Question: Whatever happened to restoration efforts for the 134-year-old Falls of Clyde at Pier 7 in Honolulu Harbor?
Answer: The Friends of Falls of Clyde has been working on restoration of the vessel since it took ownership in 2008 from the Bishop Museum, Friends President Bruce McEwan said. The group is preparing the ship for dry dock to make essential repairs largely due to damage from rust.
“We haven’t been able to make any material progress with regard to her preservation and restoration,” McEwan said. “There are always things in the works, but we have not yet been able to get her into the position for dry-docking.”
The group installed a plywood deck last year to make it safer to work on the ship and is working on smaller projects like installing a new gangway and upgrading the ship’s electrical system.
McEwan said the Falls of Clyde could go into dry dock, which would cost a few million dollars, sometime next year. The group plans to hold a major fundraising campaign.
“(The Falls of Clyde) has historic value, not only for Hawaii, but the entire international maritime world,” McEwan said. “She’s been in Honolulu Harbor for close to 50 years and during that time has been an important venue for educational purposes and social activities for many of Hawaii’s citizens and visitors. Our hope is that over time, we can get her back into that same museum quality.”
At the end of 2012, the Falls of Clyde was named one of America’s 10 most endangered historic ships for a second consecutive year.
Maritime enthusiasts and other visitors to The Fyddeye Guides website (fyddeye.com) nominated 27 historic vessels for the list and voted for the top 10 in serious or imminent danger of destruction, or without a comprehensive plan or the financial means for preservation.
The 280-foot-long Falls of Clyde was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
“The purpose of the annual listing of the most endangered ships is to highlight the threat to America’s maritime history,” Joe Follansbee, executive editor of The Fyddeye Guides, said last week. “That’s not to say that we think that the Falls of Clyde is about to go under or sink or anything like that, but even though we’re really excited about how well it’s doing in the sense of getting some local support and having volunteers working on it, we’re monitoring that.
“We hear from people that they’re very concerned about the Falls of Clyde’s future.”
According to the National Historic Landmarks register, the Falls of Clyde is the only iron-hulled, fully rigged, four-masted vessel and the only sail-powered oil tanker in the world.
Donations to help restore the ship can be made at www.friendsoffallsofclyde.org or by check to Friends of Falls of Clyde, P.O. Box 4674, Honolulu, HI 96812-4674. Volunteers are also welcome and may sign up on the website or by mail.
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