Moored next to the Riverside Museum on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland is the three-masted, steel-hulled barque Glenlee. Built by Anderson Rodger & Company at its Bay Yard in Port Glasgow, Glenlee was one of ten riveted, steel sailing vessels built by this shipyard, all named after villas in Port Glasgow. She was designed as a bulk cargo vessel able to cheaply transport large loads over long distances with a small crew. As steamships were already dominating the merchant trade at the end of the 19th century, Glenlee represented the final generation of sailing cargo ships. Constructed for the Glen Line of Archibald Sterling & Company Ltd, the ship was completed in only six months, at a cost of £10,700 (£840,000 today) and launched on 3 December 1896. After ten days of fitting out, which included completion of the rigging and the installation of sails, anchors, winches, navigation instruments, and crew accommodations, Glenlee sailed on her maiden voyage to Liverpool, where she took on a load of general cargo. Setting out for Portland, Oregon on 21 January 1897, Glenlee travelled to that United States Pacific coast port via Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America.
Sold to Robert Ferguson of the Islamount Sailing Ship Company Ltd of Dundee, Scotland in March 1898, the barque was renamed Islamount and served under this name for the next 20 years. Islamount's voyages as a bulk cargo vessel took her to Australia via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, returning to British waters via Cape Horn. In July 1905, Islamount was sold to Robert Thomas & Company's Flint Castle Shipping Company Ltd of Liverpool and was sold again in 1918 to the London-based John Stewart & Company. Despite these sales, the ship retained the name Islamount throughout this period.
After four circumnavigations of the world and more than 5,000 days at sea, Islamount's final voyage as a British merchant ship ended in Sète, France in 1919. The ship was sold to the Società Italiana di Navigazione Stella d'Italia (Star of Italy Shipping Company), registered in Genoa, and renamed Clarastella. Following major modifications in 1920-21, including the installation of twin auxiliary diesel engines, generators, and electric lighting, Clarastella briefly re-entered service until sold to the Royal Spanish Navy in January 1922 for use as a sail training ship. Re-named Galatea (after a sea nymph in Greek mythology), the ship was heavily modified and used for the next 47 years to train up to 300 naval cadets at a time. She was homeported at the naval base in the northern Spanish city of Ferrol for nearly the entire period. In July 1936, following the Nationalist coup in Spain, Galatea's crew joined the Nationalist forces under Generalissimo Francisco Franco and went on to train over 4,000 Nationalist sailors between 1936 and 1939, with Galatea operating out of Cadiz during these years. Laid up in Ferrol in 1959, Galatea was decommissioned in February 1962, de-rigged, and used as a shore-based training ship for another 20 years. After decades of deterioration, Galatea was moved to Seville in 1981. Despite plans to convert the ship into an exhibition venue for Expo '92 in Seville, these fell through and the neglected ship was vandalised, partially sunk, and suffered a serious fire started by an arsonist.
In 1990, a British naval architect recognised Galatea as a Clyde-built vessel and helped to orchestrate her purchase by the Clyde Maritime Trust in June 1992 for £40,000. Towed the 1,380 nautical miles from Seville to the River Clyde by the tug Wallasey between 1 and 9 June 1993, Galatea's arrival marked the ship's first visit to the Clyde since her launch 97 years before. Re-registered under her original name, Glenlee, the Clyde Maritime Trust restored the barque over the next six years, opening her to the public on 13 August 1999. After a full refit between 2006 and 2011, Glenlee was moved to her current location at Pointhouse Quay, alongside the Riverside Museum, in June 2011. The ship is a member of the UK's National Historic Fleet, being recognised as one of only four remaining Clyde-built steel-hulled, square-rigged cargo vessels in the world (as of 2025) and the only one in the United Kingdom. As a museum owned and operated by the Tall Ship Glenlee Trust, Glenlee is a testament to the Clyde shipbuilding industry, which produced approximately 20% of the world's shipping in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the success of Glasgow's maritime merchants and traders.
Specifications: Glenlee
Tonnage: 1,613 gross register tons
Load displacement: 3,367 tons
Length (overall): 94.7 metres (310.50 feet)
Beam: 11.43 metres (37.5 feet)
Draught: 6.34 metres (20.79 feet)
Height at mainmast: 52.5 metres (172.2 feet)
Propulsion: 25,200 square feet of sail and twin diesel engines from 1921 onwards (Ansaldo 8-cylinder engines, 1921-1950; Polar Atlas diesels, 1950-present).
