March 2021

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The month of March has special significance in the life of the venerable Steam Tug Kerne. On the morning of Thursday 18 March 1971, Kerne set sail from Wellington Dock with three barges in tow loaded with 750 tonnes of grain bound for Coburg Grain. Having dropped off the tow, she proceeded to Waterloo Dock to moor up, and without fuss or fanfare Kerne had just completed her last commercial voyage. 
This really was the end of an era, as not only was this Kerne’s last voyage, but it was the last voyage by a coal fired steamship on the Mersey. 
Back to the here and now, and work continues aboard, and by the end of March, a total of 38 stay tubes are now in situ. The precision required for this task was once again emphasised when it was found necessary to cut away further sections of bunker bulkheads in order that each tube is at exactly 90 degrees to the tubeplate in order to ‘start’ the threads in the tube holes. 
Whilst this proceeds in the bowels of the ship, above further scaling and painting was carried out to the Engine Room casing, and further slow progress continued in the re-wiring of the Wheelhouse. 
Down in the Aft Cabin/Galley, it was discovered that there was a hole in the steel flue pipe to the galley range resulting in a cabin full of smoke. Not good for the health of our volunteers, but as the range is a source of warmth and comfort during lunch breaks and particularly the provider of hot water for washing at the end of a cold and dirty day, this problem took on critical importance. Further investigation revealed that the flue was rotten due to rain water ingressing, which suggests that the cowl need modification, and that the flue would now have to be replaced. Removing this proved somewhat difficult, but once achieved, our volunteer Jack Dibnah, fabricated a replacement, using the original as a template. The difficulties in removing the old pipe was nothing compared with the difficulty in installing the new one, but this was eventually achieved, together with a fresh coat of heatproof black to this and the range. 
Also in the galley, the sink was failing to empty correctly, and an inspection of the installation revealed that the pipe from the pump up to the discharge was slightly kinked, and debris had accumulated over time. This was corrected by clearing and re-routing the pipe. 
By the end of March the volunteers were back into their pre-lockdown stride as we drive the outstanding jobs forward with the goal of sailings to celebrate our 50 years of preservation later in the year.

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