We were shocked and saddened for The Bristol Packet team in June 2021 to hear the news that their ‘Floating Bar Greenshank’ had sunk overnight.
Having originally installed the roof canopy to the newly opened Floating Café boat in 2019, we were approached by Luke at Bristol Packet to discuss options for re-making the canopy should the boat be successfully salvaged.
Our team would have been able to work from the original designs and create a new canopy, but this would have lead to greater expense at a difficult time. Wreck divers were taking to the dock to salvage what they could from the Greenshank so it was agreed to await the outcome of their mission. Luckily the divers were able to cut the majority of the canopy free from the frame with knives and without significant damage to the fabric and return it to us.
Working with the teams at Andrews Marquees and Outsourced Manufacturing (OMS), we were able to get the canopy cleaned fully and assess what state it was in and if it could be repaired. OMS determined they could replace the edging pockets, repair the tears and restore the canopy to its original design as the divers had managed to save such a good amount of the core canopy.
Now 2 years later the boat has finally returned to the water in June 2023 and the café is now open and in full swing which is fantastic news for all involved!
The fire retardant lacquered PVC coated polyester fabric that we use for our fabric structures is extremely durable and is designed withstand the elements for many years. We were not however expecting the fabric to undergo a full submersion test in the Bristol Docks, never the less it did pass the test with flying colours!
We are really pleased to have been able to help with the restoration process and can’t wait to get back aboard for a drink!
in Bristol