Wood Surgery

As a result of Shaune being bit of a perfectionist and Nancy Belle having a broken nose, a bit of boat shed wood surgery was performed and she is now sporting a shiny new nose.

While the boat shed wood burner was working overtime keeping the crew warm Shamrock was left out in the cold.

Nancy Belle River Trips 2016

After consulting this years tide tables a full list of Nancy Belle 2016 river trip dates has now been released.

Day	Times
Friday 29 April	09:00 - 11:00
Monday 2 May	12:30 - 14:30
Friday 13 May	09:00 - 11:00
Monday 16 May	13:00 - 15:00
Monday 30 May	10:30 - 12:30
Tuesday 31 May	12:00 - 14:00
Friday 10 June	09:30 - 11:30
Monday 13 June	11:45 - 13:45
Tuesday 14 June	12:45 - 14:45
Wednesday 15 June	13:15 - 15:15
Monday 27 June	10:15 - 12:15
Tuesday 28 June	11:00 - 13:00
Wednesday 29 June	12:15 - 14:15
Monday 11 July	10:00 - 12:00
Tuesday 12 July	10:45 - 12:45
Wednesday 13 July	11:30 - 13:30
Thursday 14 July	12:45 - 14:45
Monday 25 July	09:45 - 11:45
Tuesday 26 July	10:00 - 12:00
Wednesday 27 July	10:45 - 12:45
Thursday 28 July	12:00 - 14:00
Tuesday 9 August	09:15 - 11:15
Monday 10 August	09:45 - 11:45
Thursday 11 August	10:45 - 12:45
Friday 12 August	11:45 - 13:45
Tuesday 23 August	09:00 - 11:00
Wednesday 24 August	09:45 - 11:45
Thursday 25 August	10:30 - 12:30
Friday 26 August	11:30 - 13:30
Wednesday 7 September	09:00 - 11:00
Thursday 8 September	09:15 - 11:15
Friday 9 September	09:45 - 11:45

Starting from Cotehele Quay Shamrock’s support boat, Nancy Belle, will head up river past riverside woodlands, under the railway viaduct, past Calstock and deeper into the valley and on towards Morwellham Quay. Throughout the trip there will be a commentary on the valley’s fauna, flora and history. The trip will last approximately 2 hours. There is no cover on the boat so please dress for the weather on the day.

£15 per head (no price reductions).

Bookings and details call 01579 351346.

Now all the crew needs to do is put Nancy Belle back together, finish painting her and get her back in the water.

New Foredeck.

It's Wet

After being left in the heavy rain over the Christmas and New Year period the crew was surprised to find that Shamrock had not taken in a lot of water, it has been known for her to take in more over one wet day in the summer when the deck is dry and the planks have shrunk. The rain has also stopped all work on Shamrock apart from the maintenance of her rigging blocks and a few other bits that have been removed to the boat shed. Her temporary cargo hold vents appear to be working as she is not smelling musty.

Shamrock awaiting the next band of rain.

Being in the boat shed Nancy Belle has benefited from the wet weather as she has been receiving most of the crews attention with the fabrication of new forward and after decks, sanding of her outer hull and a start made on the painting of her bilges. Her engine has been removed for servicing and to allow access to parts of the bilge that haven't seen a paint brush in years.

Shamrock's 2015 Review & 2016 Look Ahead

2015

Started with Shamrock's main and mizzen masts being removed to the boat shed where they were stripped back to bare wood, dried out, patched up, painted, varnished and finally stepped (put up) in March. After being rigged and a period of general maintenance (painting) her first trip of the year was completed in June with a trip to Saltash Regatta. The end of July saw Shamrock attend the Plymouth Classic Boat Rally with both the outward and return journeys completed in wet weather. Augusts 'Shamrock Day' was a success and with the increasing number of visitors during the year a new gangway was purchased in September to make access easier and more robust. The rest of the year was taken up with yet more painting. Finally, after years of hint dropping by the crew, planning and fundraising to fit an engine in Shamrock has started. This will make trips to Plymouth, and perhaps beyond, a lot less fraught with the added bonus of, when away for a weekend, being able to easily take her out into Plymouth Sound and actually sail her.

2016

Is the year the National Trust becomes the sole owners of Shamrock and some form of celebration is being planned, (party time). This will also be the ‘year of the engine’ with Shaune and Joe searching out the correct engine for her and Shaune working out how and where to fit it. The annual trips to Saltash Regatta and Plymouth Classic Boat Rally are planned with maybe some bonus trips.

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.