Essential weatherproofing work on Dundee’s Frigate Unicorn is under way.
The Unicorn Preservation Society has started work on a major extension of the ship’s wooden roof thought to be as old as the Unicorn itself.
Unicorn operations director, Lt Cdr Roderick Stewart, said the objective was to widen the eaves so that normal rain fell completely clear of the ship’s hull, allowing the main timbers to dry out.
He said, “Rainwater, rather than seawater, is the main threat to a wooden ship, and this was well understood by the men who built Unicorn.
“At present the ship’s ‘tumblehome’ (when the beam at the uppermost deck is less than the maximum beam of the vessel) means that parts of the hull are completely unprotected.”
Lt Cdr Stewart said the main roof eaves had been cut short sometime around the First World War.
He said, “Once this roof extension has been completed and the timbers have dried, preservation and cosmetic work will be carried out. It is planned to include a full refurbishment of the figurehead and the headrails, and it is hoped that Unicorn will be looking as smart as ever by the start of next year’s tourist season.”
The work has been funded by recent donations, grants and legacies.
The Unicorn Preservation Society’s chairman, the Earl of Dalhousie, said, “As ever, we have been dependent upon a very wide range of individuals and institutions, both local and national, and we are enormously grateful to every one who has helped towards this saving this remarkable old ship.”
“Unicorn has the chance of a dramatic future as a part of Dundee’s new waterfront, sidebyside with RRS Discovery and the V&A, but she needs to be able to survive in her current location for at least a few more years.”
Launched in 1824, HM Frigate Unicorn spent her early years in reserve in the south of England until she was brought to Dundee in 1873 to serve as the reserve training ship for the Tay.
She carried out this function for nearly a century, also acting as headquarters for the senior naval officer in Dundee during both world wars.