... the Volunteer. The pride and joy of the Boat Building team was formally named on Thursday 3 September when Ellen Winser joined the team of stalwarts who have worked day and night, raided skips, begged, borrowed, stolen (as if), purloined, cajoled, re-used and generally bodged to get the boat - the Museum's very own tug - onto the water.After a glass of bubbly Ellen was persuaded to risk an exploration of the harbour, accompanied by a team of engineers ready to kick the engine into life if it dared to miss a beat.
This was actually a great achievement and thanks are due to all of those involved. We now have a general utility boat that can be used to tow out our engineless craft and fetch and deliver from Ponsharden.
That she is called the Volunteer is not to be taken as any sort of hint that the lads might have spent too much time propping up the bar in the pub of the same name, nor that they named it after their favourite watering hole - The Chain Locker would be a strange name for a boat - but a direct thank you to all the volunteers who make the Museum what it is. Like some of them, she sometimes develops a cough, moves at a decorous speed, needs to be handled gently, requires the right liquid in sensible proportions but gives excellent service when treated with respect.
