Shrewsbury's Sabrina leaves the river for a check-up - with pictures and video
It's more at home in the water than in a car park, but one of Shrewsbury's popular tourist attractions has been hoisted from the river for a check up.
The Sabrina Boat, a familiar sight in the town as it takes a mix of tourists and private hire groups up and down the River Severn, is currently suspended about Frankwell Carpark as it gets its bi-annual hull check.
The boat has been hoisted out of its natural habitat by specialists from the Birmingham-based Maritime Coastguard Agency to have the condition of its underside assessed.
The 28.5 tonne vessel was lifted from the river and gently placed in a dry dock at Frankwell for so that ultrasound tests could be performed on the hull.
The sight has been causing quite stir with passing motorists as the boat is hanging next to the suspension bridge at Frankwell today, kept aloft of by a 250-tonne crane the height of two double-decker buses.
Mark Hooper, Sabrina Boat office manager, said it was something the boat owners did every two years.
He said: "The Maritime Coastguard Agency will give it a look over. It's basically like giving a car its MOT."
He said they are checking the condition and thickness of the hull to check the effects of erosion over time.
"At the same time it gives the Sabrina crew the opportunity for to give the hull a clean and a good scrape before giving it two coats of fast drying paint, so it should be ready to put back in the water at about 5pm to 6pm today," he said.
The 43-year-old boat has been operating in Shrewsbury for almost a decade, but before that was on the waterways around Chester and began its life on the Thames, in London.
