In terms of wooden boatbuilding, sailing, and Scotland’s maritime and fishing heritage, the building of SV Muirneag will be the largest wooden boat build to have been undertaken in Scotland in decades.
In 2023, wooden boatbuilding, rope-making, sail-making, and spar crafting were officially added to the UNESCO-recognised Red List of Endangered Crafts. These are skills still being practiced today, but with serious concerns about their future. Many craftspeople are ageing, markets are shrinking, and without meaningful support, these trades risk disappearing altogether.
By rebuilding Muirneag, we’re helping to turn the tide. This project will become a national showcase of traditional maritime craftsmanship at the highest level.
It will provide multi-year employment for skilled practitioners and create high-quality apprenticeships, sponsored by the Ullapool and Stornoway Port Authorities - ensuring these essential skills are passed on to the next generation. SV Muirneag will not only sail again - she will carry a legacy of skill, tradition, and resilience into the future.
The completed vessel will be a showcase of all of the following skills at the very highest levels, while also contributing to ongoing capacity and viability.
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Framing is the skeletal structure of the vessel, providing the shape and strength upon which everything else is built. Each timber frame must be shaped, fitted, and fastened with absolute precision. The Muirneag build will bring these vital skills back into active practice.
Planking forms the outer skin of the hull, requiring careful shaping and steam-bending of timbers to create a watertight shell. Planking a large wooden vessel like Muirneag demands deep knowledge of grain, taper, and tension - skills which are unfortunately at risk of being lost without intervention.
Decking not only seals and strengthens the hull but also forms the working surface of the ship. It involves laying heavy timber planks with durable precision and creating watertight joins that can endure the harshest conditions at sea.
Caulking is the age-old art of sealing the gaps between timbers using cotton, oakum, and pitch. Done correctly, it ensures the vessel’s watertight integrity. On Muirneag, apprentices will learn this essential but fading skill by working alongside master caulkers.
Traditional wooden vessels like Muirneag depend on custom-forged fittings such as hinges, brackets, bolts, and braces - all of which require the skill of a blacksmith. This element of the build helps keep alive one of Scotland’s oldest trades, now sadly practised by very few.
Masts and spars must be strong yet flexible and crafted from solid timber. This timber must then be expertly shaped by hand, and balanced to perfection. Spar making combines engineering knowledge with intuitive craftsmanship.
Blockmaking involves crafting the wooden pulley systems used to control sails and rigging. Each block must be carefully made to function reliably under pressure. This type of craftsmanship is now rare, but nonetheless vital to vessels like Muirneag with complex traditional sail systems.
Painting a wooden vessel is both preservation and presentation. It protects the ship from rot and the elements while also honouring historic paint schemes and maritime traditions. Done properly, it is a skilled and patient task requiring knowledge of materials, timing, and technique.
Commissioning brings all systems together from hull, rig and deck to fittings, plumbing, and engine readying the vessel for sea. It involves sea trials, fine adjustments, and real-world testing of all craftsmanship to ensure Muirneag is safe and ready to take to sea.
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Once funding goals are reached, we’ll be able to finalise a detailed construction schedule. At present, the full build of SV Muirneag is planned to take three years.
The project will be divided into five key phases, each lasting approximately six months. Every phase will serve not only as a step toward completing the vessel, but also as a hands-on training period ensuring heritage skills are passed from master boatbuilders to a new generation through structured apprenticeships and live, practical experience.
Following a competitive tendering process, we’ve selected and will soon finalise the appointment of West Coast Working Boats – a collaboration between Johnson & Loftus and Isle Ewe Boat Builders as principal contractors on the build.
These yards have a significant track record of working with historic vessels and made a compelling case in terms of their ability to host apprentices and facilitate public access to the build. Their collaboration formed while simultaneously restoring two smaller vessels with historical significance – a smaller Zulu – St Vincent, and Loch Fyne Skiff – Clan Gordon.
Both builds were nominated for restoration of the year at the 2024 Classic Boat Awards. Muirneag will be built at the Johnson & Loftus yard at Corrie, Ullapool. With community and public engagement at the heart of every stage of the process.
From “tree to sea” the build will be publicly accessible, with site access facilitated by a team of volunteers. Additionally, partnerships with relevant heritage and cultural organisations, documentary footage and social media activity will extend the project’s reach wider still.
Of course a project of this scale and historical significance will attract significant media attention, which we are well placed to capitalise on through an extensive network of contacts across print, broadcast and digital. Regular updates will be provided by Youtube videos and other social media updates.
We’re in no doubt as to the scale of the task of building and maintaining a large wooden vessel. As well as the required input from professional contractors, we will provide opportunities for volunteers to become involved in the construction phase and later ongoing maintenance program.
We welcome interest from any volunteers who can help in fundraising, marketing, and facilitating public viewings of the project under build. Please cus directly if interested.
Our environmental impact is also a key consideration. Timber – the main material for the vessel – some fifty trees – will be locally sourced from small yield, sustainable forestry.Many of the skills and methods involved in the construction of this historic vessel pre-date carbon intensive manufacturing techniques, serving both as example and inspiration for other parts of the maritime sector.
For each tree used in the build, we will re-plant a further ten, more than three times the Woodland Trust’s recommendation of planting 3 trees per 1 felled.From “tree to sea” the build will be publicly accessible, with site access facilitated by a team of volunteers. Additionally, partnerships with relevant heritage and cultural organisations, documentary footage and social media activity will extend the project’s reach wider still.
Of course a project of this scale and historical significance will attract significant media attention, which we are well placed to capitalise on through an extensive network of contacts across print, broadcast and digital. Regular updates will be provided by Youtube videos and other social media updates.
Help bring the SV Muirneag to life by sponsoring a plank - your personal contribution to the largest traditional wooden boat build in Scotland for decades.
Every plank brings us one step closer to launching this historic vessel and ensuring her future as a self-sustaining community asset.
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