Cargo capacity: 2,600 tons
Speed: Average of 5-6 knots (9.3-11.1 km/h; 5.8-6.9 mph) under sail; 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) while operating on diesel engines
Complement: 26 (as a cargo vessel); up to 360 officers, midshipmen and cadets as a Spanish Navy sail training vessel Photos taken 3 November 2025
 |
| The three-masted, steel-hulled barque Glenlee, moored at Pointhouse Quay on the River Clyde, next to the Riverside Museum in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland. Moved to this location in June 2011 upon the opening of the Riverside Museum, the restored Glenlee has been a museum ship since August 1999, having been previously berthed at Yorkhill Quay, a few hundred metres upriver. The Riverside Museum itself sits on the southern part of the former A. & J. Inglis shipyard, which closed in 1962. |
 |
| Designed for economy rather than speed, Glenlee and other sailing merchant vessels of her era featured straight-sided hulls and flat bottoms to maximise the quantity of cargo they could transport. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 served to hasten the demise of sailing cargo vessels, as steam-powered merchant ships could now reach distant regions previously beyond their fuel endurance, while avoiding the treacherous seas around Cape Horn. As sail-powered cargo vessels were seen as financially impractical after the First World War, hundreds of these ships were retired and scrapped. |
 |
| A starboard beam view of Glenlee. The ship's foremast stands 52.3 metres (171.6 feet) high, with the mainmast measuring 52.5 metres (172.2 feet), and the mizzenmast 44.5 metres (146 feet). The foremast and main mast are square-rigged, while the mizzen mast is fore-and-aft rigged. The red paint (red lead) was applied to the hull below the waterline at full load, while the grey paint was known as 'crabfat'. Glenlee is dry-docked every 10 years for replacement of the hull coating, while her rigging is inspected and treated annually. |
 |
| As a cargo ship for its first 23 years of service, Glenlee/Islamount called at ports across North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Between 1905 and 1918, the ship completed seven long-distance voyages for the Flint Castle Shipping Company, including four circumnavigations of the globe and 15 passages around Cape Horn, at the southern tip of South America. Although steam-powered merchant ships were already widespread when Glenlee was built in 1896, the decision to forgo engines and rely on sail power was a deliberate choice, as engines occupied valuable cargo space and incurred additional fuel, engineering, and crew costs. Of course, the absence of engines left such sailing vessels vulnerable to submarine attack during the First World War, and two of Glenlee's sister ships, Glenholm and Glendoon, were sunk by German U-boats in May 1915 and April 1916, respectively. |
 |
| Glenlee, as seen from Pointhouse Quay outside the Riverside Museum. |
 |
| Mounted under Glenlee's bowsprit is a wooden figurehead. The original figurehead was carved in 1896 by the sculptor John Roberts and was retained by the Spanish Navy for display at its Ferrol naval base when the ship was sold to the Clyde Maritime Trust in 1992. Allegedly, Spanish authorities indicated that the original figurehead would be returned when Britain returned Gibraltar to Spain. A new figurehead was designed using photographs and measurements from a surviving piece of the figurehead from Glenpark, Glenlee's sistership, which sank off the coast of South Australia in 1901. Glenlee's new figurehead, costing €12,000, was carved out of cedar and is affectionately known as Mary Doll. |
 |
| The ticket office and gift shop on Pointhouse Quay, opposite the Riverside Museum. |
 |
| Boarding Glenlee via the gangway on the forward port side of the ship. |
 |
| The forward deckhouse, as seen when boarding Glenlee on the port side. The forward deckhouse contained the crew accommodations and the galley (photos below). |
 |
| Glenlee's deck plan, to help visitors navigate their way around the ship. |
 |
| Looking aft along the starboard side of the weather deck. |
 |
| A spare anchor secured to the exterior of the forward deckhouse on the weather deck. Glenlee carried 800 feet (244 metres) of chain, port and starboard, for the anchors. |
 |
| Ladders lead up from the weather deck to the fo'c'sle deck. The term fo'c'sle is short for forecastle and comes from an era when wooden warships had large castle-like fighting structures at the bow (forecastle) and stern (aft castle). Glenlee's port and starboard navigation lamps, used to signal the ship's position to others at sea during the night, can be seen outboard of each ladder leading to the fo'c'sle deck. |
 |
