Campaign to raise up to £30k to help keep historic frigate afloat

HERITAGE: Project to place protective buoyancy bags on weaker areas of HMS Unicorn

A £30,000 crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help secure the future of Dundee’s HMS Unicorn after a summer survey revealed worrying stress on the hull of the historic ship.

Despite being in remarkably good condition for a vessel approaching almost 200 years old, the Unicorn Preservation Society (UPS) said divers had uncovered problems they hope to combat with buoyancy bags around the weak areas of the wooden structure.

UPS has now set up the five-figure buoyancy project crowdfunder as plans move forward to put the ship into dry dock near its Dundee waterfront berth.

The move is aimed at supporting ongoing conservation work and significantly slowing down the environmental impact on the ship’s deterioration.

UPS says success is very much dependent on careful planning and early intervention to prevent further deterioration of the Unicorn’s hull.

It has shown increasing signs of ‘hogging’, a condition caused by the bow and the stern of the ship being heavier and less buoyant than the middle.

The dive investigation provided more detail related to the “hog” and wider areas of disrepair, including the ship’s keel. UPS fears the issues pose a significant early threat to the vessel’s wider integrity.

The crowdfunder aims to raise money to place two five-tonne buoyancy bags at the fore end of the ship and four at the aft end.

Project board chairman Eric Wright said: “This fundraising campaign, to preserve HMS Unicorn’s buoyancy, is one of the first stages in a complex and challenging wider project.

“The Unicorn Preservation Society is appealing to the people of Dundee and to maritime enthusiasts around the globe to consider giving to this first essential stage in the preservation of the HMS Unicorn, so that the project can be completed before the end of 2020.

“Every pound donated up to a total of £15,000 will be matched, thanks to a grant secured from the Heritage Emergency Fund.”

Donations can be made at crowdfunder.co.uk/hms- unicornpreservation-project

This fundraising campaign, to preserve HMS Unicorn’s buoyancy, is one of the first stages in a complex challenging wider project.

ERIC WRIGHT, PROJECT BOARD CHAIRMAN

Picture: Steve Brown. The near-200-year-old HMS Unicorn berthed at its home in Dundee.