BOATS AND CANALS

We are taking Dawn (the Accessible Boats Day Boat) to Deepcut dry dock tomorrow. Enterprise Car Rental are providing 4 volunteers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to help us re-paint the hull and change the prop shaft/stern tube! They have also provided £200 worth of paint and other odds and ends. I met a representative from Enterprise at a volunteers day run by Rushmoor Volunteers Group and we got talking (she was quite nice!) and so here we go. My job is primarily to make sure the volunteers are happy and don't kill themselves. I'll post some photos from each day. We are meeting the first set at Mychett so they are traveling with us the half hour or so to Deepcut.

Cheers Graham

Good Luck with your project and well done to Enterprise Car Rental.

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Maurice

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Foxshaw Gardens Online & Boats and Canals

Well done Graham, I am sure they will all have a great time and it will be an experience they will not forget.

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Regards
Keith Lodge

Well it's been a great day in the dock, we started from Mychett off with our first 4 volunteers and a big box of goodies supplies by Enterprise Car Rentals. We got to the dock and were met by other members of the charity.

Here are some happy snaps.

In the dock and getting Dawn in position



Letting the water out



Caulking the gates



Almost dry



Aiden pressure washing



Terri scraping



Dan wire brushing



Jake and Duncan watching Steve work!!!



Washed, scraped and brushed.



Jess helping tidy up still with a smile despite spending hours scraping, washing and sanding!



4 more volunteers tomorrow.

Cheers Graham

Great pictures, thanks Graham. Keep up the good work, we would be lost without Volunteers.

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Maurice

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It is tough job taking the pictures, drinking coffee, motivating the volunteers and generally having a good time but I'm good at it.

Actually I even lifted a spanner today!

Our new set of volunteers (just 3 today) got stuck into more prepartion.





Our team spent some time on the stern tube and painting the roof.



And finally we have started painting.



I took a look at Deepcut Top Lock and was quite impressed by the low level of leakage.



We have all the latest technology at out finger tips including using a mobile as a torch to see the bits we had missed.



Now on to rudder issues.

The top bearing has disintegrated!



Fortunately you can get a replacement.

The rudder has an interesting bottom bearing.



The bearing surface on top of the skeg is missing, you can see where it used to be welded on. This has caused the rudder to drop and the end of the rudder post is rubbing on the bottom of the cut out - originally intended, we think, to just provide a clearance for the post. The post has worn and this is causing the occasional seizure of the rudder!! We have a plan to fix the top bearing make up a new support for the bottom and investigate the state of the middle one. We will need to re-visit the dock for this!

We have also decided to change the stuffing box as there has been significant wear in it.

It has been interesting to change the prop shaft without removing the rudder ('cos we can't get it out until we solve the bearing issue). By removing the stern tube we generated enough play to get the shaft in past the rudder and then we put the stern tube on with the prop shaft in place.

Tomorrow, more painting temporarily bodge the rudder and fit the new stuffing box - well I'll take photos.

Cheers Graham

Great photos Graham and quite rapid progress.

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Pete Russell NB SORCERESS

We had our last set of volunteers from Enterprise Car Rental. All 3 sets have been truly amazing, they devoted a great deal of enthusiasm and effort to the task and helped the charity a great deal. I cannot thank them and their company enough.

Chris Grinding



Jesus (pronounced Hey-Seus) grinding



Angela painting the gunwales.



Me painting the railings (I do do more than photos things you know!!)



Three hard working volunteers and the boat is looking good.



Railing after I (yes me ) painted them.



Finishing touches to the hull



We also got then prop of the off prop shaft. We started by firing up my old paraffin blow torch. We filled it, pressurized it, covered it in meths and lobbed in a match. After a while we had a small inferno going with a number of leaks around the jet to body seal. Discretion took over and we switched it off.

I got out my camping gas blow torch and lit it to the amazement of my fellow volunteers.

'why didn't you just use that?'

'because its no fun!!!!!'

We heated up the prop and it came off the shaft with a gentle tap,

The stuffing box has now arrived after spending all day at the wrong address so we will get on with that tomorrow.

Cheers Graham

It's looking great. You say that you can't thank them enough, but knowing that their work is very much appreciated and for a very good cause, I am sure that they will feel that their volunteering was worthwhile and time well spent.

I would imagine that this will already be in hand, a letter of thanks and appreciation from Accessible Boating and maybe, you could push the 'boat out a bit' and give them a short cruise.

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Maurice

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We'v have offered them a cruise and our Chairman will be writing to the company. We may have to take both boats on the cruise as we have had 10 volunteers and Dawn can only take 12 - so with partners included it is either two cruises or both boats. A little convoy is in order I think. Today is back to just the Accessible Boats team so it will be a little quieter at the dock. Prop shaft fitting for me. Cheers Graham

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Maurice

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Foxshaw Gardens Online & Boats and Canals

It's been a good day in the dock but a little quiet without the volunteers, painting is going well and we now have the prop shaft, stern tube and stuffing box in.

After assembling the prop shaft I wanted to check engine alignment particularly after seeing the state of the old shaft. 'But is fits together OK', they said. 'No, it fits together but we don't know if that is because of give in engines mounts and flexible couplings or if it is aligned!' Says I.

I separated the flexible coupling from the engine and the engine sprang about a quarter of an inch sideways. I aligned the engine quite easily and the coupling will now go on and off smoothly.

Duncan Fettling the prop.



Prop Shaft (sorry about the mucky engine bay)



Looking good with a few details still to do.



Cheers Graham

It's been a day of painting.

I've painted the rear bulkhead and doors.



Duncan painted the rear white band and did a superb job touching up the lettering and logo.



Dave painted the hand rails and the hatch.



We have also cleaned up the cabin sides and lettering and done the red on the bows.





Tomorrow we float her and check the stern gland.

She leaves the dock on Tuesday and is due to be inspected by a gentlemen from Disabled Go (See http://www.disabledgo.com/)

I'd better tidy it up a bit.



Cheers Graham

It is a credit to all those that have worked on it. WELL DONE ALL ROUND.

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Maurice

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Foxshaw Gardens Online & Boats and Canals

She floats!

We got Jo to do the honours with the paddle gear - shutting this one.



Opening this one.



Watching the rushing water.





Afloat.





The only tasks that remained were to check the tightness of the stern gland after we had run the prop for a while, sweep out the inside and clean the loo.

The inside is now nice and tidy for next week's inspection.



Cheers Graham