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Displaying items by tag: Shining Lights

A new outdoor lighting feature has been installed on the historic SS Nomadic, providing a new lease of life on the decks of the liner-tender on view at Titanic Belfast.

The project was launched as part of Local History Month celebrations, shining a spotlight on the iconic SS Nomadic which is the last remaining White Star Line vessel.

The £91k investment came from a collaborative partnership by Tourism Northern Ireland and owners of the vessel, Maritime Belfast Trust. The project was undertaken by Anthony Hayes of AH Design, a company with over 30 years’ experience in building services specialising in lighting design.

The completed installation uses accent lighting to elegantly illuminate the ships decks, funnels and gangways. The lights are versatile and can be changed in colour.

These will be co-ordinated with Titanic Belfast’s pre-existing illumination schedule, marking important calendar dates and key local, national and international events.

For further reading from Maritime Belfast in addition to a link on the history of the SS Nomadic.

Published in Historic Boats

The Dragon was designed by Johan Anker in 1929 as an entry for a competition run by the Royal Yacht Club of Gothenburg, to find a small keel-boat that could be used for simple weekend cruising among the islands and fjords of the Scandinavian seaboard. The original design had two berths and was ideally suited for cruising in his home waters of Norway. The boat quickly attracted owners and within ten years it had spread all over Europe.

The Dragon's long keel and elegant metre-boat lines remain unchanged, but today Dragons are constructed using the latest technology to make the boat durable and easy to maintain. GRP is the most popular material, but both new and old wooden boats regularly win major competitions while looking as beautiful as any craft afloat. Exotic materials are banned throughout the boat, and strict rules are applied to all areas of construction to avoid sacrificing value for a fractional increase in speed.

The key to the Dragon's enduring appeal lies in the careful development of its rig. Its well-balanced sail plan makes boat handling easy for lightweights, while a controlled process of development has produced one of the most flexible and controllable rigs of any racing boat.