Friday, 18 August 2023

Sheena + Tern

The engine in Sheena was run for a good while today using a hose pipe to supply cooling water. At the same time the interior of Tern was cleaned out. Since being added to the historic fleet Tern has been in 'tight' storage with little access so this is the first proper opportunity we have had to sort through the debris. 



Working in Tern

Friday, 11 August 2023

Ruby moved in & clearing out elsewhere

Ruby was moved into the Old Herring Factory and currently sits alongside the other small boats inside.

Ruby settled in at her new home

The time had finally arrived to move all the remaining OHBS assets out of one of the several storage locations OHBS has been using in Mainland Orkney. Two boats and a pile of wood had to be moved so a work group set about the task which was only slightly interrupted by drizzle for a short time.

Loading wood
Unloading wood
Loading Tern onto a trailer for moving

Thursday, 10 August 2023

Meet Ruby

Today we picked up the Alex Stout built 12' dinghy Ruby from near Kirkwall. Ruby was built in North Grinaby, Westray in the 1960s for a Capt Burgher.




Wednesday, 19 July 2023

Stromness Shopping Week

As part of Stromness Shopping Week, OHBS will be displaying a few boats at the Old Lighthouse Pier in Stromness. Today the boats to be displayed were moved from the Old Herring Factory to the Old Lighthouse Pier and placed inside a large shed on the pier. Some boats will be moved outside and rigged if the weather permits.

Who is doing what?
Lagertha outside at the Old Lighthouse Pier
Laverne inside at the Old Lighthouse Pier

Work starts on new big boat door

Work has started on fitting a new big boat door in one end of the Stromness storage facility. Without the big boat door we have not been able to get the larger boats into the storage facility - only those boats that could be fitted through a loading bay door could be got into the building. In addition to the fitting of a large roller door a ramp has to be constructed externally to enable vehicle access to the new door as the ground outside was a metre or so below door level.



Friday, 14 July 2023

Visitors & maintenance

A 90 year old lady visited OHBS today to see the old naval launch Nellie which was once owned by her family. As a young girl aged 9-10 in the early 1940's she used to crew on the boat to assist with steering if the engine faltered as it did sometimes.

Back at the Old Herring Factory we had to remove a tarpaulin from one boat because it was acting as a giant rain catcher. The boat will now be left uncovered for a while.

Tarp drying in the sunshine



Friday, 7 July 2023

Laverne gets a wash, Cingalee & Falcon move home

After several years in a farm shed and despite being covered the birds have managed to get under the cover over Laverne and have left their marks. A low pressure wash removed most of the offending material. Cingalee and Falcon have been moved from their old storage location to the new storage facility in Stromness. Cingalee was blocked off so that her trailer could be used to then move Nellie into a more accessible position in her storage shed.

Laverne getting a washdown


Cingalee ready to be moved. Bay of Ireland behind.

Blocking off Cingalee

Falcon coming out of the shed + film crew!

Preparing to move Nellie