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Displaying items by tag: Automatic Lightfloat

Dublin docklands property developer Harry Crosbie has been refused permission to relocate the former lightship Kittiwake in front of the O2 Theatre, according to a report in today's Irish Times.
Crosbie had intended to convert the 1959 built Kittiwake into a café and bar after raising the vessel from her River Liffey berth and position onto the campshire of North Quay Wall, opposite the music venue.

Dublin City Council told Crosbie that consent for the use of the campshires for the bar had not been agreed to by the board of the Dublin Dockland Development Authority (DDDA), which owns the quays, "and that said permission will not be forthcoming".

Crosbie had received a letter from the then chief executive officer of the DDDA Paul Maloney in December 2008 saying that the authority was willing to let the development go ahead, subject to consent from the authority's executive board.

This permission will not know be forthcoming but the authority does feel that the ship should be used as a bar on the Liffey itself rather than on the campshires.

The Kittiwake has laid idle since 2007 when the vessel was purchased from the Commissioners of Irish Lights. She was the second last lightship to serve in Irish waters. During the 1980's she and several other lightships were converted from manned operation into automatic light-floats or ALF's. To read more about the last Irish lightship ALF Gannet click HERE.

Published in Dublin Bay

About Quarter Tonners

The Quarter Ton Class is a sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Quarter Ton Cup between 1967 and 1996 and from 2005 until today.

The class is sailed by smaller keelboats of similar size and is likely the world's most-produced keelboat class.

The Ton, Half, Quarter, etc. 'classes' were each given a 'length' and yacht designers had almost free rein to work the hull shapes and measurements to achieve the best speed for that nominal length.

The Ton Rules produced cranky and tender boats without actual downwind speed. Measurement points created weird, almost square hull shapes with longish overhangs.

They were challenging to sail optimally and lost value very quickly as any new wrinkle (e.g. 'bustles') to take advantage of the rule made older boats very quickly uncompetitive.

Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the boat class continues to make its presence felt by holding its own in terms of popularity against some fern race fleets.