| Glenlee's bell, mounted on the fo'c'sle. The bell was rung to mark time and ensure that all crewmen worked to the same routine. The ship's crew was divided into two shifts, known as the port and starboard watches. Each day, the two watches worked alternate four-hour shifts. In the late afternoon, two half-shifts, known as 'dog watches' provided time for the evening meal and allowed the crew to change their shift pattern each day. The bell was rung every 30 minutes, with each successive half hour accumulating one additional clang until reaching 'eight bells'. This marked the end of one watch and the start of the next. This bell was cast following Glenlee's return to Glasgow and was first rung by His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, on 19 September 2001. |
 |
| The fo'c'sle deck was a busy part of the ship, providing access to the lines, anchor capstan, anchors, and headsails. A crewman was always posted to the fo'c'sle deck as a lookout. To raise the anchor, a team of 8-16 men under the supervision of the ship's carpenter would use wooden bars inserted into the capstan to rotate it and reel in the anchor chain. This process was physically demanding and could take up to six hours to complete. A seaman would also be down in the chain locker below deck, stacking the anchor chain as it was slowly wound in. The men working the capstan would often sing sea shanties to raise morale and alleviate the boredom of weighing anchor, with the song also helping the men to move together and maintain a steady pace. The large wooden beams projecting outward from the side of the fo'c'sle deck are the catheads, used to support the anchors when raising or lowering them. |
 |
| The bowsprit projecting out over Glenlee's bow from the fo'c'sle deck. To set the headsails, crewmen had to climb out along the bowsprit and over the figurehead below, with no safety net to catch them if they lost their grip. Men were far more likely to injure themselves while working on the fo'c'sle deck than working up on the masts and yards. |
 |
| Looking aft from atop the fo'c'sle, with Glenlee's three masts towering over the ship. The masts and yards are welded steel tubular fabrications installed by the Spanish Navy around 1954 following extensive hurricane damage during an Atlantic voyage. Following the ship's purchase by the Clyde Maritime Trust in 1992, the masts were cut into 40-foot sections and sent to Glasgow in March 1997. A San Francisco-based Master Rigger, Jamie White, spent 18 months researching, planning, and manufacturing new rigging for installation as part of Glenlee's restoration, and also trained a rigging team to maintain the new rig going forward. Glenlee's lower masts were installed on 16 July 1998 and the rigging was completed by early 1999. |
 |
| The carpenter's workshop, located in the fo'c'sle. Like Glenlee's sailmaker and cook, the ship's carpenter was exempt from the watch system and instead worked a 12-hour day, from 6:00am to 6:00pm; nevertheless, the rest of the crew called them 'the Idlers'. The carpenter was the highest-paid crewman aboard, earning £7 a month compared to £3 for an able seaman and £2 for an ordinary seaman. The carpenter's role was essential, with his main job being to keep the ship's deck watertight in order to protect the cargo carried in the hold. To prevent water leaking in, the deck had to be caulked using oakum (fibres derived from hemp or jute) hammered between the deck planks, over which hot pitch (tar) was poured. Old oakum had to be torn up and replaced throughout a long voyage, making caulking a continuous task. |
 |
| The crew's heads, or toilet, got its name from being positioned at the head, or bow, of the ship. The front of a ship was thought to be the best place for a toilet, as it is downwind (winds mostly come from the ship's stern). When above the waterline, waves would wash out the contents of the heads. On Glenlee, the first mate (second in command) had a toilet located just forward of the poop deck, while the ship's captain had his own private toilet and bathroom adjoining his cabin (see below). |
 |
| Located on the starboard side of the fo'c'sle is the ship's hospital. Regulations of Britain's Board of Trade required that every British-flagged deep-water vessel have a hospital. Poor living conditions and dangerous work made life difficult for the crew. As Glenlee carried no doctor aboard, it was the ship's captain, assisted as required by the carpenter and sailmaker, who was responsible for all medical treatment. He would refer to his copy of The Ship Captain's Medical Guide, published by the Board of Trade, to diagnose maladies and and identify appropriate treatments. The Guide prescribed many odd treatments, including potash, chloroform tincture, saltpetre, sulfuric acid, opium tincture, mercury ointments, and cholera belts (a flannel cloth soaked in a foul-smelling liquid and tied around the waist in the belief that it keep cholera away). |
 |
