Sunday tanked

A clear set of tasks to achieve today.  The new tools would hopefully help ease the job.  The main task was to complete the tank removal from kitchen and the hot water pipe work.  I had bought some adjustable wrenches to try and undo the pipes.  Forget it.  Jammed solid.  The new electric hacksaw made light work of the top pipes connected to the tank.  Easy.  The surprise was that the pipe was very thick copper (I assumed due to the size they would be steel).

The next stage was to cut the cold water pipe which entered from underneath the tank.  There was good news and bad news.  The good news was the saw started cutting easily and the pipe was accessible.  The bad news was the tank was full of water and about 5 seconds into the cut there erupted a fountain that would not be out of place at the Bellagio  Hotel in Vegas.  PANIC!

There was a drain in the galley.  But it was blocked like many of the others.  So the galley just flooded with the entire contents of the tank.  Out with the Vileda super mop and 20 mins later back to dry galley floor.

The rest of the pipe work cut out easily.  Next stage was the kitchen sink and drainer.  That took an hour of crude violence with the new JCB demolition tool.  Then cut out the metal supports with the new hacksaw.  Its great to have the right tools for the job.

The last job of the day was to remove the cooker grill.  That came out easily.  The metal work that supported it was a different story.  All put together with screw head bolts with square nuts.  Guarantees that you can only use a conventional spanner and a flat head screwdriver.  It took about 15 mins per bolt to undo (they had kindly painted over both ends).  Managed about 5 before I gave up tonight.  Only about 15 to go.

Photos from the weekend

Still not that lovely but I have defeated the black toilet!  Both are now clean.  Still frightening though.

Still too much clutter in the main room.  All  tidied tonight though.

The tank before.

The sink.

The cooker and supporting framework

All the hot water pipes were wrapped in some insulation and covered in some matting.  Then all painted over rendering them like plaster.

This pressure gauge was connected to the tank.  Interesting to see such a device.

Having managed to cut the blue fresh water pipe below the tank I started a flood.  Managed to get a bucket under.  Despite a late start it did manage to fill the bucket 4 times.

And still managed to flood the kitchen

Pipes removed from the main corridor.  That was hard overhead working.

Tank gone!

Sink gone!

Pipes gone!

The other thing I managed today was to remove that bit of wood out of the top deck drain.  A 6 inch coach bolt into the wood and pull.  Out it came after 3 attempts.  I suspect the drain is still blocked but at least there is no wood jammed in there (small mercy).

One discovery during a quick look at the generators controls.  There is a switch that allows you to select between shore power and generators.  All I have to do now is find where to connect the shore power in and hopefully I will be able to use the built in power systems.  And lights!

Next week's jobs

1) Complete the removal of the cooker frame
2) Trace the water systems and inspect the water tanks
3) Plan the place for the grey and black water tanks
4) Get the bathrooms broken down (remove baths which look to be cast iron and welded in!)
5) Start working out how the bilge systems work (and the fire systems)
6) Start working out where the sea water pipes go (they come from the side of the hull) and what they are used for.

That should do it.

So much water and yet they still manage to burn their ships

It was a little startling this morning to arrive at the marina and see from the road the boat 2 along from mine burnt to a crisp.  My heart stopped.  I could not see any damage to my ship from the road so I was hopeful. Just my luck I thought as I was arranging insurance this week and was going to get the forms sent off early next week.

Gill from the marina office stopped as she was driving by.  Looks like the owner (who was not on board at the time) had been complaining to her that he thought the marina electrics were iffy as his fuses kept blowing.  Turns out it was not marina.  He had fitted sockets or wiring behind his wood burning stove/fireplace type thingy.  Too close in fact and had started to melt the wiring.  Arse.
The first people knew of it was the place was just filled with smoke with small amount of flame though one of the portholes in the hull.  The fire brigade turns up, kicks the door in and apparently it was like a scene from backdraft.  The whole thing burst into flames with the newly arrived oxygen.
They managed to put it out in about 15 mins and sprayed the boats next to it.  The poor guy next door had his windows blown in and the whole side of his boat trashed (he has one of these wooden houses built on a barge hull).  Between me and the burning boat was Onward Mariner.  Luckily an all steel boat (a barge tanker).  It had some of its paint bubbled in the heat.  But for that boat it would be an improvement and hard to notice any damage.
The only issue for me was that my boat (with many of its vents from deck to the interior open) had a smoke residue which is like black grease all over the outside of the boat, in the light tower and in some of the areas inside.  No damage but a lot of cleaning to do.

