We are moving to Shetland In September so I can begin a three year, fully funded PhD on the Shetland boat: history; folklore & construction.

We are moving to Shetland!  I've been very lucky in being selected to research the Shetland boat. The PhD is being financially supported by the Shetland Amenity Trust. I will be a full-time student at the Centre for Nordic Studies which is a department of the University of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  The purpose of this research is to ensure that the historic fishing boats of Shetland whose heritage can be traced back to the Norwegian Vikings is definatively documented and preserved for the people of Shetland. 

Visiting Shetland for the first time and finding somewhere to live.

Rae and I visited Shetland for the first time in May. We were very excited by the prospect of visiting the Islands. The little bit of Shetland we saw during our three day visit was staggeringly beautiful. What impressed me most were the big skies, the quietness, the rugged wildness and the fact that the sea is never far away. Everyone we met made us feel very welcome and the Winward B&B in Scalloway run by Beth Cummings is great. 

Whilst in Shetland we made enquiries about finding a place to live. We had tried the usual route of Rightmove and Primelocation with no success at all. Searches on these sites proved fruitless and the reason for this we found out is that most people use shetlink which is the community website. 

On our return home we signed-up with Shetlink and placed an advert for rented 

accommodation. Low and behold within a week we had found somewhere to live at a 

reasonable price. Its a small, pretty croft overlooking the sea which sounds idyllic and 

hopefully it will be. We are really looking forward to living in Shetland and becoming part of the 

community.  Obviously, I am hoping to be able to do some boat building, and I have a 

hankering to build a boat related to the PhD, maybe a Norwegian Fairing, we shall see.

Hay's Dock Lerwick

Shetland Museum, Lerwick

Boat Building sheds at the Shetland Museum

Hay's Dock

Lerwick

Lerwick

Zephon our Harrison Butler Z4 ton yacht was launched in May

Zephon Motoring into her berth last week.

Zephon was craned back into the water on Monday 27th May. All went well and my nervousness about her taking in lots of water was unfounded, she hardly leaked a drop! Since she was craned in I have been working hard and after a few niggling delays (there have been some minor engine issues to do with the new engine mounts, the prop and the morse control cables) she is ready to start sailing.

I hope you agree that she is looking pretty and doing well for a 63 year old. Zephon's cruising grounds are going to be changing very soon as we are moving to Shetland in September this year. We were hoping to sail her to Shetland next Spring but I think the reality will be that we will have her low loaded  there instead.

Just a reminder: this is how Zephon looked when we bought her back in November 2011. Please see old posts to view the extensive work carried out since then.

Zephon is nearly ready for launch

Hatches are on and the new toe rails are fastened.

Zephon is progressing well and she is due back in the water the weekend of 25th May, yikes!! I think the photos are fairly self-explanatory. Suffice to say the jobs list is shrinking, although those jobs I think are going to be quick often take a lot longer than anticipated. This is normal for boats in general and especially old wooden ones.  The important thing is to get her sailing and I am excited to think she will back in the water shortly and just over a year since she was lifted out.

Fastening the fore hatch fastening. The hat at the bottom of the photo belongs to my young son Matt who was helping me.

Eldest son Tom preparing to fasten the rubbing strake.

Winch pads and winches are now fastened.

Rolling and tipping-off the top coat which is ivory white

Roller action!

Rubbing strake fitted around a chain plate.

Matt hard at work sanding.

Toe rail detail with plugs ready for trimming.

Bilges have been painted.

Work on the hull is nearly complete.

This is the long board I was talking about in my last post. These professional longboards are expensive. It is easy to make your own. A bit of ply the required length and width, add a couple of handles and stick the sandpaper on with contact adhesive and off you go.

Starboard side ready for priming and then paying the seams with red lead putty.

The seams are all payed.

Charmian on a wet and windy February day in the flooded dry dock. I spent last Monday helping to get her ready to leave the dock.  I believe Tommy Neilson is possibly going to be completing the work in Gloucester.

Hull primed and ready for fine filling.

I think the photos are all pretty self-explanatory so not a lot else to add. There is a bit more work to do to the keel. I am in the process of renewing the sacrificial dead wood aft of the ballast keel (the worm shoe, see my next post for full info on this). There are also a couple of graving pieces to do on the keel and then this can be primed. 

Once these jobs are done I shall be moving inside the boat to paint a second coat of primer in the engine bay and cockpit area and then scrape, sand and prime the bilges. I shall then modify the engine bearers in readiness for installing the reconditioned Yanmar 1GM 10. So all is still looking good for an April launch!