Six boats coming out of the water for planned winter maintenance

We are taking six of our boats out of the water for a comprehensive programme of checks and essential maintenance work this month – starting today (November 6) with one of our most iconic vessels, the MV Teal.

We've continued our planned essential winter maintenance programme, to ensure the vessels are ready to go back into service ahead of the lockdown period being lifted before Christmas.

The 84-year old vessel MV Teal has been taken onto dry land at Lakeside on Windermere’s southern tip today, for a winter maintenance programme along with a full clean and repaint.

Our Operations Director John Woodburn, says, “It’s definitely appropriate to say it’s all hands on deck today, with MV Teal’s skippers and crew all present to ensure MV Teal is removed from the water safely. Staff have worked since early this morning, both in and on the water and will soon start cleaning and refurbishing the 84 year old vessel. We expect the work will all go according to plan and following a standard-procedure survey by the Marine and Coastguard Agency, Teal should then be launched back onto the lake in time for services resuming in December.

“Following the work on MV Teal, a further five boats including four of our traditional wooden launches will be taken out of the lake, with work carried-out undercover in our tent at Lakeside for their winter refurbishment work and safety checks. At the other end of the lake, we’re also going to take ‘Miss Lakeland II’ out of the water for work in our Ambleside boat house.”

We are also likely to bring our longest boat, the 129-year-old MV Tern followed by MV Teal’s sister-vessel MV Swan out of the water for similar work after this initial phase.