The day did not go to plan either.  The drain clearing was difficult.  The first one was ok.  Turns out the drain snake is utterly useless in these conditions and was trashed within 10 mins.  But the first drain did start to run so that was ok.  2 more to go.

Drain 2.  Hmmm.  Some idiot has also tried to unblock the drain with a long piece of wood, jammed it in and then snapped it off in the drain pipe.  Drain 3 is inexplicably blocked and will not budge.  The only route for these two is to get the pipes cut off and new ones put on (an easy task apparently).

The next job was the hot water heater tank in the galley.  A copper water tank with some lagging type stuff and then a sheet metal riveted surround.  All pipes going in and out had huge nuts for which I had no spanners.  What I did have though was a drill which got off some of the rivets nicely and a drill attachment sheet metal cutter which I bought when I was 18 to do car body work with.  I never used it until today.  It cut through the meal like a hot knife through butter.

Managed to get the cover off, the wiring out and so there sits a pinkish water tank (will take down scrap yard as copper is worth money these days).  I tried to cut through some piping with a hacksaw but realised the futility of such activity (for futility read laziness and dislike of cutting stuff above my head).

So off to B&Q and come armed tomorrow with a new set of plumbing wrenches, a huge JCB demolition crowbar an electric saw that will cit through 20mm of steel.  I wont need to worry about the rusting bolts etc or the weird crusty pipe lagging they seem to have used.  I'll just cut the lot out.  Easy.  I hope.  By tomorrow I will be rid of the tank, the cooker grill, all the hot water piping, the kitchen sink and board, hopefully the baths and showers too if things go well.  Shame but they are unsalvageable and disgusting.

The light tower is now securely padlocked too as is the rear hold.  Tick.

The final thing I did today was wander around some of the stuck hatches and tapped them in the right places with a hammer.  They all moved fine so violence does seem to be a good solution to steel work.  I have a new rubber hammer so as not to dent stuff (don't mark the face :->).

Met with Dave.  Long chat about burning boats.  He was pleased to point out he had only ever set fire to one boat in his career (he is now 65). I think thats good, although 0 boats would have been better.   We agreed the design and he will fit the gangway platform on the boat this week and then get on with the gangway itself.  Its going to cost a packet but there is no choice.  It is inaccessible to all but someone as agile as me a the moment.  And getting stuff on an off even for me is a risky business.

The good news is that the relentless attack on the iffy looking toilet seems to be paying dividends.  I squirted water down it again this morning and while the erupting smell still tried to make me revisit my breakfast it was not as bad as it has been.  You can also now clearly see the 'black stuff' gathered in the bottom now rather than the whole bottom  being coated in black.  Another go tomorrow.  I will not let this crap defeat me!

I was lack on the photos today.  I will get a load to capture the work in hand on the tank tomorrow.

Progress

1) Find a solution to unblock the drain pipes

Managed to find something called a drain snake. Basically a long wire which attaches to a drill. I am not confident that it will do the job. But we will see.

2) Get the insurance for the boat

Turns out to be relatively straightforward. Unlike boat financing getting insurance for the boat looks like an easy task. There are a number of insurers.

3) Get the gangway ordered

Made good progress. Will need to meet Dave this weekend to work out dimensions.

4) Get the big brute ordered

Done.

5) Get some degreaser for the engine room before I slip and kill myself

This one is difficult for odd reasons. There are so many and most of them are hideous to the environment. So it will take more investigation to find some product that won't harm the river if any gets out. Will try fairy liquid on Saturday. That may do the job.

 6) Put covers over all uncovered ventilation holes.

There are a bunch of unused covers on the boat. Bought some tape to try and cover up some of the holes with bin bags for now.

7) Buy 3 more padlocks

4 shops. No padlocks that are suitable for the marine environment.

8) Need to find out what kind of stuff the deck is made from

No luck yet.

