The first boat-builder course organised by the Tiree Maritime Trust has been successfully completed and the second started on Friday 4th December with a third planned for January. A fabulous work-shop has been set up in the auction ring at the Rural Centre and Adam Way and his assistant Mike Dryer of A R Way Boatbuilding, Lochgilphead, worked incredibly hard for a fortnight in November leading 23 members of the community from age 14 upwards, for day-time and evening sessions teaching boatbuilding and boat renovation skills.
The course started with scraping, dismantling, assessing condition, measuring, pattern making and selecting suitable timber, going on to machining, hand planning, marking out, shaping and fitting a transom, stern post and keel, repairing plank ends and making oars. Tiree boats Moraganne and Daisy are being worked on; (sadly Ros has had to be abandoned as she is beyond repair) both boats have a new transom and stern post. Moraganne has a new keel and stem, and Daisy’s stem head has been repaired. We will look forward to seeing both these boats sailing at the Regatta next summer. If you are passing and would like to come and see how the things are progressing you are very welcome. Work continues on the Boat Shed project with planning consent due any day and a funding application to SRDP being prepared for early January.
