Simon has taken himself off on a short holiday – well
deserved I must say. Before he left he found time to smarten up the repairs he
has been doing on the stern bulwark (Photo 991).
Of course painting at deck
level is easy, but the hull needs some TLC as well. He can only do what is within
reach from above (Photo 992).
Eventually of
course he will have to take to the water – hopefully not to the mud like the
chap I showed up to his hips in it (April).
The stern and the
port side are accessible and there is good news about the starboard side
access, currently blocked by not one, but two ‘hangers on’. After two years of
asking, the marine owners have finally agreed to park these vessels
elsewhere. One actually belongs to them
and the other is an abandoned restoration project – no sign of the owner (or
mooring fees) for a year or more. It will be interesting to see the condition
of that side of Simon’s ship.
The other excitement to look forward to is the de-rusting below deck – something which
is badly needed (Photo 993).
We are hoping
that this will be by dry-ice blasting, which leaves no residue apart from rust
dust. However, it is not going to be cheap, so if any of my readers know of a
charitable person/trust/organisation which would like to help preserve one of
the very few ‘composite’ ships still afloat, do get in touch!
If we can get this
work done it will mark the start of the below deck preservation. As long-term
readers will remember, downstairs does need a great deal of work (Photo 994).
When the rust has gone (well most of it
anyway), the interior will be painted and/or sealed with sprayed insulating
foam. Simon does not want a bland, smooth box, so we will have to devise some
way of keeping the character, perhaps be leaving those frames partially
exposed?
David
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