Ryeford Stop Planks

by: Steve P.

With Myron and Wookey’s help we managed to move the Ryeford stop planks, get the holes dug and shuttering in place ready to cast the foundations for the new stop plank cradles next week.  Thanks to all for their help!

Project 'DNF' - No.5 Refit

Today we continued preparing No.5 for major component removal.  Next Monday we will have a HIAB on site to do the big lifts.  The engine cover, followed by the old engine and skid, then the hydraulic capstan assembly which is very heavy.  Finally the boom and turret at the front end.

It took all day to release the 42 bolts that secured the thick metal flange that supports capstans to the hull.  The final five were so inaccessible that we had to resort to the gas axe to cut the heads off.  Underneath hangs a heavy hydraulic motor and drive system, so we are hoping to extract this as one piece.

At the front, the remaining turret bolts were released.  All the bolts that were spinning when the nut was turned were treated to a nut splitting treatment using a drill and chisel.  All is now ready for the lift.

In a spare moment, the two inspection covers besides the turret were removed.  Not only did this give us a great view inside the hull, which looked in excellent condition, but also provided access for the removal of the hydraulic trip hazard fittings on the edge of the deck.  

All this physical activity demands an adequate supply of fuel.  Today, we were well provided for with a fine selection of 'energy' cakes to keep us going!

Something different again

by: Myron

Monday afternoon and  a plea from Western Depot to tow Wookie Hole from Ebley to Ryeford on Wednesday.  It’s outboard has packed up and it was needed to take materials and be a work platform for a new shelter they are making for the stop planks at Ryeford.  A last minute request for crew was met with enough enthusiasm for the job to be secured.

Wednesday morning we had the puzzle of how to hitch Wookie to Margaret.  This proved no bother whatsoever, they could have been made for each other. WD then turned up with all sorts of materials and tools that they needed for the job.  It was then a new combination that progressed down to Ryeford.

 

There was the usual melee of dredgers and hoppers next to Langley’s field, but this time with a difference.  This time it was Patricia temporarily blocking our passage. I t was nice to see it dredging away with no apparent effort.  It all looked pretty stable.  It’s really good news that it is working.

After that we quickly dropped Wookie off at her destination and set about the second task for the day, training on moving mud hoppers.  There was one almost completely filled with silt at the top end of the field.  So we connected it up, moved it two boat lengths East and moored it.  Margaret was then turned round and we reconnected it to the hopper and moved it two boat lengths West. After lunch we did it all again.  result was that one of our more experienced skippers Chris Godding has now gained his endorsement for towing hoppers with Margaret.  On the way home it was the turn of new trainee Malcolm Webb to show us his virtuosity in boat handling.

Weedie good and bad news

The good news with Weedie is that it has been doing a great job of chewing up the weeds in the Stanton’s bridge section that we started last week. Six full loads at least of the size in the picture in last week’s blog were taken out today. Also, we have a newly qualified skipper on Weedie in that David Pashby has gained his endorsement on this craft.

The bad news is that Weedie’s mesh has given in to the thrashing it has had in the last two weeks.  As completely expected for quite a while, once it was really put under load, like today, the brittle nature of the heavily UV affected plastic of the mesh has resulted in it starting to break apart.  A great rent has developed and it has rendered Weedie unusable.

Knowing this was coming, we have already got a solution. We just need the money to pay for it.

Pat's a Classroom

by: Bob H.

Today marked a major step forward in the commissioning to full service of our pretty lady Patricia.  We have concluded that no more testing is required and as all systems are now safe and fully functional, we can commence training and familiarisation sessions, then go to full dredging operation. 

Tuesdays have been designated as training days, so two trainees and one Instructor met on a clear and cool day. A fter some familiarisation for an experienced operator, there are several steps to complete.  First is the huge difference between 5 long levers and 2 short joysticks! 

Much more follows and after an intensive hour, we upped legs and moved over for some real dredging.  Hopper alongside we began slowly, slew, dip, lift, slew and drop. Repeat.  Both trainees and the Instructor operated the levers.
Below is the mud hopper close coupled to Patricia, which having all spud legs securely down, stays very still!

