As Monday was the first opportunity for the volunteers to view the new, old Dredger, Patricia, the day inevitably began with some guided tours of the craft. The diesel was fired up and ran very smoothly, with the support legs exercised for the first time since arrival.
Some time was spent pumping out the bilges which had collected mostly rain water. There appear to be three bilge pumps which hummed quietly when the buttons were pushed, but nowt was ejected, so suspect blockages are present.
A list of tasks was created so that project planning could go ahead. We expect that more will come to light, the closer we look. Inside the cabin was once a stove, this has been removed. Alongside is the bunker, complete with some coal. This should make a reasonable size biscuit tin once cleaned and renovated!
The rudder has seized and the hydraulic actuator disconnected, this will be repaired. It would also be good to fit a 150ltr grab bucket on the jib. Approaches to JCB for support are planned. Plenty of other jobs, but more anon.
Early days, but an exciting project which we're sure will yield a very useful dredger.