Hi All! A couple of weeks ago we pulled the Paddle Vessel Rothbury up on the Slipway for her Bi-annual Survey. That basically means that the Rothbury comes out of the water, every second year, for Maritime Surveyors to assess the integrity of the hull and approve her for Commercial Operation. During this time, we also take the chance to do other works necessary in maintaining these heritage vessels.
This year, quite a number of planks have been removed and replaced. It is a long, tedious process, and during which, we asked our followers on our social media channels to ask us any questions they had about the slipping process.
The most common questions were:
How do you get a wooden boat out of the water without breaking it?
How do you bend the timber around the hull?
How do you seal up the gaps?
Does the timber need to stay wet and swell to be watertight?
We asked our Shipwright, Brendan Harvey, and Captain Angus McCullagh these questions and they can be seen answered below:
The footage below, is a compilation of all the work done on the Paddle Vessel Rothbury during this years slipping. She has also been painted, had seats reupholstered, new Carly Floats and a newly printed sign on her sides, stating her name and year (P.V Rothbury 1881).
It takes a lot of time, effort and expense to keep these amazing heritage vessels afloat and in Commercial Operational Order. It is definitely a passion of ours to keep them in the best condition possible, so they can remain ploughing the Mighty Murray River for many years to come. Just think, that every time you purchase a ticket to come on to these vessels, you are preserving history. Yes, we are a family owned and operated company, but our passion lies within keeping these pieces of Australian History on top of the water, and not beneath. They are part of our family, our history, our community and Australian History!