News from On Board

Following discussions with Cammell Laird, a window of opportunity appeared that would allow us to dry dock the vessel. As the yard wanted to get us in before the end of the month, time was tight. A work specification was drawn up by Chris our Chief Engineer, which included the routine work of hull cleaning and painting, anode replacement and NDT checking of hull thickness, but also the installation of a high-level condenser suction. As regular followers will recall, the existing suction is adjacent to the keel, so in shallow waters (eg River Weaver) silt is sucked up into the condenser which overheated with resultant leaking tubes and sea water getting into the boiler. This required a condenser strip-down to repair and a boiler clean. By installing the high-level suction, we have the opportunity to switch from the keel suction to the higher level to avoid the silting problem. As we are dealing with a 112-year-old vessel, we will not be too surprised if the dry-docking throws up other i...

Boiler lagging still dominates our ‘to do’ list. Andy must wish he had kept his hands in his pockets when the question ‘Who wants to take this on?’ was asked. This really is the most awkward of jobs due to the very restrictive confines in which to work and the difficulties in getting the materials down to their required positions. That said, we are now on the final lap, as all the lagging material in now in place between the crinolines and progress is being made with the cutting and fitting of the metal cladding sections that protect the lagging material itself. Valves that had been removed as part of our rolling maintenance program have been overhauled, and the valve faces lapped-in. The blow-down and scum valves have now been bolted back onto the boiler and pipework, and after some difficulties the shut-off valves to the water gauge frame are also back in-situ. This task is made all the more difficult as the upper valve is accessed via a sliding hatch in the boiler casing. Whilst it ...

Boiler lagging was still high on the agenda as we moved into the slightly warmer February. Having made good progress installing the lagging material round the shell, held in place by the crinoline straps, we move on to the somewhat trickier areas of the boiler top around the various pipes and valves that occupy the valve box forward of the funnel. This part of the exercise involves the removal of inspection plates on the top of the boiler casing and beneath the timber flooring on the wheelhouse. The engineer undertaking this task (Andy) then has to lie on his stomach and reach down to feed each uniquely cut piece of lagging under the pipes and round the valves. All very uncomfortable, but not sufficiently to put him off his lunch! Once this area is conquered there is the small matter of the front plate of the boiler which is, of course vertical, with numerous stay-head nuts to cut around. The means of holding each piece of lagging in place is yet to be decided. Also in the Boiler Room ...

The first month of the New Year was memorable for the weather, and not just the wind but also freezing conditions. The storm of December, compounded by those of January had taken their toll on the casing of our diesel generator. Installed several years ago to provide 240 volt power aboard for welding etc, this ‘Silent’ 11kva set is mounted on a steel frame off the forward deck scuttle and encased in a light steel sheet cocoon. Unfortunately, weakened by the effects of a salty atmosphere, it was no match for the ferocious winds which got under a hinged section and tore it from the main structure. We have decided in due course to replace the whole structure in heavier material, but in the meantime the hinged section has been replaced with one of plywood construction. The very cold snap that this part of the country experienced resulted in the freezing of the domestic fresh water tank located forward of the aft cabin/galley hatch, and despite being lagged, the pipework to the sink below ...

Happy New Year to all. A change of month and year, a few bright days that allowed further wheelhouse painting but otherwise little change in the main job in hand – boiler cleaning. This year the task has become more protracted than usual, which is down to the quality (or lack of quality) of the coal we have burned this summer. Prior to the forced change in coal supply due to events in Ukraine, the end of the steaming season required the sweeping of the tubes with a rag and the cleaning of the furnaces and combustion chambers with a light brush followed by the vacuum cleaner. Not so now. The residue left by the bituminous Columbian coal requires the tubes to be attacked with a hard-bristle tube brush and the furnaces and combustion chambers to be scraped and wire brushed. So, what used to be a light job over a couple of sessions now runs into several very dirty and labour-intensive weeks, but we are getting there. Moving to the aft cabin, a somewhat alarming discovery was made in the af...

As the nights draw in and the mercury drops it is time to concentrate on the engineer’s favourite job – Boiler cleaning! The first job in the cleaning process is to empty the boiler of water following which the block and tackles are out, the smokebox doors are hoisted up to reveal the consequences of now having to burn much inferior Columbian coal – soot, lots and lots of soot. Previously, the Russian Deep Mined coal we burnt produced very little smoke, and importantly, very little soot. This used to mean that tubes were swept using a light brush and rag, now it is the heavy brush and a lot of heaving to push the shoot through to the combustion chambers and down onto the fire bars. Then some poor so-and-so has to crawl along the furnaces to remove the fire bars. These are pulled out through the firehole doors and passed to a colleague perched at the top of the Boiler Room ladder who passes the bars out through the sky light to a further volunteer who then passes them to (surprisingly o...

It was an early start on the first morning of September with steam raising for our trip across the Mersey to Birkenhead which had been our home for several years in the 1970’s. We bade farewell to our berth by the Pumphouse pub in Canning Dock on the Monday morning at high tide to clear the gate from Canning out into the river on what was a somewhat warm but damp and dismal day. The crew and Society Friends wasted little time in getting into the tea and biscuits, with the trip to the Galley being was met with the enticing aroma of a large pan of Scouse bubbling gently on the range, gratefully provided by Matthew’s partner Christine. When Kerne left Vittoria Wharf, East Float for Liverpool over 40 years ago, Birkenhead was a thriving port, with many vessels on show and plenty of movements to keep observers interested. Sadly, most of the infrastructure has gone to be replaced by modern office developments and high-rise dwellings - in fact, on arrival, we were the only operational vessel...