| The windlass, located in the fo'c'sle. Glenlee originally relied upon manpower to raise its anchor, a process that could take hours since it took one full turn of the windlass to raise a single link of anchor chain. This electric windlass was installed as part of the modifications completed following the sale of the ship to the Spanish Navy in 1922. The electrically-powered windlass permitted faster departures, if necessary. Nevertheless, as a sail training ship with up to 300 cadets aboard, it is likely that manpower remained the primary means for many onboard operations. When Glenlee returned to Glasgow in 1993, the windlass was covered in rust, silt, and sand. The components of the windlass were stripped down to bare metal and extensively cleaned before being reassembled. While the entire windlass is original from 1922, the nuts, bolts, and pins were replaced as part of the meticulous, two-year restoration undertaken by volunteers. The restored windlass is now functional and connected to the capstan on the fo'c'sle deck above. |
 |
| Looking aft, down the weather deck, from the overhang of the fo'c'sle. The tarpaulin-covered forward cargo hatch sits in the centre of the deck, in front of the foremast. The weather deck was relaid with opepe, a tropical sustainable hardwood, as part of Glenlee's restoration in the 1990s. |
 |
| The forward staircase down from the weather deck to the 'tween deck. |
 |
| The 'tween deck, looking aft. The 'tween deck derives its name from the fact that it lies in-between the weather deck above and the cargo hold below. The major restoration of Glenlee that commenced in 1993 began with the 'tween deck. The officers' cabins that had been installed in the 'tween deck by the Spanish Navy after 1922 were torn out to open up the large space. The deck itself, likely the original pitch-pine planking, was determined to be so rotten that it was replaced by new planks of Douglas fir. |
 |
| The sail locker on the 'tween deck, containing sails and rope. Glenlee carried two full sets of 19 sails, totalling 25,200 square feet (2,341 square metres) of canvas, all requiring constant care and attention. Flax cloth was used for sails, as it was the most readily available material in Britain for the manufacture of sails, though cotton and hemp were also sometimes used for sail cloth. The thread used to sew the sails was often dipped in oil to ease the work, and the sailmaker typically made 124 to 144 stitches per yard to make the seam of a new sail; fewer stitches were required for an older or damaged sail. |
 |
| The sailmaker's workshop. The sailmaker was highly respected by the crew, as he was critical to the ship's speed, given his responsibility for mending and often replacing damaged or missing sails. Possessing a mathematical mind and skilled in the use of his tools, the sailmaker also calculated the size of nettings, tarpaulins, and awnings used aboard the ship. Because of his sewing skills, the sailmaker was also sometimes expected to assist with emergency surgery. If a crewman died onboard, the sailmaker would sew up the corpse in a sail for a burial at sea; the final stitch would go through the dead man's nose to be absolutely sure he was dead. |
 |
| A display on the 'tween deck recounts the final and longest voyage of the Islamount (as Glenlee was then named) as a British ship, between 18 May 1916 and 20 October 1919. During the First World War, Islamount was under the management of the Shipping Controller, John Stewart & Co. of London, and captained by 58-year old David George from Pembrokeshire, Wales. Captain George was known to his crew as a 'Man of Harlech' and had served at sea since the age of 14. The last voyage of the Islamount lasted 1,269 days and involved two circumnavigations of the globe to deliver cargo to various countries of the British Empire. Ports of call on this voyage included Liverpool, New York, Melbourne, Bordeaux, Sydney, Cape Town, Batavia, Samarang, Port Natal, and Sète. While sailing in the North Atlantic, Islamount had to evade the threat of German U-boats engaged in unrestricted submarine warfare. Indeed, during the First World War, over 3,300 merchant ships were sunk and over 17,000 merchant seamen killed. |
 |
| Today, the 'tween deck can be rented to host weddings, dinners, birthday parties, concerts, and other events. |
 |
| The main cargo hatch, one of three on Glenlee. As Glenlee was a cargo ship for many years, almost all the space below deck was used as storage for goods transported worldwide. The cargo was loaded and unloaded using huge nets, baskets, and ropes, as well as manual labour. Speed in moving the cargo was critical, as the pace at which the ship could be loaded and unloaded in port determined when Glenlee could depart on her next voyage. Nevertheless, a ship could spend months waiting in port for its next cargo: in 1890, after reaching Portland, Oregon, Glenlee remained tied up for 90 days as her captain looked for a cargo for the return voyage. |
 |
| At the aft end of the 'tween deck is the café, serving a variety of sandwiches, soups, baked goods, and hot and cold beverages. |
 |
| The forward stairs leading down from the 'tween deck to the cargo hold. |
 |
| Entering the cargo hold via the forward staircase. This is the lowest accessible part of the ship, located right above the bottom of the hull. The hull plates and ribs can be seen on the left. Sacks, baskets, and barrels recreate the look of general cargo stowed aboard Glenlee for one of her far-flung voyages. |
 |
