Ryan, Jack and Daniel with Chris Malkin, chairman of RNHT.
SINCE the Loch Fyne Skiff 2017 refit project was announced in December, each week Tarbert Academy has taken part in two hands-on sessions.
The youngsters involved – Kayleigh Mc-Neill, Ryan Frew, Jack Heggarty and Daniel Sloss – have been learning how to make decking boards and clean a boat hull, as well as practising copper riveting, planing and sanding. Currently, they are in the process of coating the boat with Stockholm tar to preserve the timber.
All of these activities form part of traditional boat building, which has played a huge part in Tarbert’s history as a major fishing port on Loch Fyne. The young recruits have also visited Shemaron, the ring net fishing boat now based in Tarbert harbour and owned by the Ring Net Heritage Trust (RNHT).
Kayleigh working on bench.