9) Need to find a good rust 'converter' (stuff you paint on rust to stop it getting worse).

No luck yet.

10) Tackle the removal of the water heater.

Saturday job

First full weekend

If you have insomnia, get a lightship.  A few days work will sort out any sleep disorder.  Having had 2 hours sleep Saturday night I needed 2 cups of coffee to get me into shape Saturday morning.  But I managed to drag myself down to the ship.  First stop though was Screw Fix for yet more essentials.  I had already purchased the broom, mops and bucket from the local hardware store (which was cheap than anywhere online, go figure that) and so just required some rubber gloves and a few more bits and pieces.  I also had come armed with my pressure washer.  Lots of fun to be had with that.

Job one on the ship was to get everything up a ladder onto the ship.  Not easy.  But Ikea came to the rescue.  Those blue Ikea bags are indestructible.   In short, rope over the said of the ship.  Fill the Ikea bag, tie it on and hoist it up.  Easy when you know how.

The condition of the ship good but the place is dirty.  And it is amazing what happens when one cleans it.  So out with the pressure washer and start blasting.  It took most of saturday to clean half the lower deck area.  Luckily the day was broken up with a visit from a good friend.  Always eager to give the tour  I spent an hour wandering around the place.  Never get bored of that.

Sunday was spent doing much the same.  Except today the sun was out for the first time and the birds were singing as I arrived.  Blasted off a ton of dirt from the other side of the ship and started on the helipad deck (top deck).  That was harder and exposed a lot of deck issues.  Whatever they cover the decks in (seems like an inch of rubber compound) has split badly in a number of places and exposed rusted metal was showing through.  I will need to get that up, treat the metal and find out how to replace the runner compound.  Sounds like a job for the paint manufacturers.  They should know.

One annoying thing was that a number of the drains on the top deck were completely blocked.  So that is this week's challenge.  Find a way to unblock an 8 ft drain pipe with 2 turns in it.  Probably full of solid dirt and rust.  That will give me something to sort out during the week.

The approach works well actually.  I can start to see a pattern that should work.  Go to the boat with a job in mind.  Do that job and also find 2 other problems that need solving.  Then during the week you get time to browse the web, sort a solution, purchase and get it delivered ready for the following weekend.  If I limit myself to one job (compulsory) per visit then it should work out ok.

I mopped the floor in the main corridor.  It came up fine, I did not realise how bad it was.  But it is winter and of course it did not dry.  So big boot prints all over it within the hour.  But its a start.  Another bash at the toilets.  One is sparkling now.  The other still has some history under the water line that it won't let go of.  Hmmm.  It was hard not to vomit while tackling that one for the second time.  Ill give it one more chance and then I may just weld up the door (not really).

So dirty jobs done.  On top of my plan to try and accomplish one thing per visit I also try and learn one thing about the boat per visit.  The first week I worked out where the toilets were.  Today, I had a go at trying to understand the fuel system.  How hard could that be?  Well it turns out that it is quite hard.  But luckily there is a diagram in a frame in the engine room.

Basically, there are 4 very large fuel tanks (wall of building size).  These feed one main engine feeder tank (which is smaller but still very large).  Put it in perspective.  The 4 main tanks hold about 12000 litres of diesel each.  If you bought it from the local garage it would take about 65K pounds to fill up.  Gulp.  Luckily I don't have to do that and anyway, heating diesel is largely tax exempt.  But even then I would not be able to fill it.

The 4 holding tanks have a fuel filling pipe which goes up to the top of the boat (I think.  It's hard to tell as lots of pipes go to lots of places and they are hard to follow up through the various rooms and walls of the boat).  But I think I have worked it out.  One main filler pipe puts fuel into the 4 main tanks.  Then a fuel transfer system moves it (and filters it) into the main engine feeder tank.  Which then feeds the fuel to the 4 generators.  Easy?  No.  There are valves and pipes all over the place and it is hard to work it all out.

The challenge is also that the tanks are still not empty despite the pump out.  Bugger.  I have found a solution though.  There is a thing called a big brute.  It is essentially an industrial size wet vac.  But one so powerful it is basically a water pump that can pump just about anything from solids to liquids.  So I get one of those on order next week (do not ask how much!).  But it will mean I can use that to suck up any oil, seawater and dirt from anywhere on the ship.  I hope.