| The cargo hold, with the large hatch providing access from the 'tween deck above. The large and spacious hold was designed to maximise the amount of cargo the ship could carry, and thus the revenue that her owners could earn. Glenlee/Islamount could carry 2,600 tons of cargo during each voyage, with the ship transporting a diverse range of commodities over the 23 years she served as a cargo vessel, including general cargo, coal, kerosene, wheat, and guano (seabird and bat excrement used as high-nitrogen fertiliser). A wooden chute and hand-cranked canvas conveyor belt, seen in the centre of the photo, helped with the time-consuming process of loading and unloading the ship at port. Speed in loading and unloading was critical, as a ship in port was a ship not earning revenue. |
 |
| Looking down into the cargo hold from the raised catwalk running along the port side. When serving as a cargo vessel, Glenlee/Islamount was ballasted (stabilised) through the proper distribution of cargo in the hold. After the ship was sold to the Spanish Navy, its role as a sail training vessel for naval cadets meant that thousands of pig iron blocks weighing a total of 1,260 tons had to be fixed between the ribs of the hull with layers of cement to ensure the proper distribution of weight. When Glenlee returned to Glasgow for preservation in 1993, an inspection of the original steelwork of the hull necessitated the removal of the pig iron blocks, a process which took 18 months. The pig iron blocks were reused as ballast on the restored Glenlee; however, rather than being affixed to the inside of the hull, they were suspended below the decking and can be moved when necessary. |
 |
| This sail displayed in the cargo hold is a fore lower topsail donated to Glenlee by the sailmakers of Mariehamm, Finland in 2002. Sewn entirely by hand and containing approximately 75,000 stitches, the sail took an entire winter to make. Today, the sail is used as a screen on which to project photographs taken by Eric Newby, an 18-year old apprentice aboard the four-masted Finnish barque Moshulu, showing the day-to-day life aboard the vessel during its round-the-world voyage from South Australia to Europe with a load of grain in 1938-39. |
 |
| A view of the cargo hold and the catwalk running forward along the port side to a Learning Centre for school groups. This raised deck above the cargo hold was installed by the Spanish Navy to provide additional space for sleeping accommodations for the 300 naval cadets the ship, then named Galatea, carried on training cruises. Continuing aft on this deck, visitors enter the compartments housing the electrical generators and switchboard and the diesel engines, all installed as part of the 1920-22 conversion of the ship into an auxiliary barque. |
 |
| One of the three-cylinder Ruston and Hornsby diesel generators built in Peterborough, England and installed by the ship's Italian owners in 1922 to provide electrical power and electric lighting. There were originally two such generators, but the other was removed during Glenlee's restoration as a museum in order to fit modern toilet facilities for visitors and to provide a clearer view of the remaining electrical equipment. |
 |
| The electrical switchboard (upper left), also installed in 1922, has been cleaned and partially restored by volunteers. |
 |
| A closer look at the remaining Ruston and Hornsby electrical generator, dating from 1922. In recent years, eco-friendly technology has been installed to provide heat and hot water to Glenlee. This includes a heat exchange system added in 2010, which uses special metal collectors mounted on a floating pontoon system between Glenlee and the quayside to generate heat and hot water for the ship. In 2023, heat pumps were installed on Glenlee's weather deck, which absorb heat from the atmosphere, compress it, and release it to the required locations on the ship. |
 |
| The engine room, fitted with two Polar Atlas diesel engines, each weighing 33 tons and producing 640 Brake Horsepower to drive twin propellers. Tanks holding 46 tons of diesel powered the engines. The Polar Atlas engines were installed in 1950 as part of a major refit of the vessel by the Spanish Navy. They replaced the Italian-made Ansaldo eight-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engines installed in 1920-21, when the ship was purchased by the Star of Italy Shipping Company and re-named Clarastella. The Ansaldo engines produced 220 Nominal Horsepower, sufficient to drive Clarastella at a speed of 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph). Efficient diesel engines provided reliable propulsion, especially important when manoeuvring to enter or leave harbour or when the winds were calm. Although the restoration of Glenlee sought to return the ship as much as possible to her 1896 appearance, select items from the later periods were retained, including the engines, auxiliary generator, and electrical switchboard. |
 |
