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Displaying items by tag: Liner tender

In the UK plans to save a "unique" D-Day historic vessel moored in Southampton have been unveiled - ending years of anxiety over its future, having as Afloat reported also spent a career tending to trans-Atlantic liner passengers in Galway Bay.

According to the DailyEcho, the tug tender Calshot has been bought by a maritime restoration company, which is drawing up proposals to restore the vessel over the next three years.

Tomorrow Calshot (was towed on 25th May) from Southampton docks to James Wharf at Ocean Quay at Belvidere Road.

(Afloat adds another former Aran Islands ferry, Naomh Éanna (see story) still remains languishing in a poor state in one of Dublin's Grand Canal Docks Basin's notable Georgian built dry-docks).

The Calshot was launched in 1929 and helped manoeuvre the world’s greatest ocean liners as they either entered or left the port.

In 1944 she was one of more than 7,000 vessels which took part in the D-Day landings.

She transported sections of the famous Mulberry harbour across the English Channel to France and also served as a “non-assault HQ ship”.

But the Southampton-built vessel was declared unseaworthy by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2017.

For years she was owned by the Tug Tender Calshot Trust (TTCT), which warned she was slowly deteriorating and should be moved ashore in a bid to preserve her for the nation.

For much more on this historic vessel, click on the story here

Published in Historic Boats

#TITANIC- In the centenary year of commemorating the R.M.S. Titanic, the pier from where her last passengers boarded at Cobh (Queenstown) is in danger of collapsing unless funding is made available to carry out immediate preservation reports The Irish Times.

The 19th century pier constructed of timber is one of the most tangible links between the town and the liner which anchored offshore and where passengers boarded by tenders.

In addition many emigrants also trundled the pier's planks to depart Irish shores for the final time on ocean-going journeys to the four corners of the world in an effort to start new lives.

To read more about the story click HERE.

Published in Titanic

About the Melges 15 Dinghy

The Melges 15 was designed by Reichel/Pugh and built by Melges.

The design prioritises stability, comfort, ease of use, and performance. 

The Melges 15 is built to be sailed by everyone from friends and couples to families and kids. The design offers performance, comfort, and stability in one sleek package.

The Melges 15’s stable hull shape and ergonomic cockpit make it a suitable layout for adult racing and educational sailing. Easy conversion from a club configuration (non-spinnaker) to a one-design setup, provides more versatility to club programs and options for individual owners.

“The Melges 15 creates a clear pathway for junior sailors to get started and stay excited about sailing while also being comfortable and accessible enough for adults to learn, race, or cross-train,” according to Harry Melges III.

With the main design goals focused on stability and performance in various conditions, the boat features a narrow overall beam and a flat cross-section shape for stability, righting moment, and ease of planing. For a more forgiving feel upwind and to navigate larger sea states, the Melges 15 has just the right amount of fore and aft rocker.

Melges conducted extensive research and product testing to produce this layout factoring in cockpit depth, backbone height, and floor plan. The result, they say, is a comfortable environment for both the skipper and crew. The deeper cockpit takes the load off the sailor’s knees helping them feel locked into the boat while the high boom and gnav vang system work together to make the boat easier to manoeuvre.

The asymmetric spinnaker offers an additional performance element, while the single-pull launch and retrieval system makes handling the sail easy and fast.

 

At a Glance - Melges 15 Specifications

  • LENGTH 15 ft 
    BEAM 5 ft 6 in
    DRAFT 2 ft 7 in 
    HULL WEIGHT 230 lbs
  • SAIL AREA
    MAIN 93.6 sq ft 
    JIB 39.8 sq ft 
    ASYMMETRICAL SPINNAKER 156 sq ft 
  • CREW 2

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