Published: Tuesday, 7th October, 2008 12:30
Denny craftsmen's marks still on Cutty
By Ewan McInnes
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Ship will be restored by 2010
WORK: Stephen Archer inspects the renovations
THE fire ravaged Cutty Sark will rise from the ashes to be re-opened to the public in 2010, it has been revealed.
It was feared the 19th Century Dumbarton-built tea clipper — once one of Britain’s best preserved maritime treasures — would be lost forever, but it is now expected 90 per cent of its original stature can be salvaged.
And Stephen Archer, of the Cutty Sark Trust, revealed that they have now uncovered markings made by the Denny’s men who built her nearly 140 years ago.
Workers on the famous vessel are now stabilising the rust on the boat and they recently discovered the original structure marks that would have been put there by some of Dumbarton’s forefathers.
Stephen said: “It is completely stripped down to the bare iron frame.
“We can now see marks on the iron works where the guys who originally worked on the ship in Dumbarton back in 1869 would have put them, which we are really excited about.”
Stephen explained that because the vessel was undergoing necessary renovation at the time of the fire, 50 per cent of the ship had been stripped and so these vital components were saved.
All the timber work from the original structure will be kept, including any burned wood, and once the 139-year-old boat, which was completed at Denny’s shipyard, is finished it will be housed in its own museum.
Last year’s fire set the renovation back two years and caused £10m of damage, but Stephen can now see light at the end of the tunnel and cannot wait to see the finished work.
He said: “This is a conservation exercise which means that when it is reconstructed it will be 90 per cent original to what it was in 1869.
“Everyone in the trust is determined that it will be preserved to the highest standard possible and it will be fascinating to see the ship as it was when it was first built in Dumbarton back in 1869.
“We are abiding by the motto of Jock Willis who built the ship, ‘if their is a Willis there is a way’, which is actually written on the back of the ship.”
Stephen was speaking to the Reporter after a major investigation last week found that the blaze on the Cutty Sark was caused by a vacuum cleaner that had been left on by incompetent security guards.
At the time of the devastating blaze it was thought somebody may have deliberately set fire to the unique vessel.
Speaking about the findings of the investigation Stephen added: “We are pleased there was a thorough report of the fire and we think the findings are what probably happened, but we are very disappointed that the fire precautions and security services on site were inadequate,
“We are disappointed that one of the security guards was asleep and that the log book had been falsified.”
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