April 2022

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The Boiler Room continues to be one of the centres of attention this month – but with a slight diversion. Following the new steelwork welded into place to replace the corroded sections of the upper bunker bulkheads, attention turned to the areas directly above, being the cross deck above the bunkers. The first job was to cut away the existing rusted steelwork. Whilst we were aware that this area had been over-plated during Kerne’s commercial life, we were not quite ready for what looked more like an archaeological dig than a steel deck. Not only had the deck been over-plated, but there were multiple layers of steel and concrete which made the job of cutting them away quite a task, which is still ongoing. Once we have managed to cut back to good steel, the welders will be back to weld in the new decking. Our thanks to The Headley Trust, a Sainsbury Family Charity for their grant to enable us to undertake this work. Also under the Boiler Room heading, a Hayward-Tyler Duplex pump given to Fred Dibnah some years ago has been overhauled by his son and Kerne volunteer, Roger and following testing under compressed air has been deemed suitable for installation as a boiler feed pump aboard the vessel once a set of drain cocks and lubricator have been sourced. Paint brushes have made an appearance as the task of repainting the Boiler Room gets underway, and work progresses to update the 24 volt electrical installation serving the Boiler Room, Wheelhouse and Forward Cabin that was affected when the bunkers were cut away during the boiler re-tube project. On deck (or to be precise, on the quay) the Aft Deck timber rope grating renovation has progressed well, with a number of the rotted slats having been removed and new slats let in prior to re-varnishing. Whilst we were able to make a short ‘proving’ trip around the dock system in November, we are yet to undertake full sea trials, which we are now hoping to do sometime during May, prior to other trips and public viewings in the summer months. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for further news. Whilst the vessel itself is still confined to Sandon Dock, our historic model of Kerne made an appearance at the Ellesmere Port Traditional Boat Gathering aboard the 1931 ex-FMC narrow boat ‘Alder’ owed and crewed by Kerne’s First Mate who has reported considerable interest in Kerne from the public. Hopefully we will soon be able to display the full-size version!

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