| Despite the convenience of diesel engines, these served only an auxiliary purpose when the ship was a Spanish Navy sail training vessel. With 300 naval cadets aboard, there was ample labour on hand to man the rigging and work the sails, and sail power remained as the principal source of propulsion. The engines suffered significant damage and are inoperative, though rust and debris was cleaned during Glenlee's restoration process and the engines painted grey to mimic their colour during the period when the ship served the Spanish Navy as Galatea. |
 |
| Looking down at the bottom of the engine room. On the left, the starboard propeller shaft passes through the engine room's aft bulkhead. The installation of diesel engines in 1920-21 led the ship to being re-designated as an auxiliary barque. |
 |
| Looking forward along the starboard side, towards the fo'c'sle. The forward deckhouse, with crew accommodations, is on the left. The deckhouse is a replica of that which was originally installed in 1896. |
 |
| The recreated interior of the forward deckhouse on Glenlee's weather deck, home to up to 16 men on voyages which might last up to three years. Conditions in the deckhouse varied depending on where in the world the ship was sailing, ranging from stifling heat in the tropics to freezing cold and damp in the North Atlantic. During stormy weather, the deckhouse was often flooded, resulting in wet bedding and clothes. The men were forced to brace themselves against something fixed while eating, and anything not lashed down was either smashed to pieces or ended up as part of the heap of soaked items sloshing around on the floor with the rocking of the ship. After several months at sea, the cramped deckhouse would have smelled of lamp smoke, tobacco, and stale sweat. A crewman desperately lacking certain items of clothing or personal needs, such as oilskins, tobacco, pipes, matches, knives, boots, soap, underwear, and flannel shirts, could purchase these 'slops' at massively inflated prices from a stock held by the captain; transactions were recorded by the captain in a book and the prices deducted from the crewman's wages, thus representing a substantial extra revenue source for the captain. A member of Islamount's crew who later became famous was Fred Noonan, who went missing with Amelia Earhart during their round-the-world flight attempt in 1938. Noonan joined Islamount's crew in Callao, Peru on 27 March 1913, at the age of 19, and served aboard the ship for the next eight months, living in this cramped deckhouse alongside men from Scandanavia, Germany, and France, ranging in age from 18 to 56. |
 |
| The ship's galley, where meals for the crew were prepared. The cook was important, as his skills (or lack thereof) would significantly impact a long voyage. Poor quality food was a factor in the low life expectancy and poor health of many sailors. The food served onboard was limited to what would last longest without refrigeration, such as salt pork, dried peas, oatmeal, and rice; however, after being stored for weeks or even months, these items were often contaminated with maggots and rat droppings. To hide the taste of old or rancid food, the cook would use various spices or mix the ingredients into stews and curries. In 1906, a seaman's ration consisted of four quarts of water daily, three pounds of fresh bread and salt beef per week, limited daily rations of tea, coffee, and sugar, and a daily issue of lime juice to prevent scurvy. When flour to bake fresh bread ran out or if rough weather prevented the cook from lighting the oven, the crewmen were forced to eat the notoriously hard ship's biscuit (hardtack). The ship's food stores were locked away below the officer's accommodations and the captain was in charge of distributing all provisions and keeping the water supply, and the meat and bread lockers under his control. |
 |
| During her service as a cargo vessel, Glenlee carried several small boats, comprising two lifeboats, a captain's gig, and a pinnace. Seen here are the pinnace (left) and gig (right). |
 |
| On the right, the pinnace was a general workboat for the crew. The current pinnace was built by a volunteer team. On the left, the gig was a personal transport for the ship's captain. The gig aboard Glenlee today was built by the museum's boatbuilding team. All of Glenlee's replica small boats have been built using original drawings and research. |
 |
| The daily routine for the ship's crew included hard and often boring tasks, including painting, chipping away rust, polishing brass work, scrubbing the deck, and repairing the rigging. |
 |
| The stairs connecting the 'tween deck to the aft deckhouse on the weather deck. |
 |
| Inside the aft deckhouse. As part of the restoration of Glenlee, the steelwork installed by the Spanish Navy on the weather and 'tween decks was removed in 1994-96. New designs were created to replace the original 1896 deckhouses. Three retired shipyard riveters agreed to build the two new steel deckhouses and three cargo hatches using the traditional hot rivet method, and the project was awarded to Garvel Dry Dock. The finished structures were fitted to a deck that was never designed to be perfectly flat. |
 |
| A binnacle on display in the aft deckhouse. The binnacle houses a magnetic compass and is protected from the elements by a non-magnetic brass housing with glass window. The binnacle would traditionally sit alongside the ship's steering position to aid in accurate navigation. |
