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Click for aerial views of the Tay

Click for River Tay Dolphins

Exercise with B/F Lifeboat

Boat Maintenance April 2008

Hogmanay

Update 24th June

The Fleet - Mum and babies all doing well, thank you very much.

Marigot comes ashore, we complete her refit and she is relaunched.

Click for more on the final stage of Marigot's Refit - Marigot on the Slipway

Before

After

A couple of  "before" and "after" images of Marigot showing only a small part of the of the massive amount of work put in to our vessels throughout the year by Tay Unit members.  The first photo was taken as she came out of the water and the second just before she was returned to it. Click  Marigot on the Slipway for more.

Marigot, Badger and Piglet are now fully operational. 3 Tay Unit members get their RYA  PB2 qualification this week. Training in June

Click here for this page

Update 3rd May 2009 Click HERE for latest activities

Update 10th April 2009

Maintenance continues on Badger and Marigot. This began when the passenger and training trips ended in November and the vessels went into Victoria Dock. 

Both boats are back in the Tay again for 2009 and moored at David Anderson Marine boatyard in Newport, Fife.

Maintenance on Badger is almost complete and she is pretty much ready for service.

Marigot comes out of the water this week (1st week in May) to have her hull painted, antifouling replaced and anything else that might need to be done to her bottom while she is out of the water on the cradle

This swan has a very real problem with Badger and from this angle, we can clearly see the other fellow who hides in Badger's paintwork and so haunts and torments him.

A driven beast, he doesn't exactly avoid  his rival. Today, we watched him waddle through a lot of mud to seek out the hated Doppelganger and give it a right good pecking....

See him waddle! - click links for the rest of  UPDATE 3rd May 2009

Both vessels have left Victoria Dock now and are on the Tay again for 2009.  Click for more

Click for update

Update 20th November 2008

Update 20th November 2008 Perth Trip - Badger en route to Perth to provide escort for a Broughty Ferry Phibbies/Griff Rys Jones swim in conjunction with React UK

Update 1st November 2008

Latest - Axis trip Tay Estuary 31st Oct. 2008

Update 28th Sept. 2008
Peter Osgood

Click for Update 28th September 2008

Update 28th September

Badgers Refit and Re-engining

Taymara's 34ft twin engined Nelson launch has undergone a complete refit now and is undergoing her final seatrials before being fully commissioned as a coded passenger carrying/training vessel and workboat. Click on Badger's refit 1 for the first of 6 linked pages detailing the work done on her or use the links below -

Badger's Refit 1

Badger's Refit 2

Badger's Refit 3

Badger's Refit 4

Badger's Refit 5

Badger's Refit 6

Badger - undergoing initial engine trials.

With two fully functioning Perkins engines, initial testing suggests that the 400 odd horses are more than willing and give her a frankly staggering performance. They also appear docile and tractable at low speed.

Update 25th September 2008 - Taymara, completion of 6 week training course

Presentation of Certificate of Competence in Powerboating 24th Sept.2008

Awarded to Malcolm Scott, David Reid, Lawrence Devlin, Linda Bennet and Helen Rankine.

Good one. Click for more on Taymara and this training course

2008

Update 28th Sept   Last passenger trips of the year

Update 14th August     Taymara and loads of Dolphins

Update 13th July Baby windscreen washer, Swan Training for the emergency role, Dolphins,

Update 11th JuneExercise with Broughty Ferry lifeboat

Update 26th April Maintenance, Boat training, Dolphin Space Programme

2007

Hogmanay Celebrations North Carr Lightship

December       BoatBurning, Sunday Training -

5th October     Training on the Tay, Perth Trip etc.

14th August   Extra Dolphins and a boat rescue.

July                   Various things

10th June       Training and "Wonders of the Tay"

29th April       Powerboat 2 courses for trainers and trainees. Training on the Tay

2006

19th Nov           Unit trips to Perth with Marigot, Badger and Piglet. Spectacular  sunsets.

29th Oct         Bad weather from Broughty Ferry

19th Oct           BBC filming "Coast" Programme

17th Sept       Dolphin Trips, Arbroath Sea Fest, Tay Pelican

3rd July             Unit Barbecue, Marigot arrives in Tay, Badger's gearbox refitted

15th April         Badger and Sparling's refits - Davy Anderson's Boatyard

25th March     Last month of winter training - Boathandling in Victoria Dock, activities on North Carr.

A composite photo of the navigable channel of the River Tay leading up to Newburgh at low tide

.... actually, an hour after low tide....!!  Click to enlarge

Badgers' new lease of life has only been made possible through the generosity of public bodies and grant-making trusts, principally H. M. Customs and Excise, and The Robertson Trust. Substantial contributions were also received from The Mathew Trust , The Tay Charitable Trust, The Alexander Moncur Trust and the St. Katharine's Fund, whilst our dedicated volunteers, some of whom are themselves trainees under the Taymara Project gave countless hours of their spare time towards the completion of this project. Not least, we appreciate the expertise and attention to detail, given to the installation of her engines by Davy Anderson and Cadge and Liz at David Anderson Marine, Newport on Tay, Fife.

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