Transporting trees for boat masts
Photographs courtesy of Forestry Commission via Grant Macintosh and shows the loading of a large felled Douglas fir at Portclair Forest which was planted in 1927.
The new looking lorries are part of Ferguson of Spean Bridge’s fleet and the platform lorry registration reads Y111KFT but is indistinct. The independent loader with Jonsered 2990 crane certainly looks very new.
The mast was ordered for a whale watching boat thought to be called Marguerite Explorer based at the time at Arisaig owned by Christopher Swan. From the letter attached as a PDF to Picture No 3359 it appears the logs were delivered to a shed in Mallaig but there is no further information on the actual mast construction or if it happened. Can anyone provide any information?
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Ships, boats and sea transport, Timber lorries and loaders
2 Comments
I can tell you all you want to know about this as it was my boat the trees were bought for and which we turned into masts in Mallaig.
You can call on 0776 701 2432 if you want to chat or I can reply to e mail.
Yours,
Christopher Comment left on 25 May 2021 at 10:41 by Christopher Swann
This link provides part of a sorry tale of post 2001 events, with the ketch in Ipswich docks, Suffolk. [www.classicboat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=171668]
I believe that these details from the Companies register explain what has happened to the company that was running the ketch when she was sailing off the Western Isles: " WESTERN ISLES SAILING AND EXPLORATION COMPANY LIMITED (dissolved) 21 April 1993 - 22 June 2010
Christopher Swann was employed as Director (YACHTMASTER) at WESTERN ISLES SAILING AND EXPLORATION COMPANY LIMITED from 19 May 1993 to 30 June 2004 - Resigned"
I believe from recent publicity (Google 2015) that Mr Christopher Swann intends to be photographing and studying cetaceans in the future. He also wrote a paperback book, published in 2001, about the "Marguerite Explorer", Author, Swann, Christopher, ISBN 9780954087104, on her restoration and voyages around the Western Isles.
My regards, Comment left on 29 June 2016 at 18:51 by Bill Rayner