Visit Comet Rebuilt!

On Saturday September 11, as part of Doors Open Day you can come along to Fergusons Shipbuilders Port Glasgow and visit the Comet Rebuilt Project. We'll be open from 10-4.

We've had loads of requests for site visits since the start of the project and so we're delighted that folk will be able to come along and see what's been going on.

There will be the opportunity to chat to some of the staff involved, have a look at the restortation undertaken so far and also to see a small exhibition on the history of The Comet. As a special treat, we'll be premiering 10 minutes of the Comet Rebuilt documentary which has been getting produced since the project began in January.

We hope to see you along on the day.

We're just one of many interesting venues that can be visited on the weekend of September 11/12...for details of many more go to Doors Open Days

Photographs July 2010...

BBC Scotland's L.A.B and Culture Café Broadcast...

Last month, BBC Scotland's L.A.B (Learn at BBC Scotland) visited 7 and a half John Wood Street and Ferguson's Shipyard in order to give the Comet Rebuilt team the BBC experience of creating an audio package for the L.A.B website. Most of the interviews were also used for a radio broadcast on the Comet Rebuilt Project as part of the BBC's Culture Café . The broadcast featured some of the workers talking about their memories of the Comet from when it sat in Port Glasgow's Civic Square, and also featured them discussing their current experience with the restoration. Kay Clark the heritage co-ordinator here at 7 and a half John Wood street was also interviewed; along with the Senior Productions manager from Ferguson's Shipyard - Raymond Brown. Hopefully what they had to say sheds some more light on the Comet Rebuilt Project and outlines what the project is trying to achieve. A recording of the Culture Café broadcast can be heard below.

However, it should be highlighted that most of what was used in the broadcast can also be found on the BBC L.A.B website (link also below) along with additional interviews conducted by the Comet Rebuilt team themselves. This collection of interviews has been put over a slideshow of photographs that were taken by myself while the interview process was underway at Ferguson's Shipyard. The video, or slideshow with audio rather, also features a couple of interviews with members of the public who were keen to express their opinions on the Comet restoration. These interviews took place in the busy Port Glasgow Town Centre - not far from the Comet space in the Civic Square where the Comet used to lie.

BBC L.A.B
(Culture Café recording coming soon.)

Buckie...

Recently, some of the staff from 7 and a half John Wood Street went on a trip to Buckie in the North East of Scotland to talk to some of the workers who were involved with building the Comet replica hull back in 1962.

It is a little known fact around Port Glasgow that the hull of the Comet replica was actually built in George Thompson's shipyard in Buckie and only transported down to Lithgow's yard in Port Glasgow once it was finished.

We allowed some of the workers involved with the building of the Comet replica hull to tell their story on camera in order to see how they got involved with not only the Comet replica, but also the shipbuilding industry as a whole.

The interview mainly focuses on the men from Buckie reminiscing about their experiences with the Comet replica and discussing their methods and techniques with Colin, who is in charge of the current operation.

However, they also went on to discuss the decline of the shipbuilding industry in Buckie - a discussion we were able to conclude the interview with by drawing parallels and similarities with the situation concerning shipbuilding in Inverclyde; driving home the unfortuneate truth that shipbuilding is indeed a dying trade and a tradition lost.

A 2 part 20 minute edit of the interview can be viewed below.

Ferguson's 9th June 2010: Photos and Video Footage...

The team have been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks and as you can see from the images above, a lot of work has been done on the Comet since the last update. The photographs and videos in this post give you an insight into not only the current state of the Comet but also into how the workers go about replacing the old exterior. And that is, exactly, what they have been doing since the last update - continuing to replace the old exterior by using a steam box to steam the new planks of wood until they are pliable and able to be bent into shape to fit on the hull. Both of the videos below, like one of the videos posted here before, allow you to see this process for yourself.

Approximately one half of one side of the ship has been painted, as you can see, and most of the exterior has been successfully refurbished and restored. The same goes for the isolated wheelhouse - which actually appears as if it is near completion.

Then and Now...

Below is a short slideshow that shows old black and white photographs of the Comet replica in the shipyard along with a few photographs of the Comet in its current state.

BSL Translation

So Far, So Good...

Quite a lot of work has been done on the Comet since the last update - as you may have gathered from the picture above. The team have focused mainly on the hull of the ship - replacing the old planks and damaged wood.

By watching the video posted here below, you will be able to see for yourself what progress has been made in the past month or so. The video features footage of the team working away on different parts of the boat and it also shows them placing a new steam bent piece of wood onto the exterior of the ship.

Note that the video uses collected footage shot over the course of a month.

BSL Translation