 |
| A look at Glenlee's weather deck. The ship's original pitch-pine weather deck likely survived until the early 1990s, but decades of exposure to the harsh Spanish sun without any protection or maintenance led the planks to shrivel beyond repair. The current weather deck, installed during Glenlee's restoration in 1998, is made of opepe, a tropical African hardwood. To maintain the deck boards, they are regularly hosed down to ensure the wood remains hydrated and to prevent shrinkage which could allow water to leak into the decks below. During the summer, Glenlee's crew caulks the deck using the traditional method of hammering oakum into the gaps between the planks and sealing it with tar to ensure wateright integrity. These techniques are consistent with the ship's historical maintenance techniques. |
 |
| The raised poop deck at the aft end of the ship. Access to the poop deck was restricted to the ship's officers, with only the crewman manning the helm and members of the watch permitted to be there. The poop deck and the internal accommodations and fittings of the poop cabin are reconstructions, following an arson attack in the 1980s while the ship was laid up in Spain. As there were no photographs of the interior of Glenlee's poop cabin at the beginning of the 20th century, the reconstruction was based on detailed research of similar Clyde-built sailing vessels still possessing their original fittings. The reconstructions of the poop cabin was completed in early 2011. |
 |
| The entrance vestibule of the poop cabin. The name 'poop' is derived from the Latin world 'puppis', meaning 'back' (i.e. of the ship). The poop cabin contains the captain's cabin, the saloon, the pantry, the first, second, and third mates' cabins, and the apprentices' cabin. |
 |
| The apprentices' cabin, which housed boys as young as 14 who were training to become merchant ship officers. An apprentice was not paid wages and, in fact, his family paid the shipping company £30 per year for four years so that their son could someday become the master of a vessel like Glenlee. A display on the far wall tells the story of apprentice John Lages, aged 17, who died on 24 May 1915 in South Africa during his first voyage aboard Islamount. The London-born Lages wanted to go sea from a young age and, although this was bitterly opposed by his mother, his parents eventually relented and he left home in 1914 to join the Islamount. This was the last time he was seen by his family. Lages joined Islamount in Antwerp, Belgium in February 1914 and sailed for South America. On the return voyage from Tocopilla, Chile to Durban, South Africa, he died of dysentery, an infection of the intestines, and was buried at Stellawood Cemetery in Durban. John's mother never recovered from his premature death and his parents and siblings were never able to visit his grave; the first relative to visit his grave was his great-niece, in 1988. |
 |
| The saloon, where the captain and his officers dined and where the captain would entertain visitors and conduct important meetings. In the corner sits a coal stove used to heat the poop cabin when sailing in the frigid North Atlantic. |
 |
| Looking forward in the saloon. On the left, a passageway leads past the first, second, and third mates' cabins to the weather deck. On the right, one door leads to the captain's cabin while the other leads to another passageway to the weather deck, passing the apprentices' cabin. A large, ornate sideboard in the saloon features a marble top and railings along its edges to keep glassware, bottles, and crockery from sliding onto the deck during rough weather. The dining table also features a raised lip along its edge for the same reason. |
 |
| Although small, the captain's cabin was far more luxurious than the accommodations for the crewmen in the forward deckhouse. A desk and chair provided a workspace to complete the important paperwork involved in running the ship. During Glenlee/Islamount's 23 years (1896-1919) as a cargo vessel, this cabin was occupied by five captains. The captain was in absolute charge of the ship and was responsible for overseeing the navigation of the vessel, buying and selling of cargoes, and the discipline and well-being of the crew. The ship's longest-serving captain was Richard Owens, who held command between October 1905 and 1913. |
 |
| The captain's cabin includes an adjoining private bathroom with a toilet, a drop down washbasin fed by a water reservoir, and a full size clawfoot tub. |
 |
| The pantry, where food and provisions for the captain and his officers was stored. While all meals for the crew were cooked in the galley in the forward deckhouse, a steward plated the captain's and officers' meals in the pantry, adjacent to the saloon. |
 |
