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Reg Lowe on the Albion

The wherry Albion was built in Lowestoft in 1898 for a company in Bungay. Over the years her keel has become distorted and bent - a bit like a banana pointing upwards - and she needed major repair work to correct the problem.

She was built on the north bank of Lake Lothing, between Oulton Broad and Lowestoft, and cost 拢455 to build. The Albion's first freight was coal from Lowestoft to Bungay - at a shilling a ton.

The work at the Excelsior boatyard to repair her keel back to its original shape has cost about 拢40,000 and was paid for with the help of volunteers.

The Albion

"Ever since we first owned the boat in 1949 she has had a bend in the keel caused by misuse or just being used without cargo," says Martin Symes from the Norfolk Wherry Trust.

"We've wanted to sort it out so it will last for the next 25 or even 100 years."

Leaking lady

The Albion has been at the Excelsior boatyard in Lowestoft since September 2007, but being out of the water for so long has caused cracks to form in the wooden hull.

When she was launched into the Waveney with her new steel keel, experts were there to assess the leaks.

Inside the Albion

"We were expecting a few leaks but the boat is fitted with two pumps plus we've fitted a petrol-driven high capacity pump as well just to make sure," says Reg Lowe, one of her skippers.

"Luckily it looks like she's coping well after the work and will be water tight in time for her trip back to Norfolk."

At one stage the Albion was the last wherry afloat and with her new keel she now can can look forward to many years of sailing ahead, taking tourists and enthusiasts around the Suffolk and Norfolk Broads.听

She'll be towed out of Oulton Broad with the help of a motor cruiser in February 2008.