The last remaining wooden dry dock in England is being decommissioned.
Richards in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was built more than 100 years ago but is not big enough to accommodate a lot of modern boats.
General manager Simon Coote said a £2m refurbishment project would see the dock become a boat lifting facility, specialising in smaller boats.
He said: \\\”I\\\’m sad, but I see it as a very big stepping stone for the security of the yard.\\\”
Mr Coote said about 300 people would have worked at the dock in the early part of the 20th Century.
\\\”Most of the boats we\\\’re dealing with now are far too big to actually fit in the dry dock, so our market share has gone right down,\\\” he said.
\\\”We looked at trying to refurbish the dock and make it a lot wider to accept the bigger vessels, but that was completely uneconomical.\\\”
The refurbishment is due to be completed by the end of the year.
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UPDATE – The start of a new era
Work on the installation of the new 200 tonne hoist has begun at the Alicat facilities in Great Yarmouth.
The hoist is due for completion by April 2013 enabling Alicat to offer full lift out and repair service facilities for all types of vessels.