| The first mate's cabin. The first mate, also known as the 'chief officer' or simply 'the mate', was responsible for the safety and security of the ship and was second in command under the captain. In the event of the captain becoming incapacitated or dying, the first mate would take over command of the ship. Such a situation occurred in March 1919 on the final leg of Islamount's final voyage, when Java fever spread quickly among the crew. With captain David George bedridden and feverish, first mate Charles Sleggs took command and sailed Islamount to Port Natal (Durban) in South Africa for medical assistance, arriving on 18 May. |
 |
| Looking aft, down the port passageway in the poop cabin. The cabin shared by the second and third mates is on the right, with the first mate's cabin located further aft, also on the right. |
 |
| Looking forward from the poop deck. Glenlee's lifeboats are mounted on chocks above the deck, on either side of the aft deckhouse. The starboard (right) lifeboat was constructed by the museum's team in its boatbuilding workshop, while the port (left) lifeboat was likely built in Hong Kong in the early 1900s. |
 |
| Covered in plastic is the foundation of the charthouse, located immediately forward of the ship's steering position. The charthouse was the ship's nerve centre, containing navigational and communications equipment. It was here that the officer of the watch plotted the ship's position each day and planned the next part of the voyage. The captain consulted maps in the chartroom and took readings with the sextant at noon every day. The ship's apprentices learned these critical navigational skills under the guidance of the captain and his officers. The original wooden charthouse was destroyed in a major fire in the 1980s when the ship was laid up in Spain. A replica charthouse was constructed during the ship's 1990s restoration, based on historic photos and plans of Glenlee and similar ships. After two decades, the sealant on the charthouse had degraded, resulting in significant water ingress into the poop cabin below. Using funding from Museums Galleries Scotland and the Friends of Glasgow Museums, the charthouse was lifted off Glenlee by crane and, during this visit, was in the midst of a restoration project at a workshop ashore, to be returned to the poop deck when complete. The removal of the charthouse allowed the poop deck to be lifted and relaid to prevent further damage to Glenlee. |
 |
| Looking up Glenlee's mizzenmast from the poop deck. the mizzenmast is the mast located furthest aft. Unlike the foremast and mainmast, which are square-rigged on yards mounted perpendicular to the masts, the mizzenmast was fore-and-aft rigged. |
 |
| The ship's helm, comprising the wheel and steering box, located at the aft end of the poop deck. The original wheel and steering box were destroyed in the 1980s arson attack, but the yoke and worm-screw steering machinery is believed to be original, or to date from 1922 at the latest. In stormy weather and rough seas, two men would be needed to handle the wheel, sometimes lashing themselves to it to maintain a good grip and avoid being swept overboard. |
 |
| Looking forward from the poop deck. Working in the rigging and sails was a very dangerous job aboard sailing ships. In all weather conditions, crewmen were required to climb the ratlines and carefully make their way along the yards, 100 or more feet (30.5 metres) above deck, in order to adjust the sails. The largest sails aboard Glenlee weighed more than a ton when dry and double that when wet. Even the slightest slip could result in a crewman plummeting to his death on the deck below or falling into the sea and being swept away. One such incident in July 1906, during a voyage to South America, resulted in the deaths of two crewmen after they lost their footing in freezing winds and driving rain and fell into the sea. |
 |
| A view of the Govan-Partick Bridge spanning the River Clyde next to the Riverside Museum, as seen from the aft rail of Glenlee's poop deck. This £29.5 million pedestrian and cycle bridge was built in Belgium, fitted with cables and its pylon in the Netherlands, and towed to Glasgow on a barge for installation; it opened to the public on 7 September 2024. Connecting Pointhouse Quay on the north bank with Water Row on the south bank, the bridge covers the same route as an historic ferry that used to cross the Clyde at this point. The bridge consists of two spans, a fixed span weighing 45 tonnes and a swing bridge portion weighing 650 tonnes. At 110 metres (360 feet) in length, the Govan-Partick bridge is one of Europe's longest opening footbridges. |
 |
| A view of the port side hull while disembarking via the aft gangway. The black squares painted on the side of the hull mimic gunports. Such dummy painted gunports were a popular decorative motif on sailing ships in the 19th century, originating as a deterrent to pirates in Asian waters, who would be tricked into thinking the ship was an armed warship rather than an unarmed merchant vessel. Even after the threat of piracy had diminished toward the end of the 1800s, the painted gunports remained popular with shipowners, who felt the designs improved the appearance of their ships. |
 |
| A final look at the barque Glenlee, moored on the River Clyde in Glasgow, Scotland. |
