SHAMROCK
as Shamrock, and repaired all the shattered woodwork.
It took a while, but he says he enjoyed the work.
Shamrock is registered with the National Historic Ships
Register and is also a member of the National Historic
Fleet. Following discussions with Martyn Heighton (the
widely respected director of National Historic Ships
Register, who died in 2016) it was decided that the best
way forward was to set up a Trust to take over the
ownership of Shamrock and to provide a sound basis for
her future preservation and operation. The Trust was
formed in 2010 and now the responsibility for her is
shared between keen supporters from all over the country.
However, in 2015 the lake level rose to 9ft 4in and
again the boat was seriously damaged. This time the
work was undertaken by the insurance company and
Roger was happy to leave it to them. The work so far
has cost more than £18,000.
You’ll know Roger if you see him about in the area.
He drives a 1929 Austin Seven, which he bought in
1954, with a constant companion, his German Shepherd,
Whappet (the 3rd) in the passenger seat. He was recently
presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for
services to the Restoration of Steamboats by the
Transport Trust.
Roger is the Chairman of the Shamrock Trust and
now knows that Shamrock will have a continuing life
without the uncertainty that bedevilled her early days
and nearly led to her being chopped up for firewood.The National
Trust boathouse
at Wray Castle
where Shamrock
resides – and
almost met
her doomowned the sister boat, Swallow, and George Pattinson
lent Roger the 27in propeller from that boat to have a
cast made to produce a replica.
Perhaps most importantly, a Windermere kettle is
fitted which produces half a gallon of boiling water in
about 20 seconds from cold. The whole point of cruising
the lake, after all, is to have a nice cup of tea.
The work on board gets more strenuous when
Mother Nature gets involved, as she has done on several
occasions when the lake water level has risen
dramatically. Whilst he has owned Shamrock, Roger has
been a tenant of the National Trust in its boathouse at
Wray Castle, where the boat has a special problem.
There is an upper floor to the boathouse and the space
between the water and the beams which support that
floor is crucial to the safety of the boat. During normal
times the lake level is about the same as the weir at
Newby Bridge. But when there is flooding, the lake level
rises. Roger has seen it rise to 6ft 10in above the weir
level several times. This is important because at any level
above 3ft it is not possible to get the boat out of the
boathouse. If the level gets above 7ft there is the danger
of the boat touching the steel beams which hold up the
upper floor.
In 2009 the water level reached 9ft 7in above the weir
at Newby Bridge. This crushed Shamrock’s saloon roof
against the steel beam. The damage was extensive. Roger
managed to source some Burmese teak, of the same age