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BajanThings

Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…

Author: Keith Mackie

Keith Mackie is a South African Consulting Coastal & Harbour Engineer who specialises in Dry Docks and the Dry Docking of ships.

In December 2009 Keith Mackie came to Barbados to undertake a survey the Blackwood screwdock and assess its potential for conservation and restoration. Sitting in the Blackwood dock on a pile of rusty iron he found himself in engineers’ heaven.

The design of the Blackwood screwdock is a superb example of Victorian engineering, representing dry dock design at its best – good even by modern standards.

Two primary elements of the design were unique: the use of power screws for lifting and trussed timber beams for the transverse girders. Another key feature of the design was the spacing of the screw jacks which kept down the loading on individual screws and beams. Planking was laid athwart and each beam abuts that on adjacent beams to create a continuous working platform.