Reaper Restoration Receives Vital Boost

As many of the Reaper’s friends and followers will know, the 1902 Fifie, owned and operated by the Scottish Fisheries Museum, has been undergoing major restoration work at Rosyth since 2017.

Phase One of the work has been completed and Babcock have now started work on Phase Two of the project, with much-needed funding from the Scottish Government. Babcock said:
"We are pleased with the progress that has been made on Reaper and look forward to continuing this important work for the Scottish Fisheries Museum."
 
This partnership between the museum, Babcock and the Scottish Government, which has provided vital funding as part of its commitment to cultural heritage in Scotland, will enable the Reaper to remain afloat for many years into the future. It is expected that Phase Two will be completed in Summer 2019 when the Reaper will return to Anstruther in time for the Museum’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.
 
Phase Three, the final “fitting out”, will be undertaken in Anstruther, the Reaper’s home port, and the museum is hoping to raise £25,000 from public donations. This includes crowd-funding - a new approach which will give anyone the chance to be a part of the Reaper’s long history. Donors will be offered a range of benefits, such as a tour of the boat, in return for their generous support. Simon Hayhow, Director of Development at the Museum said:
"It’s something we haven’t done before so we thought we’d give it a try. The whole project could take us over £1 million so the crowd-funder is just an element of that. Our first target is to get her back in the sea."
 
If you would like to contribute to Scotland’s floating history, please go to their crowd-funding appeal.
 
More details can be found here.