| Homepage | Next >> |
Windlass before it was turned |
Not much metal left, all rust! |
New deck, new rudder top box and a nylon bearing |
This year we needed to rediscover enjoyment from the barge since last year was hard on us with dirt and no roof except a flapping tarp for 10 months. The plan to go down the coast to France has been put back a year to allow us to catch up with life as well as prepare properly. The anchor winch was overhauled in January and now we need a couple of handles made to turn it and heave in our 112m of heavy chain. The anchor locker needs cleaning out and cememting to plug its holes. We'll need a working system for our trip down the coast.
Next we needed to finish welding the new bollards onto repaired deck and we suspected the rudder shaft top box needed repairing before heading out to sea. We were concerned that wave action might be too much for the structure as it was. This fear proved well founded and we found the whole top box was rotten to deck level and was hangimg on by a few mill of warped steel. The centre photo above illustrates just what state the old structure was in and the picture on the right shows the new box which gives us much more confidence!
Battoning out the stern was a good winter job which took weeks of drilling and bracketing through the old ribs of the aft section. Spray foaming it was left until spring so that condensation wouldn't stop the foam from sticking. The look after spray foam insulation is applied is great and the benefits of not cooking in the summer and not freezing in the winter make it well worth the cost.
Next we will be sorting out diesel storage as there will be changes afoot with red diesel only being allowed for heating and power generation. This means that our single tank will need to be enhanced to 4 tanks so that we can decide on the proportions of red and white diesel to carry. We need to re-commission the blocked off port tank and also install two new tanks in the old perforated ballast tank which is right aft.
A cruise through the northern canals that are big enough for Waterdog is our big plan for late summer. We have friends booked to come and enjoy some cruising with us and other friends coming to help bring the barge home again. We hope to do the 'Aire & Calder', the 'New Junction' and then the 'Don Navigation' as far as Doncaster. BBQs on the bank, walks, cycles and local pubs shoud feature, let's see.
| Homepage | Next >> |