Ready to Row!

We've been very quiet on the water over winter, but have been very busy in Rob's shed working on Spirit and Little Bustard to get them ready for another summer of adventures on the open water.

Highlights of the work;

Spirit of Catterline

• Spirit has had a great deal of work done to repair and refresh her paintwork. As well as touching up the paint on the outside, the deck paint from the inside has been stripped and replaced with gloss. This should make it easier to keep clean. There is still deck paint for grip on the hog and the lowest two planks.
• New foot rests fitted. These have a greater range of movement than the old ones, and finer adjustment too. They can easily be removed for maintenance and cleaning, and the old ones can still be used if required.
• The original rudder, which was made before we knew what a good rudder looks like, has been reprofiled to be more efficient and more stylish. It has a slightly thicker cross section than before, which should mean it will turn the boat quicker. An alternative tiller has also been fitted to it, so it can be controlled by a single tiller pole instead of the ropes. The ropes are still fitted and either can be used, depending on which you prefer.
• The race rudder now has a blue "nominal waterline" mark on it. This is to comply with a new requirement for racing that was introduced in the latest SASI Measurement Rules.
• Oar leathers replaced

Little Bustard

• Fit new brass rowlocks
• Slight reduction in thickness of the oars at the leathers to fit better in the new rowlocks
• New footrest made, of similar design to Spirit's new foot rests
• Repair and refresh the paintwork.