Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monarch Looking Herself
Well, it's been a while, but Monarch is now looking herself with her fine funnel and gold lines reinstated. Now, I'm not saying that our gilding is the best in the world; but it does look a thousand times better than a strip of yellow plastic sticky tape.
It was rather funny today, John (one of our wonderful volunteers) almost did a runner when told that he might be asked to gild the hull...luckily the fabulous, soothing and masterful skipper gave him the equivalent of a degree course in gilding (in just 2 minutes) and he was set to work!! The results, I think all will agree are superb. I can't wait to see it all burnished so that it sparkles like a wedding band.
Anyhow, work left to do, bit of plumbing, bit of wiring and a wee bit of painting......job sorted! The last few woodwork jobs are left to be sorted and the Monarch should be set for the waves once again!
Pauline, another volunteer, has done an excellent job of applying lipstick to the paddle wheels (wish she's used proper paint as it would last longer...joke) and everything is looking all very festive again.
The only bad news to report is that the generator repairs which are essential for the passenger certificate have cost nearly 800 quid...this is a real setback and even more annoying as the previous owners lies about the gen set's history have resulted in this cost. All very disappointing.
One marvellous bit of news, however, is that the boiler passed it's statutory examination on Tuesday....hooooooray!!!
Anyhow, working towards the Portsmouth Celebration of Steam Event, all is looking good!
Until next time, paddle nutters,
The Skip
It was rather funny today, John (one of our wonderful volunteers) almost did a runner when told that he might be asked to gild the hull...luckily the fabulous, soothing and masterful skipper gave him the equivalent of a degree course in gilding (in just 2 minutes) and he was set to work!! The results, I think all will agree are superb. I can't wait to see it all burnished so that it sparkles like a wedding band.
Anyhow, work left to do, bit of plumbing, bit of wiring and a wee bit of painting......job sorted! The last few woodwork jobs are left to be sorted and the Monarch should be set for the waves once again!
Pauline, another volunteer, has done an excellent job of applying lipstick to the paddle wheels (wish she's used proper paint as it would last longer...joke) and everything is looking all very festive again.
The only bad news to report is that the generator repairs which are essential for the passenger certificate have cost nearly 800 quid...this is a real setback and even more annoying as the previous owners lies about the gen set's history have resulted in this cost. All very disappointing.
One marvellous bit of news, however, is that the boiler passed it's statutory examination on Tuesday....hooooooray!!!
Anyhow, working towards the Portsmouth Celebration of Steam Event, all is looking good!
Until next time, paddle nutters,
The Skip
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Making the best of the weather
Recently we have been joined by John Garside, a new and very enthusiastic volunteer who has worked hard to smooth out the aft lockers (which were beautifully painted, but ruined by overnight rainfall) and is starting work on stripping the saloon of paint ready for a fresh lick of the white stuff.
Pauline Rorke has been busy rust busting the railings and getting them spic and span, and Ian Rees (Chief Engineer) has rebuilt the engine room wall and is hurtling through the woodwork at a great pace.
The Easter weekend looks set to be fair, weather wise, and I am hopeful that the gold leaf can be applied to the hull so that all that is left to be done is the antifouling and anode changing.
Bad news re: the generator, we may be looking at anything up to £1000 to fix it in time for the coming season, more to come on that very soon. It is essential that early bookings come in quickly, it is charter bookings that get jobs such as this paid for.
Other than that, Monarch is progressing very well and we are hopeful to be afloat again some time next week....fingers crossed!!
Until next time,
The Skip
Pauline Rorke has been busy rust busting the railings and getting them spic and span, and Ian Rees (Chief Engineer) has rebuilt the engine room wall and is hurtling through the woodwork at a great pace.
The Easter weekend looks set to be fair, weather wise, and I am hopeful that the gold leaf can be applied to the hull so that all that is left to be done is the antifouling and anode changing.
Bad news re: the generator, we may be looking at anything up to £1000 to fix it in time for the coming season, more to come on that very soon. It is essential that early bookings come in quickly, it is charter bookings that get jobs such as this paid for.
Other than that, Monarch is progressing very well and we are hopeful to be afloat again some time next week....fingers crossed!!
Until next time,
The Skip
Monday, April 6, 2009
Work Beginning to Bear Fruit
The boiler is in, but we just need to connect it to the steam engine....gawd that sounds easy doesn't it!! Saint Len (Chief Mech Engineer of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway) is busy machining a couple of new flanges and has come up with a superbly simple way of overcoming our problems. Work is getting tough and our thought processes are getting fuzzy, sometimes you need another brain to work things out for you.
The beautiful new/old pressure gauges have been calibrated and are ready to be fitted and all that is needed now is for the boiler feed line to be attached from the economizer; after that a little bit of wiring and she's done!! Goodness doesn't it sound easy....
We are now all geared up for being ready for the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard's "Celebration of Steam", to miss this great event would be appalling, not just in terms of ego but also the huge opportunity that it offers the boat in terms of publicity. The Isle of Wight desperately needs us tourist attractions to get out there and fly the flag, and we hope to be able to do our part in May...we might be small but we leave a big impression!
In terms of volunteering, I wish I had more to report, we have had a lot of offers and a few people come down for a look-but so far only the wonderful Pauline Rorke has been down regularly; I really hope to be welcoming more very soon. So far the funnel has been reinstated and gilded, the railings are beginning to receive their usual livery and the aft lockers have had a fresh lick of paint.
Work left to do:
Bilge Cleaning
Engine Room Wall to be Constructed
Wiring
Wheelhouse Overhaul
Big jobs, but with good weather and a motley crew, this should not take long!! Watch this space!!
Until the next installment, steam fans,
The Skip
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