Newsletter - August 2025
Our latest newsletter gives an update on
our National Lottery Heritage fund application;
news of recent visitors and our new visit schedules;
a visit to the Tall Ship Glenlee;
new volunteer arrangements;
local Outreach work and plans to extend this to include Explorer’s foreign ports;
updates to our website and social media;
the latest news on developments in the Port of Leith and
details of the ongoing restoration projects on the vessel.
Fundraising
Following news that our recent application to the National Lottery Heritage fund was unsuccessful, we had a very helpful meeting with the Assessor who dealt with our application. She explained that they had a very high level of demand for funds and while our application was of good quality there were a number of stronger applications.
She confirmed that they would be prepared to consider a revised application but suggested that we should be more specific about our Community Engagement programme and set out more clearly the goals and key relationships involved; Provide a similar clear plan for our volunteer recruitment, induction and management plans and details of progress that we have made in these areas. Reduce the amount of the application and consider a phased approach to the project which prioritises the repair works; and finally, provide an agreement / commitment for our proposed publicly available berth.
As noted below we have made considerable progress on our volunteer and outreach programmes and are developing a revised work plan which should allow us to submit a revised application in the next couple of months. Hopefully we will have positive news on ‘The Drydock Project’ by then and confirmation of the public berth.
Visitors
At the beginning of the year, we established a dedicated visitor tours team and recruited volunteers specifically for this role. The team have welcomed a steady stream of visitors over the last few months with groups from Barnton Bunker, Leith Men’s Shed, Leith Scottish Women’s Institute and many others.
We have changed the visit arrangements to try to fit them around the ongoing work on the vessel. We can now offer visits on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between 11.00 and 15.00 but these must be arranged in advance so that they do not clash with onboard maintenance works. If you would like to visit, please visit the website www.TheExplorer.scot or email us tours@TheExplorer.scot
The SS Explorer volunteer team visit The Tall Ship Glenlee
In July 2025, our volunteering team was invited to visit The Tall Ship Glenlee and meet with some of their volunteers.
Leaving our beloved SS Explorer behind, volunteers got to enjoy a day out visiting the only steel square-rigged cargo vessel remaining in the whole of the UK.
Lauren guided us around the ship, sharing her story as British Cargo Vessel, an Italian ship of mystery, the sail training icon of the Spanish Navy and finally back home to Glasgow, Scotland. Our volunteers were impressed by the work by the Clyde Maritime Trust in restoring Glenlee, and found their many stories of overcoming obstacles in their efforts inspiring.
The Glenlee exists now as a floating museum, in a similar fashion to our end goal for the SS Explorer.
Our visit also included a chat with some of the people working with the Tall Ship Glenlee Trust to keep her afloat and a testament to Clyde shipbuilding. Our volunteers had many questions regarding their learning and outreach projects, as well as wanting to discuss social media accounts and plans for the future. Like Explorer, Glenlee will need drydocking soon, and are likewise working towards securing that funding. From one team obsessed with their unique and aging vessel to another, thank you Glenlee for your warm welcome and inspiring words! We hope to return the favour and invite their team to visit our Old Lady of Leith soon.
Check our socials for more pictures and videos of the day!
New Volunteer Arrangements
Over the last few months, we have been working behind the scenes to improve our volunteering approach.
First, we would like to welcome all our new volunteers including our new Volunteer Coordinator and new Social Media Coordinator. You may have noticed our website is slowly improving in content and our social media accounts are now active and even going somewhat viral!
To better our safety regulations, our Technical Team put together a new set of induction documentation, including essential Health and Safety information and a form to obtain emergency contacts for all volunteers. Furthermore, we have also moved to a digital sign-in and shared calendar to ensure we comply with our no lone-working policy.
Our digital sign-in will now also track hours spent by our volunteers working on SS Explorer, producing monthly reports indicating total amount of time dedicated to our ship. For the month of July, volunteers worked on her for a total of 236 hours.
Plans for the future include better volunteer development, with a focus on helping our new recruits develop skills and knowledge, and safety passes in a continued effort to prioritise safety onboard SS Explorer.
Community Outreach Projects
With funding from the Community Fund, we have appointed a part-time Outreach worker for the summer months to develop our links with local and national community groups and other charities.
Recently, this included the Leith Men´s Shed, who visited Explorer in August. Explorer can only host 10 visitors at a time, so they requested 2 tours to accommodate as many of their members as possible. After the tour, visitors enjoyed a cup of coffee in the saloon and many conversations were had about Leith´s history, with many sharing stories and memories. Some members then expressed interest in visiting again and even volunteering with us.
In an effort to share Explorer´s beauty and history with more members of our community, we are developing a mobile version, a “roadshow” of sorts. The Explorer Roadshow will enable our volunteers to share her history and a small selection of objects with groups who may not be able to access the ship due to mobility or other accessibility limitations. Keep an eye on our newsletter for further updates!
We are also working to develop links with local organisations in the ports where Explorer called during regular voyages – this includes many in the Faroes and also in Denmark and Norway as well as the Scottish mainland and islands.
In addition, we are starting a project with other Leith organisations to develop a Maritime Trail in Leith and North Edinburgh which reflects the area’s long maritime history.
Website and Social Media
Our website www.TheExplorer.scot was almost dormant for the last couple of years due to the departure of a couple of individuals. However, we have now been joined by a very experienced web professional who has helped us to gain control of the various elements and updated or relaunched our social media accounts. We hope you have noticed the new content that is being added on a regular basis. We are still hoping to recruit volunteer to manage our social media accounts – could this be you?? Full details are available on the website.
A Public Berth???
Forth Ports planning application for ‘The Drydock’ project was submitted at the end of last year but there has been no decision from the Council Planning department yet. We have had initial discussions with Forth Ports and their development partners to include Explorer and move the vessel to a new berth north of the graving dock within the development, but all is on hold until the planning decision is announced.
Waist Deck Restoration
Since the beginning of work in the second half of last year, the restoration team has made significant headway on the starboard waist deck. Almost all of the old wooden decking—badly decayed and contributing to corrosion of the underlying steel—has now been carefully removed. This step was guided by a heritage impact assessment, which confirmed that removal was necessary to protect the vessel’s long-term integrity.
The deck restoration team has grown considerably in recent months, bringing fresh energy and momentum. A second-hand industrial deck scaler was also acquired and fully refurbished, including the installation of a brand-new motor. In addition to the deck scaler, needle guns are used to tackle more intricate and hard-to-reach areas where heavy machinery isn’t suitable. The angle grinders were hard at work, gleefully chewing through leftover studs, upstands, and anything else that posed a trip hazard after the deck came up.
These developments have allowed us to make strong progress in removing thick layers of rust scale and preparing the steel surface beneath. With much of the groundwork complete, repainting is planned to begin towards the end of this summer.
SS Explorer Preservation Society
August 2025