Friday, 19 June 2026

It's Getting Hot

As the next heat wave hits the country, 15C in Orkney, work on Venture includes painting of dagger boards and rudders and sorting through the fittings to see what goes where on the hulls.



Following a visit from members of UHI (University of the Highlands and Islands) to catalogue the Labradorite stones have in our care, we have put the stones back in storage.

While the weather outside was not too bad we did some weeding.




Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Aldis Lamp

Work on refurbishing the Aldis Lamp has been completed. The box has been stripped and repainted and all fittings repaired or replaced as best we can. The lamp itself has been left untouched except for a clean as it works.




Friday, 5 June 2026

Refurbishment & Protection

A 1936 Aldis Lamp & storage case is being refurbished - the lamp still works.




A lot of the old tools we have in storage has been cleaned and oiled to protect them again rusting when the weather gets damper.



Friday, 29 May 2026

Spring Cleaning

We needed to extract our Labradorite rocks from the back of a storage area to allow the local archaeology dept to catalogue all the stones. This operation required us to move a lot of other materials so we took the opportunity to sort out the worth keeping from bruck.


Bruck has been put aside to be checked again before we recycle or dispose of.


Along the way we recovered the spray decks for Laverne. These spray decks can be attached to the boat usually in stronger winds to allow a greater angle of heel without the risk of down flooding into the cockpit. A flip up section allows the crew to sit comfortably on the windward side.



Friday, 22 May 2026

Sag

Cingalee has a slight sag towards her bow where the weight of the foredeck adds to the load on the keel. To address this problem we have added additional support under the sides of the hull and relieved the load on the keel.









Saturday, 16 May 2026

Nameplates

The nameplate from Laverne has been refurbished. Although probably not the sort of nameplate that a boat builder would have installed it is what was on the boat when OHBS took over custodianship so we have kept it. 


The builders plate on the dinghy Ruby II has also been cleaned up. It was covered in old varnish and although now a lot cleaner some varnish residue still remains.

Before
After
Repair work has started on the damaged dagger board out of the catamaran Venture. The new bit of wood will next be shaped to match the original profile.


OHBS recently held an Open Day so that visitors could see what work was going on and the results of past work.



Friday, 8 May 2026

Spring Cleaning

With visitors expected this afternoon and an open day next week a bit of spring cleaning was order of the day.


Laverne, which had been lying on her side to allow easier access to the underside was righted.


The Yachting World Catamaran Venture has a damaged dagger board. We will splice in a new piece of wood and shape to match.


Visiting boat builder from Truro examining Orcadian boats at the OHBS storage facility in Stromness.