Conserving the RRS Discovery

Initially aired during Dundee Radio Club’s Listening Festival in February 2026, this audio tour invites you to peer behind the canopy of ship works and delve into the sounds of traditional ship building.

Timbers salvaged from Dundee’s Camperdown Works are given a new lease of life aboard RRS Discovery.

As RRS Discovery approaches its 125th anniversary, Dundee Heritage Trust has announced the beginning of the second phase of major conservation works aboard Captain Scott’s ship: from restoring the historic wooden hull that spent years locked in the unforgiving Antarctic ice, to creating a fully supportive habitat to protect Discovery‘s future.

Look up! Discovery‘s masts have recently been adorned with skilled riggers undertaking maintenance and repairs to the ship’s masts and ropes.

In this video, Tom from TS Rigging Ltd explains the works carried out at height and some of the techniques involved, including “blacking”, the traditional method used to protect the ropes from weathering and wear.

What are they doing under there…?

Sharp-eyed observers have already spotted that Discovery has new two temporary covers over parts of its decks, allowing JPS Restoration to carry out essential repair and recaulking work, no matter the Dundee weather.

The process of caulking the decks uses oakum, a mixture made of a tough fibre soaked in pitch, to seal the gaps between the timbers of a ship. We will be sourcing from jute processed at our very own Verdant Works during the project.

Peek behind the scenes with Jason, Director of JPS Restoration & Consultancy, our specialist heritage engineer and conservator on the project, and hear about the works to repair the ship’s historic timbers in our first video tour of the works.

This month, another new addition to the quayside has appeared in the form of a bright yellow scaffold at Discovery‘s stern, the overhanging back end of the ship.

The steel structure will be acting as a temporary support for the stern whilst this area is conserved, allowing for repair work to take place to the damaged horn timbers and longitudinals, essential to the ship’s structure.

A historic feat this month, as Discovery‘s rudder was lifted up through the stern of the ship and winched down onto the quayside for restoration. A vital but nail-biting moment for the team!

The lift itself has only been attempted a few times in the ship’s history, including once at sea under Captain Robert Falcon Scott over 120 years ago.

The rudder is now housed in public view on the Discovery Point quayside ahead of its return to the ship at the end of the works.

The beginning of May has been a busy time aboard the RRS Discovery.

The aft skids have been removed, and below decks, the sail locker has been transformed: the team stripping back the harmful plasticised paint and exposing the beautiful historic timbers to allow the ship to breathe.

Relief for the ship—and the team!—after a nail-biting lift of almost five tonnes of weight from the ship’s deck, including the spanker boom, pair of cuddies (the ship’s historic lavatories), and other deck furniture.

These fittings are now being temporarily housed on the quayside, where visitors can examine these fascinating parts of the vessel up-close before they are restored and reinstated to the ship.

Dundee Heritage Trust announces the start of the first phase of a programme of specialist repair and conservation works aboard the Royal Research Ship Discovery, with thanks to funding of £1.4M from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

These urgent works to the stern and deck of Discovery will commence imminently to improve the watertightness and structural integrity of the ship.

Outwith this phase of the project, further works to improve the integrity of the hull and the supporting habitat of the ship to follow in the project’s second phase.