Mayflower

The Sailing Dinghy Mayflower

Mayflower: a sailing/rowing dinghy built at Duncan’s Yard, Burray, Orkney – 1933 for James Meason of Frustigarth, Shapinsay.

With Keel 11ft 6in; Length 13ft 6in; Beam 5ft 10ins and Depth 2ft 1in, she could be rowed with up to two pairs of oars, as well as sailed using a lug sail.

Mayflower was registered for fishing, with number K310, on 25.8.33 by James Meason and used for creels. Her Fishing Registration remained active until the early 1960s. Thereafter she remained in the Meason family until gifted to the OIC Museums Service. After a number of years in storage at Lyness, she was moved into the Romney Hut at the start of summer 2015, where volunteers from OHBS undertook to tidy her up and replace missing gunwales, before giving her a new coat or two of paint.

The restoration process: