April 23 Working Party

April 23 Working Party Photographs © Dan Cross 2005
	Volunteers John Broomby, Gordon Owen and Nigel Farrell in 'the black hole' or to be accurate the starboard coal bunker. One of the jobs was to remove all the stored boiler fire bars from the bunker, sweep out twenty odd years of accumulated coal dust, lift the wood deck bunker floor and clean out the bilges beneath. This was a very dirty and unpleasant task taken on with great enthusiasm not only by those pictured but with the help of David Broomby, Steve Greenhalgh and Dan Cross. John Deakin supervised proceedings and supplied most welcome pots of tea. By mid afternoon everywhere was clean as a whistle, the deck planks replaced and all fire bars returned to storage. So why all the effort? Well in the not too distant future we will be undertaking some comprehensive NDT surveys of the hull with readings taken both externally as well as internally in order to establish the detailed condition of all hull plates. This needs to be done to establish what remedial work will be required during restoration. As you may recall when originally dry-docked last year the results were better than we had dared hope, but we still required some short term repairs, this involved the welding of 'doubler plates' to the effected areas. During restoration and particularly in order to comply with the MCA rules for passenger certification, it will be necessary to renew any plates which do not meet or exceed these stringent requirements. Accordingly by preparing in advance the surveys can be conducted more thoroughly with easy access to difficult areas made ready and in an acceptable state for the surveyor to work. The port bunker will receive similar attention in the near future. Ultimately all 'under floor' areas will be made ready and progress will be reported. All in all a great day's work and one worthy of many thanks to all concerned
The painstaking chipping and cleaning of the aft peak tank top continued again this week, this task has been cheerfully undertaken by Pat Brennan ably assisted this weekend by Jack Nulty both of whom are pictured hard at it. The results of this tremendous effort are absolutely amazing with plates restored to near perfect condition and now painted with a rust inhibitor. There is much work to do before the area can be completely painted with suitable preservative paints, but the finished result should be worth all the hard work and last for a good while. Far better to do a thorough job now while the deck is lifted rather than afterward when head-room is reduced to just 32 inches!!
	Our tireless generator repair men, Steve Lawrinson and Walter Graham possibly contemplate a 'Viking Funeral' for the diesel generator. On Saturday after another overhaul of the fuel pump the engine was successfully started and soon after rapidly stopped again when it was seen to have developed an oil leak!! On this occasion the oil seal had failed and having no suitable replacement to hand this put an end to proceedings for this weekend! Matters are in hand to seek a replacement for the generator, but I think it's fair to say that for Wally and Steve this has now become 'personal' and they are determined to win through even if it's future is in doubt! Keep checking for the final chapter in this epic of man versus machine!!
It's those 'joiners' again!! In these views we see Gordon Owen and John Broomby completing the task of fitting the temporary deck sheeting to the fore-deck, in particular cutting the sheets to allow continued access to the fore-peak tank top and other deck fittings. This now completes the sheeting from the stem to the area aft of the engine room casing on both port and starboard sides. With the exception of the deck above the aft accommodation all of the old deck has now been lifted and replaced with a safe, secure covering, providing a great improvement all round. Another great job by John and Gordon again!
	.....And Finally, if only to prove I do something aboard apart from take photos and write articles for the web-site, here I am busily cleaning up the connecting rod assembly for the starboard air pump. The pump has already been stripped by John Huxley, Pete Irlam and John Churchill, the pump rods removed for cleaning up and the unit open for examination, cleaning and re-assembly. Considering that this unit is now like the ship herself 103 years old, the condition is magnificent and is testament to the 'over' engineering of the day. They definitely built things to last and the quality of all components is remarkable. Over the years much of the bright-work down below has been neglected or in some cases covered with paint, no doubt to alleviate the need to polish everything when the vessel was in commercial operation. Obviously we plan to restore as much as possible to it's original condition and show all machinery to it's best advantage, so that clean, polished and well lubricated surfaces will be the order of the day. It not only looks right but emphasises the combination of functionality and quality of design used. It is a slow process and this particular task took all day to reach this stage, it's a large, heavy piece of machinery, taking two people to lift, but I think it looks a great deal better for the effort. I must have used several yards of emery tape before we tried a wire brush mounted in a power drill plus a little diesel to loosen the dirt, which really did make a difference (thanks to John Deakin for the hint!!) As mentioned elsewhere we have 'Makita (UK)' to thank for some new tools which have been most welcome aboard. We have also received tools from another 'household' name company for which we are equally grateful. Right now we cannot fully acknowledge our thanks to this company, but hope to do so when they provide their consent. Suffice to say we very much appreciate any help we receive and will endeavour to acknowledge this support, but only if the company or individual involved is in agreement. We will always strive to comply with their wishes and not seek to gain advantage from their generosity.