Welcome
About
The Orkney Historic Boat Society (OHBS) was launched in 2013.
Our Vision: To preserve the boating history of Orkney for future generations.
Our Mission: To preserve historic boats and related traditional boat building skills and crafts. To collect preserve and communicate knowledge relating to boats built in Orkney or having contributed significantly to Orkney life and to further the education and knowledge of the public in relation to historical Orkney Boats, including establishing a boat museum and workshop.
The society is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) with Charity Number SC044884.
This website
Here the society retains information of interest in the long term. This includes information of preserved boats and their equipment. Latest News and Event information is distributed via the society Facebook page.
The society is seeking information on potential boats for gifting towards restoration/preservation and display in the established Boat Museum. To ensure the right boats are selected for potential work and showcasing, an acquisition process has been developed. Please click on this link to download the OHBS Boat Acquisition Form. This form should be completed and then sent to the OHBS for assessment.
Get Involved
You don’t have to be an expert in research or renovation to join the Society. We welcome members who share our belief in the importance of preserving and promoting Orkney’s nautical heritage and traditions. Obviously experience in boat building or renovation would be welcome but we also need folk who are happy cleaning, painting and varnishing.
A lot can be learnt about working with wood and jobs can range from transporting water, wood, coffee and tools right up to actual renovation tasks. If you want to give it a go, contact us. You are welcome to come along for one or two sessions to see if you like it, but be warned, you might end up hooked!
There are few greater pleasures than knowing that you have contributed to the preservation of Orkney’s maritime heritage.
Join the Society
Subscription Rates and Membership Type:
Individual Membership (Annual): £15.00
Junior Membership (Annual): £2.00
Life Membership: £150
Annual Subscriptions are renewed on 6th April each year. If you would like to join please click on this link to download the OHBS Membership Application Form.
Past OHBS Newsletters are available here.
OHBS Policy documents are available on this page.
Latest News
On Facebook
- When the weather worsens as winter approaches more volunteers head for inside working. A variety of jobs are in progress at present. An old table saw is being stripped down and rebuilt, White Wings has been turned over so that work can progress on the underside, Ruby has been deep cleaned and the wood repairs […]
- We had a good deal of heavy rain, lightening & thunder for a time during the last week however all the boats we recovered the previous week all survived with no pooling on the canvas cover.Falcon under coverInside painting has continued on White Wings with a top coat being applied to some areas.White WingsWith fine […]
- After being left open to the elements for a week (during which we had a lot of rain) Esmeralda was given a gentle pressure wash to remove the last of the bird muck. Her cover was also washed off and dried out. Not having a drain hole nor a working bilge pump we used an […]
- For the first time in 5 or 6 years Esmeralda had her deck cover removed today. Now that she is outside in the weather, her timbers soaking up a bit of water, her flat deck cover is acting as a rain catcher. We will put a ridge pole in to solve this problem, but since […]