With our St Ayles Skiff build rapidly nearing its conclusion, now is a good time to begin sharing details of the work we’ve been doing to develop the infrastructure that will actually allow us to get onto the water. We do have access to a public slipway in Burntisland. Unfortunately, it’s only of practical use for launch and recovery of boats when the tide is in. This introduces a limitation that we’re keen to overcome. Through BRRC’s association with Burntisland Sailing Club, we’ve secured the use of one of their pontoons in the East Dock. This will allow us access at all states of tide.
Have you been following the progress of our St Ayles Skiff build? If so, you’ll know the boat is constructed largely from marine-grade plywood. Although this is a resilient material, it does have a habit of soaking up water over time in boats kept permanently afloat. It doesn’t necessarily cause any physical harm, but it does make the boat heavier. This is not something that’s desirable in a vessel we may wish to race!
The compromise is a floating dock, seen here under construction and in its final position on the sailing club pontoons. It’s been designed to our own specifications and will allow us to keep the boat on a pontoon finger but elevated out of the water. Rollers along the centre will allow us to slide the boat in and out of the water with ease … at least in theory!
Be sure to keep an eye out for club news, either here or on our Facebook page. With our St Ayles Skiff build almost complete, we’re beginning to make preparations for the formal boat launch. We’ll publicise this far and wide as soon as we confirm a date!
Report by Finlay Robertson