I did a quick survey of all the cabins as well.  Found a huge number of keys and stuck them in a drawer for later consideration.  The cabins are in good condition.  They will need some bespoke mattresses eventually and all the woodwork will need to be sanded and re-varnished.  Will take some advice from father on that as he is excellent at wood restoration.  Same for the outside doors.  The portholes will need to be put back in or it will be simply to unpleasant and claustrophobic to stay in them.  A few portholes that open would do the trick.  You are only going to sleep in them so do not need vast amounts of light.  Most of the lighting in the place can be described as industrial.  Kind of lights you see in car parks or warehouses.  Change the lighting and give the place a paint and it will be fine.  New floors all round as well as most of the lino is dead and the carpets are close to crawling out on their own.

Final part of the day was the inspection of the water tanks.  I have just about worked out that there is a water pump in the engine room.  But thats about it.  There are some big tanks under the cabins.  They will need to be opened and cleaned.  Not easy.  But the ' big brute' should help as it means I can pressure wash them and then drain them and chlorinate them.  Still need to work out where to put a grey water tank.  I did feel guilty flushing a toilet with bleach type stuff into the river which had waders walking around the mud nearby and gulls eating small fish.  I know it is no illegal (yet) and all the other boats do it (even though they macerate, it does not remove the chemicals) but I think it is just wrong.  So I will be fitting a tank and finding a pumpout solution.  Maybe one of the water tanks could be converted as I probably don't need that much water stored.

The good news is that Dave is going to build me a gangway platform for the ship.  Costs an arm and a leg but not as much as the gangway that connects to it (gulp gulp and, christ, how much?).  But there is no choice.  Its that or ladder for ever more!

Short video of the ship on its mooring.  First time the sun had come out.  It was an wonderful sunset the night before but I was too tired and dirty to film it.

Now the engine room is lit I have managed to get some clearer pics (and another video).

So next week's challenges

1) Find a solution to unblock the drain pipes
2) Get the insurance for the boat
3) Get the gangway ordered
4) Get the big brute ordered
5) Get some degreaser for the engine room before I slip and kill myself
6) Put covers over all uncovered ventilation holes.
7) Buy 3 more padlocks
8) Need to find out what kind of stuff the deck is made from
9) Need to find a good rust 'converter' (stuff you paint on rust to stop it getting worse).
10) Tackle the removal of the water heater.

Future things to think about

1) Seals for the tanks inspection hatches.  Where do I get those from.
2) Start thinking about grey water tank solutions (and pump out)
3) Need to start working on the metal doors and hatches to free them up
4) Nets on helipad need removing and cleaning and struts replaced
5) Need to get the buckled railings cut off and various odds and ends removed from the deck
6) Free up and mend the light tower trap doors.

Then paint the ship end to end (that's a sumer job, probably two summers to be honest).

Still lots of other stuff to consider.  I need to work out what to do with the chain room and the coal bunker area at the front (yes, ok bow) and several below deck areas at the back (stern I think :->).
The kitchen needs to be thought through.  It is probably going to go where the current galley is now.  Do not need a big kitchen there.  Big space where the current electron oven grill thing is can be a place for the new oven/hob etc.  It has ventilation above it so easy to fit an extractor.  Then rip out the sink area and try and find a way to minimise the impacts of all the pipes etc that run through that area.  Fit standard cupboards from B&Q, fridge freezer and dishwasher.  Washing machine will need to go somewhere but not figured that one out yet.  Maybe there will be room in the kitchen. Who knows.  There will be slightly more space as the water tank heater is there at the moment and that can come out (over the next few weeks.  It is beyond dead and anyway it is electric.

The bathrooms are easy.  They will be stripped out (probably the toilets too, there is nothing romantic about toilets of yesteryear).  New floors in, tile the walls, plasterboard the ceilings (or wood, or anything other than metal).  New lights.  Same for bathrooms.  Out with rusty old baths.  In with new floor, new shower cubicles new sinks etc.  Plasterboard and tile the bathrooms and then plasterboard the ceiling.  New lights.

