Internal inspection planned for Pilot Us
THE HISTORIC fishing boat Pilot Us is set to be pumped out and inspected internally as work continues on surveying her condition.
It comes after a public meeting was held last year about the future of the near 100-year-old boat.
She is owned by Shetland Islands Council, but is kept under the care of the amenity trust.
The boat has been kept on the water at Hay’s Dock in Lerwick and has seen its condition deteriorate over the years.
The amenity trust stressed that Pilot Us is important to the organisation.
“Following initial survey work conducted in 2023, we have now engaged Malakoff to pump out the vessel and inspect it internally,” it said in an update.
“They will then provide a report on its viability. We have obtained partial 3D scans and also plan to board over her deck.
“We will share a further update on our progress, when we have received all the reports and completed our appraisals.”
The trust said the consensus reached at last year’s meeting was to move the boat to the slip, and lift her using a cradle to storage.
She would then dry out for approximately two years before undergoing conservation, with a view to her remaining within the Shetland museum collection – although no longer as part of a floating boat collection.
“The ongoing work will help us determine if this course of action is feasible,” the trust said.
Keep Shetland’s news open to everyone
Your membership helps us report the stories that matter to Shetland — and keep them free for everyone to read.
