Comments on: Cutty Sark Disaster: The £11 Million Nail In the Coffin

By: Indigo

Indigo — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:42:52 +0000

In the current issue of Private Eye

http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=in_the_back&issue=1266&GUID=139

And still the cock-ups continue. The trust recently spent £1m on recycled teak for the deck. The specification was for planks 3.5 inches by 5 inches, at lengths ranging from 18ft to 36ft, “machined to a decking profile”. The correct sizes were vital to ensure that deck planks matched up with bolt holes in the iron frames; but when the timber arrived much of it turned out to be 5 inches thick, of random width, and at lengths between 6ft and 8ft. Since the project managers had signed off on the delivery and pronounced themselves satisfied, they couldn’t ask for a refund when a visiting shipwright pointed out the mistake. They now have £1m of teak sitting uselessly at an airfield in Wiltshire.

Astonishingly no naval architect or shipwright is overseeing the restoration – which may explain why more emphasis is placed on creating an “iconic” leisure venue than on giving the old girl a sympathetic refit.

It’s also why Greenwich council stumped up an extra £7m five months ago. Justifying this extravagance, at a time of budget cuts elsewhere, council leader Chris Roberts raved that “the difference between the iconic scheme the council has supported and simply putting the ship back together as was could not be greater”. Indeed – the main difference being that in the view of most experts his iconic scheme will damage the fabric of the ship.

By: Greenwich Council Meeting: 24th February 2010 | Greenwich.co.uk

Greenwich Council Meeting: 24th February 2010 | Greenwich.co.uk — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:06:06 +0000

[...] answer to a question from Cllr Paul Webbewood (Lib Dem, Middle Park and Sutcliffe) to reject recent criticisms of the plan to suspend the famous tea clipper 11-feet off the ground as part of its restoration. He [...]

By: Richard Young

Richard Young — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:32:56 +0000

I think this whole thing needs a Channel 4 News airing.
Maybe we could all prompt the news media with an email pointing out our concerns.
If there really is a serious issue here, then the sooner it becomes higher profile,the sooner a solution might be found..if there is one.

By: Megad

Megad — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:44:14 +0000

I am afraid that the proposed elevated position, as displayed in the Council propaganda sheet turns the old queen of the seas into a tart in a window. If one needed any more proof that the “heritage” industry does not value its charges, this is it. Tacky plastic souvenir anyone?

By: Rod

Rod — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:17:37 +0000

Wolfe
Dead right on all points – you and I were trying to get this out in the open last Autumn.
“the secrecy surrounding the project has been frustrating and now, it appears, was designed to prevent anyone knowing about the hash that has been made of the job so far.” At some point in the not-too-distant future someone with authority needs to look into this whole issue of where the money went and the subsequent cover-up. Balfour Beatty have some pretty big questions to answer.

If you could give us some idea of what the”firm evidence that financial and management controls had been overhauled” actually is, we would be less likely to believe that those who have been wrecking Cutty Sark should be left to continue doing the same…” I second this – please give us details.
On the face of it (given that we have been and continue to be kept so much in the dark) it would appear to me that this project should be taken away from the Cutty Sark Trust, who seem to have lacked the knowledge and experience to run this. Having farmed it out, they seem to have been unable to control their project managers, and have apparently colluded in the cover-up.

By: Nigel Fletcher

Nigel Fletcher — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:37:46 +0000

A very useful debate on this thread, and plenty of issues I will be following up. At the end of the day, as Andrew says in his article, we all love the Cutty Sark. Robert is absolutely right in his comment that the priority is to get it sorted out so we can have something we can be proud of.

By: Wolfe

Wolfe — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:36:04 +0000

Thanks, Andrew, for getting this sorry story into the national press. Some of us have been banging on and on about the mess the project is in for months in the hope that exactly that would happen.

Nigel, the points about the very real risks of raising the ship deserve far greater scrutiny. Almost no-one, who knows anything about the methods involved is in favour of the idea. The only real reason for now doing what so many experts have warned against is to provide a venue for corporate entertainment. Bearing in mind that Cutty Sark was, and still could be, a national monument, should the creation of somewhere that will appeal to companies looking for a place to drink and eat canapes really take precedence over proper renovation and preservation, regardless of the possible income?

Wouldn’t it also be useful to see a comparison of the projected cost of raising the ship and not raising it before making decisions on funding? Finally, as you have mentioned, the secrecy surrounding the project has been frustrating and now, it appears, was designed to prevent anyone knowing about the hash that has been made of the job so far. If you could give us some idea of what the”firm evidence that financial and management controls had been overhauled” actually is, we would be less likely to believe that those who have been wrecking Cutty Sark should be left to continue doing the same…

By: andrew gilligan

andrew gilligan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:51:55 +0000

Nigel – I know that’s what the council told you, but according to the HLF it’s not true. There was no such deadline. They agreed to resume funding last August. Even the deadline you quote is three weeks away – time enough for a bit of scrutiny, surely? And how can you support a scheme that will, in the opinion of its own chief engineer, damage the thing it’s supposed to be rescuing?

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:41:06 +0000

It was HRH the Duke of Edinburgh who championed for the Cutty Sark to be brought to Greenwich back in the 1950.`s I think all could say it has been a huge success for the ship and Greenwich.The current situation must be causing HRH huge distress ,and of course he will be damned if he says anything, and damned if he does not..
My beloved late father was a Surgeon Commander in the Royal Navy so I grew up with wooden boats.I have owned and sailed small wooden boats all of my life.All who have ever “played” with wooden boats will know that whatever budget one has in mind to replace a plank or even rebuild a boat will usually double and then some.
All of you ,who have embarked on a house project will know what I`m saying.
I am not a qualifed anything. I have run several business `s employed people and I hope honoured anything I have taken on.If one wishes to build anything one has to plan the foundations first and have a standby plan if things go array.It saddens me to see this miss management ,and everyone blameing everyone else.Some twenty years ago I lost all my money in the last down turn,so I`m no stranger to DISASTER .I have tuned things around without carping.
Lets just sort out The Cutty Sark for Greenwich and honour HRH the Duke of Edinburgh`s vision.

By: John Sankey

John Sankey — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:30:45 +0000

I was fortunate to be able to visit the Cutty Sark, which my grandfather sailed on, in 1955 when restoration was just beginning. My next visit was in 1962 as a post-grad student, and was greeted by those huge holes gashed through that beautiful hull. As far as I was concerned, the soul of the Cutty Sark was broken when it was turned into a cheap exhibition hall. That was straight vandalism. Exhibitions belong in exhibition halls, not inside genuine historical artifacts. I never went back after I saw that.

I’ve been in touch with the current conservators, and was praying that she would be made whole again. It seemed that conservators at last had infuence. Those holes were to be filled in, the teak decking thrown away in the 1970’s was to be replaced with authentic teak…

Now I hear that new holes are to be gashed through her to support another exhibition hall. Not only that, but the erroneous colours she was restored to in the 1950’s are to be maintained.

I had been saving to attend her re-opening. This makes it sound as though I’ll never want to revisit after all.

It’s a loss that I’ll not even try to put into words – I can’t.