The Cutty Sark Trust says it is interested in forming commercial partnerships within the timber industry to help with its planned £25m restoration of the famous tea-clipper.
The trust, buoyed by news of £13m grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, wants to replace the main deck and other wooden parts of the ship, which has been steadily decaying in dry dock at Greenwich.
Trust chief executive Richard Doughty told TTJ: “It’s certainly an industry which we would want to have close associations with.”
He said the trust wanted to showcase the whole restoration process by keeping the ship open to the public during work.
Mr Doughty said while it was too early to buy materials for the restoration, timber suppliers and others in the industry were welcome to provide input regarding the sourcing/specification of products.
He said the trust would look to buy timber from sustainable sources.
The main deck, orginally Indian teak, is now mainly a composite material apparantly comprising thin teak planks on top of plywood and softwood. The keel, made of American rock elm, may also need replacing.
The Heritage Lottery Fund’s initial £1.2m development grant will pay for engineering and architectural planning work, while a further £11.75m is ring-fenced for restoration work itself, subject to conditions.
