Dorothea Craftsmen on BBC “Coast” programme
Dorothea craftsmen have appeared on the BBC’s popular programme, Coast (broadcast on Tuesday, 1 September 2009), demonstrating how traditional ship riveting is still being practiced effectively alongside modern repair techniques.
The programme explored how riveting, practiced in UK shipyards on the Tyne in the early days of World War II, was superceded by the welding techniques used in US shipyards. Welding was a much faster method of ship-building at a time when Allied shipping fleets were being decimated by U-Boat attacks in the mid-Atlantic.
Dorothea craftsmen have appeared on the BBC’s popular programme, Coast (broadcast on Tuesday, 1 September 2009), demonstrating how traditional ship riveting is still being practiced effectively alongside modern repair techniques.
The programme explored how riveting, practiced in UK shipyards on the Tyne in the early days of World War II, was superceded by the welding techniques used in US shipyards. Welding was a much faster method of ship-building at a time when Allied shipping fleets were being decimated by U-Boat attacks in the mid-Atlantic.
Dorothea craftsmen have been part of the ongoing restoration of the SS Robin, the last remaining steamcoaster in the world. The ship is made of steel and has a fully riveted hull. She was built by the celebrated Ironworks, Orchard House Yard, in East London and launched in 1890.
The Dorothea team were filmed giving a demonstration on how they undertake riveting today to two retired shipyard workers, who had built riveted ships’ hulls during the war.
For more information on the restoration of the SS Robin, and pictures taken during the filming of Coast, go to www.ssrobin.org.