January 2020

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There is no rest for the wicked in the world of maritime steam preservation, so it was back to it in the first week of the New Year. 

In the Wheelhouse the steel bearers for the decking were bolted into place. Due to the curvature of the boiler casing onto which the wheelhouse is secured the bearers provide a level support for the decking, and importantly, by keeping an air-gap between the steelwork of the casing and the timber of the decking, this should reduce surface corrosion of the new platework that was welded into place last year. The decking itself consist of reclaimed timber hatchboards which are cut to length (fore and aft) and notched out to accommodate the securing bolts of the bearers, together with the telegraph, Engine Room voicepipe, steering windlass and oilers. The original timber decking was laid port to starboard across the Wheelhouse, directly onto the steel casing in the middle of the deck, with timber battens placed fore and aft to take up the curvature at the sides. These battens created a trap for any water that got in, thus creating the corrosion that was evident to the platework when we removed the original decking. A further bonus of the shorter deck timbers is that they will be easily removable for maintenance and painting of the casing top. All the timbers are now in place. The telegraph itself had been removed from the vessel, and the cast base has now been stripped of the numerous coats of paint it has received over the years, beautifully repainted in Liverpool Lighterage blue and refitted.

On the subject of refitting, the exhaust from the diesel generator has been refitted, albeit in a slightly less obtrusive position on the port side of the wheelhouse.

Moving to the Forward Cabin, a new removable cover has been fashioned to cover the top of the scuttle, which will eliminate the rain water that manages to drip in via the sliders of the hatch itself.

Going further forward we had an exciting couple of hours fitting the bow fender made for us by our friends aboard the Daniel Adamson. It was certainly of some weight, and we needed the assistance of the Hiab crane of the Seaport Alpha (ex TID 43) to sling it from the quay onto Kerne’s stem post. It is now securely chained to the top eyes, but a couple of bottle screws are needed to secure the side chains.

Down below, we are now awaiting the threaded boiler tubes so we can get on with the installation, but in the meantime, we are cleaning up the boiler face ahead of the fitting of the new smokebox bottoms, and are replacing the studs that hold the port and starboard firedoor assemblies in position.
 

Whilst none of the volunteers have admitted to making a New Year’s Resolution, we all crack on with the collective goal of steaming in 2020.

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