April 2026

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With summer allegedly on the way and a hint of improving weather, we pressed on with preparing Kerne for the Sailing Season. Starting with the boiler, following the successful dry inspection by the Boiler Inspector, the bottom access door was replaced, the fire bars moved by human train from the stack behind the funnel down through the Boiler Room skylights to the stokehold. With one of our crew inside each furnace the bars were passed, one by one and placed into position whilst other crew members wrestled with the task of closing the extremely heavy smokebox doors. Unfortunately, our firehoses couldn’t reach the water hydrant, so with all hands on ropes, we hauled the vessel down the quay until the hoses reached. Whilst we were hauling away a tremendous and sudden hail squall set in soaking us all to the skin – not pleasant, but it did mean that lighting the solid fuel stove in the Forward Cabin earlier in the day was a stroke of genius!! Thereafter, we filled the boiler and aft peak tank, replaced the boiler top door, and over the next few days, set fires and slowly started raising steam. So as not to waste coal with repeated light-ups, the steam raising had four functions. The first was to test the Pop-type safety valves in the presence of the Boiler Inspector. These behaved impeccably, lifting with a bang at 180 psi and slamming shut as the pressure was released. Secondly, whilst securely alongside the quay, the main engine, pumps, ejectors, generator and live-steam injector were all tested and signed off. All checks completed, mooring ropes were slipped and Kerne locked out of the dock system into the Mersey before tying up securely on Canning Wall on an ebbing tide. The purpose to this movement was to effectually ‘beach’ the vessel to enable the fitting below the waterline of our recently-fashioned high-level condenser suction with its protective grill. At low water volunteer and crew member Roger went over the side onto a timber platform and from there welded the boss and grill into place. Finally, on the next rising tide, Kerne was re-floated and sailed across the River Mersey, entering Eastham Locks and the Manchester Ship Canal to Ellesmere Port. From there we sailed up to Weston Marsh Lock to connect with the Weaver Navigation and on to our destination of the Anderton Boat Lift which connects the narrow higher level Trent & Mersey Canal with the Weaver Navigation below. This is an imposing structure built in 1875, sadly out of commission currently that was designed to carry narrow boats up and down between the two waterways in two water filled caissons. The purpose of the visit to Anderton was to attend the ‘Steam at the Lift’ event held on the second week of May. More of which next time.

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