Pictures

hole for the legs

Nearly to the line

Shavings

Stanley

Galway Dock

In the tent with the planks

Adrian shaping a plank

Old Posts

Modern Tools

I was up at the sawmill with Adrian yesterday and it struck me how even though we are restoring an almost 100 year old boat that the tools and technology we have today must make things a lot easier.

Watching that saw ,almost silently, ripping lumps of trees into beautiful grained crucks and the little 8x8 forestry machine effortlessly lifting lengths of timber 3 men were struggling with made me feel admiration for those men 100 years ago who didn't have access to effort saving machines like forklifts and electric power tools.

On a smaller scale, when restoring a wooden boat a tool I can, without a doubt, recommend is one of these...

Saturday, 17 March 2012

Hello

Hello!

I decided to add a page for some of the random boaty things that pass through my head.

First of, I had a good look at the British National Maritime Museum website a few days ago and sent an equiry to them asking if they would update the register to reflect Teals new location, owners and condition.
I received an email back asking to fill out a detailed form and containing details of their online register. Further poking on the net revealed the  register and its list of 25 Quay Punts (including Teal)

Also on file are details of Piskie, another Quay Punt in Hegarty's boatyard, so I emailed back the updates on Teal and some info on Piskie aswell. 

The 1913 Quay Punt "Piskie"

So there we are. Hegartys yard. Has it the largest single collection of Falmouth Quay Punts? Maybe!

Random Thoughts and Pictures

I'm just back from Cronin's Forge , where we went to confirm we want them to forge some new floors for Teal, and have been flicking through a few photos from last season. I thought I'd throw them up here for the interest.

Saorse Muireann

This first one is of Saoirse Muireann. She is a Roaringwater Bay Lobster boat, also known by their coloquial name "Towel Sail Yawl", built in Hegarty's from lines taken in 2000 of an 1893 boat called Honora

There is more information about these beautiful boats online at the Baltimore Wooden Boat Festival site, or in printed form in the massive, authorative and enthralling book Traditonal Boats of Ireland (I've spent hours just looking at the photo captions alone, it's a credit to all involved)

This next one is of a little boat which I've noticed in the boatyard this winter. She is steel I think, and according to what I've heard, amazingly well travelled.

This one is of the West Cork resident Galway Hooker An Faoilean. I used to live in Galway and I worked on the Docks (That sounds far more exciting than it was haha!) Watching the big ships in and out of the harbour was interesting, but seeing the Gleoiteogs depart the Claddagh to go racing around the bay was always a reason to walk out the factory door and stand watching and dreaming. These boats are in no small part to blame for Teals presence in Hegarty's yard!!

This last one is from the start of our "Summer Cruise" as you can see we had the most basic of gear! The dinghy had a perpetual leak and we were waiting for it to finally give up the ghost and sink under us but it kept going thankfully! The Mirror Offshore (the little red boat to the left hand side) was after a thourough clean, re-rig and engine overhaul and was rearing to go! She was a grand little boat in all respects except when it came to sailing anywhere into the wind. We did have a good cruise though, exploring new water and experiencing a number of "firsts" like sleeping at anchor, nearly hitting a submerged rock, rounding the Fastnet and more.

Work on Teal is moving along, If we could lay our hands on some Oak for our new keel I would be very happy, however next on my list is to finish cleaning off the iron keel and try harder to remove the one well seized keel bolt that stubbornly remains where it could well have been for nearly 100 years!