As occasion demanded, we washed hands in HOT water, dried hands on WARM TOWEL, and partook of HOT TEA made in our WARM  and cosy facilities cabin.

By the end of the day, the hopper was filled almost to the maximum acceptable level at this stage of dredging. 

Our progress shows what a determined team we have in the CCT Western Depot.  In 3 days (Dec. 14th) It’s exactly one year since Patricia landed in the WD car park in a state “ripe for refurbishment!”  

Delightful Delilah

by: Dave Irving

You may recall a recent blog in which we pumped out our wide beam barge Delilah, in preparation for clearing out her accumulated rubbish. 

In case it's slipped your memory, she looked like this:

Well, the best laid plans and all that ...  

Clearing the rubbish turned out to be a little more difficult than expected.  So we had  more discussions about when, where, who, and how, and eventually it was decided that today was the day, the new landing stage at Ryeford was the place, who was a mix of boat team and WD, and how was a mix of hard manual labour and a mini-digger. 

After removing the major large items, we could clear a path for water to flow from one end to the other, so we deployed the pump again.  Another 3-4 inches of water went into the cut!  With the water level down enough to keep our feet dry, we could start the hard work of digging out the accumulated rubble, mud, weeds, a bike tyre(!), bits of board, pipe and so on.  It was dug into large rubble bags, which were lifted out by the mini-digger, and manually emptied onto the field. Lifting the bags by hand had been tried and found very hard work - it didn't take long to decide we loved the mini-digger!

At the end of a hard day, Delilah now looks delightful:

Heartfelt thanks to those who made this happen: Steve & Colin from WD, and Andrew, Richard, Jenny & first day trainee David from the boat team (with a little help from Dave & Myron, too!). 

We have every intention of keeping her as delightful as this, so she can feel and stay smart for her forthcoming improvements.  She'll be a lot more pleasant to work on, too.

Project 'DNF' - No.5 Refit

Today was the first proper opportunity to actually get on with the project.  With our ratchets set to 'Loosen' we began the process of removing redundant equipment.

Firstly, as much as possible of the liquids contained in the systems were safely recovered.  This included the hydraulic oil, engine coolant, and the two diesel tanks.  

In preparation to remove the engine, everything that had been attached to the engine cover had to be stripped down.  We also managed to disconnect all the services to the engine and release the bolts that secure the whole assembly down to the frame inside the boat.  Both exhaust pipes were cut off the cover.  Basically, we are ready to lift the engine cover, followed by the skid mounted engine assembly.

Since we were not able to do the lifts, we set about the boom and its fixing to the turret.  Here there is a circle of bolts securing it down, most of which yielded when given a dose of shock treatment, however, a few decided just to turn and not undo, so these will be cut off next time.  The hydraulic motor that turns the turret was also removed so that the drive pinion could be inspected.  It was suspected that there were broken teeth, but all that was visible was the wear and tear to the teeth, which had lasted quite well considering its advanced age.

The main operating cabin also saw some action.  Firstly, the seat was ejected!  Then the cover over the control lever manifold was lifted and the process of stripping out the rats nest of hydraulic pipes began.  By end of play, both control blocks and most of the piping had been removed.

In all, an excellent days effort.  There is plenty to do on Wednesday.  It is hoped that we can get some lifting tackle on site a week today and set about plucking the engine out.  A great team effort.

Ham Mill - Weds Dec 5^th

by: Andy P.

Another early start to try to beat the rain.  Mixer Mathew made up several loads of mortar for Bricky Bob who was bricking up and forming the by-pass ring.  The new disc cutter worked a treat as many of the bricks had to be cut to fit.

Digger Duncan on the mini digger cleared, levelled and smoothed the muddy ground we had left in darkness the day before. 2 big heaps of soil are now ready to be moved to the slope.  We even uncovered some long forgotten parts of the original tow path.

Then the heavy rain, as forecast, drove us inside for our first break of the day at 13:30.  Then some clearing, cleaning and tidying up ended our soggy day still in daylight.