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Field Visit
Date 21 October 2015
Event ID 1006437
Category Recording
Type Field Visit
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1006437
ShoreUPDATE 21/10/2015
The yair sits on the east side of the river, the slipway and boats are on the west coast.
The slipway was part of the Second World War RAF Air Sea Rescue base at Gibbhill (in use from 1941 to 1944), and is of typical wartime prefab construction. The top is capped with large flat concrete slabs. The landward end is constructed of concrete sandbags, the seaward end is of concrete poured into corrugated shuttering.
The southernmost boat is the smaller of the two, and sits 15m to the north of the slipway. A mooring rope runs from the boat to a large timber post adjacent to the slipway. The boat is built of wood, and survives up to 7m in length, but was originally longer. Survives up to 0.5m in height. Clinker construction with copper alloy fastenings. The front 3.5m of the hull is better-preserved; frames and planking survive on both port and starboard sides, and one floor remains in situ towards the front. One internal plank survives in the starboard side towards the front. The base of the stem post survives, and the keel/keelson survives to a length of 7m.
The northern boat is much larger, c.15m long, appears to be a wooden trawler, settled on its starboard side, with an iron frame at the stern. Wooden carvel build, with iron fittings. Almost the entire hull survives to deck level although there is fire damage on the uppermost exposed port side planking. The stem post survives to its full height, and has evidence of iron sheathing. The hull is largely intact; keel, keelson, deadwood, stem post, floors, frames survive to top timber, internal and external planking, decking and knees all present. A lower deck survives in areas, and superstructure and elements of deck equipment including rusted chains lie in the interior, possibly fallen in when the deck collapsed. Poured concrete ballast sits in situ. The rudder is detached and lies beneath the stern, and a possible exhaust pipe is visible at the stern. Surface treatment includes red paint and pitch.
Various detached metal and timber elements lie loose on the foreshore, though not all are necessarily related to the hulks.
Visited by Scotland's Coastal Heritage at Risk (SCHARP) 2015
