Essential information
| Type |
Experiences
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Date and times | Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May 2026 | 11am-4pm |
| Prices | Free with entry to Cutty Sark - Adults £22 | Students £16.50 | Children £11 |
| Free for Members. Not a Member? Join now |
Here at Cutty Sark we're shining a spotlight on the heritage craft skills used to build and maintain this historic tea clipper.
Join us for drop-in activities, where you'll learn about crafts such as rope-making, fender-making and traditional caulking.
You'll also have the opportunity to take a closer look at and handle a range of historical objects and contemporary craft objects.
See all the activities below.
Recommended for ages 5+.
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Rope walk
Dry Berth | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
Making rope is a vital skill for sailors on a ship like Cutty Sark, which has 11 miles of rope in its rigging. Have a go at using our model rope walk, and see for yourself how traditional ropes are made.
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Object handling
Dry Berth | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
Cutty Sark was built using a variety of materials that craftspeople still work with today.
Get hands-on with artefacts from Cutty Sark's collection, and see how they relate to contemporary craft objects from the Crafts Council's handling collection.
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Fender making
'Tween Deck | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
Fenders are protective buffers on the sides of boats or ships, which protect vessels from knocks.
Traditionally, fenders were woven out of rope, which we'll be demonstrating on the 'Tween Deck.
Fender making is now an endangered craft, so come and be a part of preserving this skill.
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Caulking
'Tween Deck | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
How do you stop a ship from leaking? Caulking!
Caulking involved stuffing a ship seam with oakum (rope fibres) and then sealing it with hot tar.
Try your hand at this traditional shipbuilding skill that was crucial for keeping Cutty Sark afloat.
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Navigational instrument making
Main Deck | 11am-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
Cutty Sark's mariners were able to navigate the world safely and efficiently by using instruments like sextants, compasses and chronometers. They also used sea charts to plot their routes.
In this activity you can find out how charts are drafted, and learn the art of navigation through these instruments and the skills used to make them.
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Oar making
Main Deck (or Dry Berth in wet conditions) | 11am-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday and Sunday
Traditional wooden oar making is a dying art in the UK, with fewer than 20 professionals estimated to still be working in this field. Luckily, one of our shipwrights has the skills, and will be demonstrating how he makes oars on board Cutty Sark.
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Clinker ship building
Dry Berth | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Sunday only
Cutty Sark's lifeboats are made with clinker construction, where planks of wood are overlapped to create a boat with a strong hull.
Try your hand at this traditional technique in paper form, and decorate your own unique mini boat.
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Sail making
Dry Berth | 11-1pm and 2-4pm | Saturday only
Sailing ships wouldn't have gone anywhere if it weren't for their vast sails. Cutty Sark itself had 3,000 square metres of sail to harness as much wind as possible.
Making and repairing these sails was therefore a crucial job to keep ships moving. In this demonstration, you can see the tools of the sail-making trade and how they would have been used.
Heritage Crafts talks
'Tween Deck | 2-4pm | Saturday only
Heritage craft skills are rapidly being lost. In the 21st Century, demand for craftspeople like figurehead carvers and riggers is low - but these skills are as vital to Cutty Sark's ongoing conservation as they were to her original construction.
Join Daniel Carpenter, director of Heritage Crafts, for a short talk about the contemporary importance and preservation of these skills.
Get excited for the event
