The boathouse reopens after eighteen months
The scaffolding came down on Thursday morning and the first crew carried a boat back through the main doors the same afternoon. Eighteen months is longer than anyone promised at the start, and rather less than the builders quietly expected once they had the old floor up.
The roof was the reason for all of it. Water had been running down the inside of the north wall for years, taking the render with it and leaving bay three unusable in anything but a dry spell. That corner is now the driest part of the building.
What actually changed
- A new roof over the whole north span, insulated this time
- Concrete floor throughout, laid to fall towards the doors
- The loft is dry enough to store blades again
- Lighting on sensors, so nobody leaves it burning overnight
The one thing we did not manage was the slipway. It needs its own permission and its own money, and both are being worked on. Expect scaffolding again, though not for a while.
It smells of concrete rather than damp. That on its own is worth the eighteen months.
Tags: boathouse, club