One of Scotland’s most famous ships is to be re-masted with wood from a Perthshire forest.
The Waverley paddle steamer, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, is to take a break from plying the UK’s inshore waters to undergo a refit.
Two 17 foot logs, which were originally felled last August, have been sourced from Faskally Wood home of the Enchanted Forest by Forest Enterprise Scotland’s niche marketing adviser Doug Halliday.
They are now being transported to Mackay’s Boatyard in Arbroath to be shaped and fashioned before being transported to Glasgow for fitting to the Waverley.
Mr Halliday said the request was one of the more unusual ones he had dealt with in his career.
“We sourced some Douglas Fir in Faskally Forest, near Pitlochry, that were planted in the 1960s and so were a good enough size. The logs that will be heading to the yard are 17 metres long,” he said. “This is quite an unusual request but not entirely new to us.
“We have had approaches in the past, including the possibility of finding a mast for a replica Viking long ship, but it’s a great feeling when we are given the go-ahead to cut some suitable trees.”
The team at Mackay’s will work on the Waverley masts for around three weeks, using traditional boat building tools, such as an adze, to remove the bark and plane the logs.
The procedure is finished off with a planer and long-base sander.
Paul Simpson, from Mackay’s, said: “We are delighted to be involved with this project and we are looking forward to working with the team at the Waverley.”