Category: Restoration and repair

Does anyone you know deserve an award for their contribution to conserving and operating historic vessels?

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Previous winners hard at work

National Historic Ships is calling for nominations for a volunteer or group of volunteers for the Marsh Volunteer Awards, which recognise and thank those who have made a significant contribution to the conservation or operation of historic vessels in the UK.

There is an overall prize of £1,000 to be won for the Marsh Volunteer Award and £500 for the Young Volunteer of the Year Award, which is available to nominees who are aged 25 or under. Both prizes are donated by the Marsh Christian Trust, and will be presented at the  National Historic Ships UK awards ceremony held in October on HMS Belfast.

Nominations can now be made on line using the application form by the 31st August.

For full details, including judging criteria, visit the website.

Boat builder Charlie Hussey sounds off about modern tropical hardwoods

Charlie Hussey sounds off about tropical hardwoods

The plantation-grown stuff hasn’t worked in this case, and it has led to some nasty rot and a repair job? So what is a boat builder to do? Charlie Hussey sets out the problem and discusses the issue with intheboatshed.net regular Tiernan Roe.

National Historic Ships Photo Competition 2013 opens on 1 April

National Historic Ships photo competition

National Historic Ships has fired the starting gun on its fourth photo competition aimed at photographers of all ages and dedicated to encouraging everyone to engage with historic vessels or maritime themes in their local area – but the organisers are particularly keen to interest the young.

There are prizes, including an overall prize of £1,000 to be awarded on a theme or activity involving a vessel from the National Register of Historic Vessels – good themes might include, restoration and repair, sailing, racing, coming into a mooring, or generally working around or enjoying the vessel.

Competition entries will be accepted online from 1 April to 31 August 2013.

For the first time, the competition this year includes a new category, ‘Faces of the sea’ in which the public will vote online.

Entrants also stand to win a small prize if their image is selected as one of a series of favourite images.

The competition’s ‘Young photographer’ category is supported by downloads aimed at younger children, including a whale-based wordsearch and a printable colouring page featuring classic sailing craft, both provided by the well known illustrator Claudia Myatt, who is also a competition sponsor. (See an earlier post about Claudia’s tips for drawing boats here.)

Schools and teachers are invited to get involved with the aim of inspiring children and families to find out more about maritime history. Posters for schools can be obtained from National Historic Ships via email at info@nationalhisotircships.org.uk or by phone 020 8312 8558.