After Conall

Strom Conall went well south of Orkney, so no dramas up here, business as usual. For some reason known only to the builders who installed the large boat door they removed a fire exit handrail which didn't require removing. We are now finally getting around to reinstalling the handrail.

Work clearing bruck (rubbish) out from the inside of Venture turned up an unexpected find. A rather old bottle of Stella was discovered. Keeping the boat as light as possible was obviously not top priority for the last crew to race this boat.

Work on Saga continues, we are now working on fixtures & fittings such as the rudder and centre board.

After Bert

Orkney missed the worst of storm Bert, although we had some snow the warm sea means that the snow never stays around for very long. Storm Connall missed us completely, didn't even notice that one going past to the south.

Doris is almost finished. Deck fittings have been refitted and the interior boards reinstalled. There is a little paint touch up work to be completed at some point.

Doris deck fittings being reinstalled

Doris

Work has continued on stripping the catamaran Venture in preparation for new paintwork.

Venture

Snow, Ice & Storm Bert

With snow & ice during the week we had a slightly reduced turnout this week. The set of storage shelves rescued from the fireworks night community bonfire have been tightened up with additional fixings and cross bracing added. These shelves will be pressed into use next week.

Nellie's rudder has been getting painted despite the cold weather.

It's getting colder

A set of shelves was rescued from the local fireworks bonfire by some observant volunteers. The shelves need a little fixing up but will be a valuable addition in one of our storage rooms.

Inside and out of the weather cleaning up of the inside of Esmeralda continues and paint work on Nellie and Doris.

While we label parts taken off boats, not all the parts taken off a boat always end up in the same place so some time has been spent locating and consolidating various parts into label baskets.

Working on Boats

This week we received a generous donation of tools from the Black Country = Dudley in the midlands. Being a nice day work started outside with stripping of Nellie's rudder and old varnish off Venture.

Nellie's rudder

Venture

Inside Saga's third coat of varnish on the new deck is now cured.

Not sure what is going on here...

After all that work tea break

Sorting out wood

With some decent weather we used the opportunity to sort through the sawn larch planks we have stored outside. As well as separating the planks into 'thick' and 'thin' piles we swept off all the sawdust stuck to them from when the sawmill cut them.

and all sorted ready for the winter

Inside Saga has had her cap shroud chain plates replaced but not yet bolted into position. Also her deck was sanded back for a third coat of varnish.

Work was started on stripping all fittings off Venture so that we can see what restoration work needs to be undertaken.

The internals of Doris have received a topcoat.

Maintenance & More Boat Moves

As well have working on boats we also have to maintain their supporting infrastructure. This week we serviced all the trailer lightboards we have. This involved checking all the lights were working and making sure all cables were properly anchored.

Two more boats were moved and covered ready for the winter. Esmerelda being prepared for towing:

Boats ready for the winter