Mast/Dinghy shed

Published 14:42 on 7 Mar 2022

Having struggled last year with the usual bun fight to get a space for my dinghy after racing, indeed any other time I went out, I thought it was time to do something about it.It is no good complaining about it if you are not willing to try and change things, so I thought it would be a good idea if dinghy bays were allotted to each member that needed one. I canvassed the opinion of Nick Munson and those who need to use a dinghy, and was met with a good response. The dinghy bays were also very rusty and causing damage to the dinghies. They have never been maintained, so maybe it would be beneficial to do this at the same time.Nick put out an email asking for a working party and we got a very good response. In order to do this properly we needed to empty the mast store, after which we could renovate the bays and allocate a space both inside and outside to those with boats on Pile and Chain moorings. It is hoped that the allocation of the bays will be completed before Lift in on 19th March. Please be patient and keep your dinghies outside or at home until you hear which bay is yours.The working party of around 10 turned up on Tuesday and set about the task. Special thanks to Kenny Roebuck for getting his grinder and demolishing most of the rust, and thanks to our new Commodore (Tim Day), Simon, Russell, Linda, Dave Knight, Brian, Mike, Dave, apologies if I have missed anyone out.I have attached some photographs so the members can see what a huge difference has been made by just two mornings and some very willing volunteers.We are now going to clean up the floor, paint the numbers on the bays, then sort out the oars which seem to far outstrip the number of dinghies. Gary Owens will be putting in some new LED lights, which will be another huge improvement.So far we have found dumped in the mast shed a complete spray hood, an old squib/dinghy cover, an outboard tiller extension (estimated cost to buy new £45), a Liferaft (after service would be worth about £500), various pumps, a dinghy harness, pair of shorts, fenders, and a pair of boat legs. There may even be a dinghy or two all outside in the yard. Pictures attached. If you have left anything in the mast shed, now is the time to claim it, anything left unclaimed by 31 March will be put up for sale in the boat jumble on 23rd April. There are a lot of masts which have no identification and may have been there for years. If you know anything about them please get in touch. An update on progress will be posted before lift in.Joan Whyte

Last updated 21:59 on 6 July 2025