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Cutty
Sark is open every day, all year round from 10am
to 5pm.
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For those who are not familiar with her, Cutty Sark is the last surviving example of an extreme clipper built for the lucrative China Tea trade. There were only around 80 ships built for this trade between 1850 and 1872, with the trade for sailing ships being killed off by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the year that Cutty Sark was built.
The construction of the clippers varied between all wood, all iron and composite, and Cutty Sark is of composite construction. She has an iron frame consisting of an iron flat plate keel which is laid on top of the wooden keel and is swept up at the ends, being inboard of the wooden stem and stern posts. She has iron frames, reverse frames, floors, box keelson, side and bilge keelsons, longitudinal and diagonal tie plates, sheer and bilge strakes main and 'tween deck beams, deck stringers and mast partners. Over this iron framework is laid a wooden skin, with teak being used for the maindeck and topside planking and American rock elm for the bottom planking, keel and false keel. The 'tween deck is planked in yellow pine. The lower masts and bowsprit were iron, with the course yard being of steel. The remaining spars were timber. In the 1950's restoration all the wooden spars were replaced in steel with the exception of the jibboom, spencer and spanker gaffs, t'gall'nt and royal yards and the main skys'l yard. In 1990 it was realised that Cutty Sark was beginning to show her age. Her running rigging was in poor repair, with many pieces missing. Her wood keel was compressing and there was much evidence of water having entered the hull through the maindeck and also via the waterways and between the iron sheer strake and the sheer plank. Something had to be done.
The survey also showed that the jibboom had suffered from rot and the Victorian iron bowsprit was heavily corroded. It was the Maritime Trust decided that the mast had to be struck and thoroughly overhauled, and this was accomplished with the aid of a £160,000 loan from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The decision was made that the lower mast was beyond repair and had to be replaced. Mr. Harry Spencer of Spencer Rigging, was commissioned to measure and draw the mast and build an exact replica, but using steel instead of iron plate. The Trust's own restoration team made the new jibboom and carried out the repairs to the other spars.
The yards were in good condition and needed little in the way of repair, but all standing and running rigging was replaced. The blocks that were fitted in the '50s were donated by the Admiralty, and were iron bound and fastened. The shells all needed to be replaced, and when rebuilt they were copper fastened. Although it had been hoped to save original deadeyes, they proved to be so damaged by rust build up under the bands that they were condemned, and new ones were made from lignum vitae. Standing rigging should have been replaced with gaivanised iron wire of 6 x 7 construction. This was not possible, so steel wire of similar construction was used. It proved very difficult to turn in the deadeyes properly using steel rope, so a hydraulic cramping system was devised in order to get the wire to lie snugly round the deadeyes. All donations to the Restoration Fund are gratefully received. Contact us for more details. >>
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Investigation
of the keel, by removing the Muntz metal (yellow metal sheathing) revealed
the keel to be totally waterlogged through water accumulating in the
bilge and then being trapped in the Muntz metal that encased the wooden
keel. Samples of the rot were analysed by Imperial College who identified
the decay as electrochemical. The combination of yellow metal sheathing
and fastenings, iron of the flat plate keel, frames and keel bolts with
an electrolyte of brackish water had set up a battery action that was
destroying the timber. Additional 12" x 12" bilge shores were
inserted to prevent further compression of the keel and all the Muntz
metal was removed to allow the keel to dry out.
A
survey was carried out of the masting and rigging which showed that
action was urgently required, especially in the case of the fore mast.
The lower mast was one of the few remaining Victorian spars. It was
built of iron plate, three plates in section and was found to be completely
rusted through or very wasted for a third of the circumference at the
hounds. The Maritime Trust's rigger was lowered down inside the spar
and he reported that there were numerous pinholes through which daylight
could be seen, and also that many doubling plates which had been fitted
at some time were being forced off by the pressure of rust at the interface.
The
topmast and t'gall'nt masts were replaced in steel in the 1950's restoration,
as were the crosstrees, trestletrees and spreaders. The heels of the
masts were found to be heavily corroded and had to be rebuilt and the
crosstrees, trestletrees and spreaders were found to be full of water.
The tops of these were cropped, the insides scaled and coated and the
tops refitted. They were then filled with foam to prevent future ingress
of water. They were so over engineered initially that all though severely
rusted they could be re-used.