Sit

An interesting day and one that started fraught with worry.  When a boat sits on flat mud for the first time it makes itself a seat.  Like when you put your foot in the sand by the edge of the sea and the sand under your foot pulls away and your foot sinks.  The same happens for boats.  So it is vital that Gannet sat in the right place while she created her groove.  Once created, every time the tide comes in and she floats she will settle back down in the same position each outgoing tide.

The issue is to keep a 600 ton in position while it creates its groove.  The plan was that if she continued to shift about then they would need to us eyes welded onto the hull and use wire or chain to keep here in position.  This was worrying because in order to weld something to the outside of the hull there is a strong risk that you will set something on fire inside.

The issue is that the pylons that need the eyes to hold the boat against are right by the cabins.  Which meant that there was a risk of fire in the cabins or we would have to rip out interior.  Luckily the boat seems to be holding position with the ropes.  Fingers crossed it stays that way.

The picture above gives some idea of the scale.  At the moment there is no gangway (the one on the left goes to the boat next door.  To board the Gannet at the moment at low tide (seen here) you need to climb a ladder about 2 stories to the deck level.

The day's activities (as there was no welding to do) involved getting power and water onto the ship.  With water I could clean the heads (oh, my, god!) but under all that mess were two perfectly clean and good toilets.  Spent most of the day cleaning the boat (removing old rubbish), removing the pumps from the pump out and getting the temporary wiring and lamps in place.  We now have light in the engine room (photos next time), the cable room and the main living areas.

The down side of the day was that there tanks that were pumped out probably still have some way to go.  So a new plan is required to get the diesel tanks cleaned out.  This will not be a fun task.  My hands stink of diesel today and that was just from a brief visit to the engine room.

Finally Gannet reaches her new home

I have to say that I was a little nervous today.  And so was the crew of the tugs who were going to move Gannet.  I was nervous that they would scratch her.  They were nervous because she is indestructible and if it went wrong Gannet would demolish the marina and anything she hit.  Think of it as losing control of a tank on a Mall car park.

Denis (marina owner) rang to say today was the day.  The pump out had worked, the tide was going to be one of the highest of the year.  The wind was low.  If it could not be moved today, it would not be moved at all.  Yesterday was cancelled as their was a yachting race.  When I turned up this morning there was another race on.  I did panic a little.  Would the racers stop the ship from moving.  Luckily it did not.

The tug crew set about doing stuff with ropes which I will neither try and describe or pretend to understand.  And then she was off.  The photos and videos below show the progress.  It was all over very quickly.  Essentially it was either going to work, or not.  Nothing in between.

A big thanks to all those involved in getting her to her new home today.

Pumped Out

Well, job done.  I am led to believe the pump out has been completed and has raised the boat 15 inches (woooooo).  But that should help a lot.  The tides are about the highest they ever will be so now we just have to hope the wind is low enough to allow us to move it tomorrow or Monday.

Fingers crossed.

I am still a little nervous that the boat itself will never actually float again.  Apparently it will settle into the mud and float when the tides come in but will so little water and such a large boat I am not sure whether it will ever float again.  Time will tell.

Pump out

It looks like the pump out has begun this week.  Progress is being made.  Thanks to the guys who are doing the work.  Turns out that nothing ever is as simple as it should be.  The tanks have no access at the top and so pumps are having to empty the tanks over 60ft.  Apparently getting them primed to work is taking ages.  One pump is already busted and the electric one is making the lights dim across Kent.

Fingers crossed they will be clear this week.

On a different note, the Commissioners of Irish Lights have sent a copy of the last dry dock contract that outlines all the work undertaken in 2004.  Very useful as it states all the paints that have been used in some detail.  That will save some time and effort.

So thanks to Robert at CIL for his kind help.

Good times bad times

The boat move to the mooring did not go to plan. The idea was to get the boat towed at a high high tide onto its mooring. However, the high high tide was only 13ft5 and the boat draft at the moment is about 12ft6. Bugger. So they did not move it. The risk is that if they try and get it wrong there is a 600 ton ship left in the main marina channel and nobody at all would be able to go in or out.

