long by 11ft (3.3m) cargo hatch is sub-divided into nine sections starting with two 'drop in' beams with there ends resting in wooden shoe cleats bolted into the hatch coamings. The beams and head ledges are fitted with similar shoe cleats for the the six fore and aft timbers which fit between the hatch beams. Each of these six timbers, along with the side hatch combings have rebates in their upper faces for the edges of the hatch-covers. Each of the twenty seven individual hatch boards are a slightly different size and are marked with their positions to save time when refitting them. Visitors to Shamrock are advised that the easiest way to view below deck is via the ladder located under the forward starboard corner hatch board, little do they realise that when she was a working boat there would have been no ladder. Access to the hold was achieved via the forward or after cabins. 

Ladder and four hatch boards removed.

Hatch board starboard three.

Hanging Knees

Shamrock's wrought-iron hanging knees support the main beams that carry the forward and after end of the cargo hatch coaming. They are also used on the smaller sections of beam that support the side coamings along with the deck planks that run between the hull and cargo hatch. As these knees have become corroded the crew has started on the task of stripping off the old paint and corrosion followed with a coat of fresh paint.

One freshly painted knee. 

Shamrock's Staysail has been aired off and stowed away for the winter.

Visiting steam Launch Halcyon used Cotehele Quays slipway for launching and recovery during a recent river trip.  A certain member of the crew was getting quite nostalgic when the smell of burning coal mixed with steam wafted over the quay.

Autumn Sun

While Shamrock has been bathing in the autumn sun the fire pump has once again been put into service clearing her slipway of a few months accumulation of mud, visitors where warned to stand clear as hoses have been known to end up pointing in the wrong direction. The boat shed is also being tided up and a space cleared ready to house Nancy Belle for the winter. She needs a few broken ribs replaced and a good coat of paint before next spring.

Little Charly's mast has now been returned to her as it had been stowed in the boat shed while she was away on her European waterways tour, something about it being to tall for the bridges.