November 2018

By

In the month when the Nation remembered those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War of 1914 -1918, we paid our own respects, particularly to those who served aboard HM Tug Terrier (as Kerne was named in Admiralty Service) and other members of the Admiralty Yard Craft Service who served in the conflict.

 

Despite the on-set of winter, there has been no let-up aboard the good ship Kerne.

As reported in last month’s entry, we have been fortunate indeed to have received several generous grants, and we have wasted no time in pressing on with the work these grants support. Starting down below, with expert assistance from Rory with the cutting torch, our Engineers and new engineering volunteers have really got stuck-in with the onerous task of removing the 60 stay tubes, all of which are now out, despite the fact that we had to remove a number of plain tubes to get the cut stay tubes out of the water space. Other than the problems with the treaded areas on a small number of the stay tubes, they are in remarkably good condition. Work now progresses with the dressing and re-cutting the threads in the 120 holes in the smokebox and combustion chamber tubeplates. This is not a job for the faint-hearted; it is skilled but hard, time consuming manual labour, but we are up to the task and this is going well.

Moving to the Aft Cabin/Galley, fitting of the new sink has been completed, with  appropriate modifications to the fresh-water and Aft Peak taps, welding of an overboard discharge and installation of an electric ‘Gulper’ waste pump. We are fortunate, that as Kerne has a 24 volt electrical system, we are able to utilise narrow-boat technology in the form of this pump and the Aft Cabin automatic bilge pump, which are ‘off-the-shelf’ items, saving a lot of time and effort.

 

Topsides, the wheelhouse project has also moved on apace. Firstly, all the navigation and ancillary equipment comprising compass, VHF radio, satellite navigation and distress system, echo sounder, navigation lights, the electrical installation etc. was removed to safe storage together with the ship’s wheel, furniture, chart table, telegraph and various fixings. Thereafter, glazing was carefully removed together with the drop-down windows that were once fitted to British Rail Mk 1 carriages following which we were then able to start dismantling the wheelhouse structure.

Having carefully removed all that could be used in the re-built structure, we set about the skeletal remains with bow and chainsaws, crowbars and sledge hammers. Despite the age and apparent poor condition of some parts of the wheelhouse, it certainly was reluctant to leave the vessel!

Once this and the flooring was removed, was could make an inspection of the top of the Boiler Casing on which the wheelhouse was secured, and it was not a pretty sight. As we had suspected, the steelwork was in poor condition, and after some attention with the chipping hammer it was concluded that something in the order of 75% of the casing top beneath the wheelhouse should be replaced. To this end, and to provide protection to now-exposed areas, a scaffolding tent was been erected and the welding is now in progress.

 

Finally, the sterling work and dedication of our volunteers has been further recognised, as National Historic Ships UK has Certified the Society as ‘Highly Commended’ in the Marsh Volunteer Awards for Historic Vessel Conservation 2018.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

July 2023

By
Kerne has remained in Canning Dock throughout the month with the crew giving conducted tours around the vessel when members are in attendance. One very interesting recent visitor was an Australian gentleman and his wife who are members of the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney harbour which amongst its exhibits is the Steam Tug ‘Waratah’. It just so happened that in the mid 1970’s we were befriended by an Australian gent by the name of Peter Jones who was having an extended visit to the UK and he joined us as a temporary volunteer. He described that in Sydney he and others had embarked on a project to restore Waratah. Somewhat larger than Kerne at 105ft, she was built in 1902 by the Australian Government Dockyard and fitted with steam reciprocating engines built by Ross and Duncan of Govan on the Clyde. During Peter’s time in the UK, we were able to discuss common issues that both they and us had to confront in preserving these ancient vessels and I am pleased to report that
Read more

August 2022

By
Whilst there is never any real let-up in the work needed to keep a 109 year old steam tug in active condition, there is nothing like the a fast approaching trip to speed things up and August has been no exception. The outstanding welding to the new bunker cross deck continued apace, the main welding being pretty much complete and the square apertures for the bunker lids cut out and the surrounding lips formed. In order to make the tug presentable, areas to be finished off have been masked before primer and 2-pack black top coat was applied across the deck. The letter ‘K’ of Kerne that was lost when the corroded upper sections of the bunker were cut away has thankfully been reinstated, as it had been suggested that if the port side of the bunkers appeared to be called ‘Erne’ we should name the starboard side ‘Eric’!! The suggestion was not adopted. Work continued over six work sessions to repaint white band beneath the rail. This entailed flap wheel grinder preparation, water wash off,
Read more

March 2023

By
To say that March has been ‘full-on’ would be no exaggeration as we approach our operating season. The most important element being successful boiler inspections without which we are going nowhere. Firstly after a successful dry inspection, fire bars had to be refitted in the two furnaces, there being two sets of bars in each furnace supported by a very heavy central bridge piece. That done, the two folding smokebox doors had to be closed and the multiple dogs correctly engaged to ensure a smoke-tight fit. After filling the boiler with approx 8 tons of water fires were then lit and over three days the boiler was slowly warmed up and steam raised to 180psi for the Boiler Inspector to witness the lifting of the safety valves to his satisfaction. The latter was followed by engine trials alongside the quay at Sandon which again was successful with only a few minor issues. The steam test did reveal a failed joint in the safety valve waste pipe which runs up the front of the funnel. This joi
Read more