A cursory glance at the wheel as you passed would have shown you that it needs a little tender loving care. To that end, we have been trying to find the thirty-six large, crack free, pieces of elm which would allow us the rebuild it.
So far we have spent a year waiting for a saw mill to find trees big enough to provide them, but the good news is that thirty-six paddles were delivered on 12 April. So we are a major step further on!
We are still trying to find a joinery contractor to literally put the whole kit and caboodle back together again. If any of you reading this have any suggestions to give us, please do.
In the meantime our thanks to Dalry Parish Boundary Trust for the grant to begin the restoration. The last time we re-built it, we offered the public the chance to sponsor a paddle for £100 each, and twenty-seven of you did – so if you would like your name on a paddle please don’t resist telling us (or donate online!).
There is also some building work to do to the sluices, and now we can begin!
