Orkney Image Library

I read on t'interweb somewhere that this blockship was called "The Reginald". Does anyone have any pictures or information about her before she was scuttled? Would be nice to learn more!

I think I read somewhere that the Reginald started life as a sailing ship during the 1800's.

In David Ferguson's book "The Wrecks of Scapa Flow" the Reginald is described as an - Iron 930 gross-ton 3-masted motor schooner, built and registered in Glasgow in 1878. She was sunk as a blockship in 1915. Perhaps at that age we should read steam instead of motor? There is something resembling a boiler still to be seen inside the ship, Can anyone confirm whether this is an fact a boiler? For a long time, quite a large funnel opening could be seen on the old superstructure but this is now beginning to disappear.

Thanks for the comments - this sounds interesting. Yes - when I took those photos the boiler was visible; it couldn't be anything else. You can see it here (picture #23312) half-submerged below the superstructure. The cylinder block of a 3-cylinder steam engine is just visible on the left-hand-side of this other image (picture #23317). Steam & sail, eh? Hybrid vehicles, Victorian style.

I believe that the "Reginald" broke in half some time before the construction of the barrier, probably due to a combination of the strong tides, which ran there at the time, and a weakened hull. During the late 1960's or maybe into the 1970's, I can't remember exactly when, the propellor shaft was removed in the belief that it was made of non-ferrous metal. However, on removal, it was found that only the surface was non-ferrous whilst the core was ferrous. Don't know what ever happened to the shaft but I can remember a bit of it lying on the shore for some time afterwards. The propellor, a blade of which can be seen in the photo, and which was made of cast iron, was also removed at the time and is probably still there, somewhere on the bottom.