So what next? Well the good news is there is 80 tons of seawater in the diesel tanks. It would have to have been pumped out (at my expense) eventually. But because they are obliged to get the boat on the mooring as part of the deal (and cos they are nice guys) they are pumping out the tanks for me. That will raise the boat a ft or so and should enable it to get into its new home.

The funny news next. I have studied the full set of drawings of the boat for some time now and just about identified where everything is. But I have been unable to find where the grey water tanks are (for those non boat people that is the tanks that hold the sewage). So a friend of mine did a look around the boat last week and followed the pipes from the toilet. Down through the floor, into the cabin ceilings below. Then across the ceiling into the cabin wardrobe. Then, out through the side of the hull.

Yep. You got it. Raw sewage out of the toilet and right through a hole in the side of the hull. Fine when you are in the middle of the Irish sea but not so fine for my new neighbours who may be walking along the pontoon to their boat when they are surprised by yesterday's dinner shooting out at head height from a hole in the side of my boat.

Me thinks I might need to fit some new plumbing. Happy days.

The other news is that I managed to get into the optics last week and they all look fine.

The CIL were kind enough to send me a copy of the contract for repairs undertaken in 2004. Complete repaint. Very useful. Also they changed all the HALON for FM200 which means the boat fire systems are legal. Another relief. Lots of extras I did not realise are still on board. More of the systems are still there than anticipated. Also found the manuals for the Lister generators.

Can't wait to get onboard in a few weekends. All prepared. Power, lights, ladders and most of the suppliers lined up. Its going to be a great summer!

Generators

Generators.

Here are some better pics of the generators. Quality not great but it was completely dark and these are taken with phone with very very small flash.

Lightship 95

Today I visited Lightship 95 at Trinity Wharf (opposite the Millennium Dome). They have converted it into a recording studio. So for those of you having trouble imagining what one of these ships looks like when converted take a look here at their web site gallery. They have done a great job. Its always interesting to see the contrast of these boats (not just lightships) between what they look like externally and what people do with them internally.

Its always good to talk. Managed to get some good tips on paint jobs and also a company that sells salvage a reproduction ships 'stuff' like portals etc. Trinity Marine.

More news on the systems in Gannet. I spent Saturday looking through the set of manuals I discussed in the previous blog. It turns out that a number of the companies that provided and maintained these systems are still going. I have contacted one already (who produced the original 'ship adrift' system based on DOS 3 PC which basically was connected to an early GPS and monitored the ship's position in case it drifted off (lost anchor). It would then send the alarm to shore.

The mooring for the ship is being prepared. Not the original position but one that is good enough for the time being. Hopefully we can get it moored soon so I can get on board and interested parties can come and see quite how insane a project I have taken on. But don't worry, there will be no painting parties!

I have been thinking what to do with the ship for some time now. Originally I was going to strip it out, make the rooms bigger (remove bulkheads etc) and strip out all the old kit. But I am going to compromise (try). I intend to modernize the interior, put in plasterboard and modern fittings, possibly underfloor heating, new bathrooms etc) but as features keep all the old equipment in place and hopefully working.


For example, the windlass room. Originally the windlass (this is the thing in the picture that pulls the anchor chains to raise and lower the anchor) was out on deck. When the ship was brought in for automation they built around it. My original idea was to remove it. But to do this would cost an arm and a leg as the room was built around it. So plan is to restore it to working order order, remove any rust and paint it and have it as a feature of a modern done out room.

A few more portholes to enable some more daylight and insulate the walls, some plasterboard, modern wiring and a unique dining chill out room is created.

The 2 story chain room is the next challenge, Its both a big space and an awkward one as it is a box which would either may two floors with low ceilings or a big room box shaped. The temptation is to do both. Put in a mezanine floor over part of it and open up the entire lower area. The area under the mezzanine would make an excellent 'cinema' space or the whole thing converted into a two floor mezzanine master bedroom with ensuite under the mezz.






There are two other main rooms (ignoring the original crews suite of rooms). The radio room which is quite big with all the equipment, some storage rooms (only accessible from deck at the moment but with some cutting to bulkheads is easily solved) and the main 'bridge' which has the most light (see picture left). The bridge would make an excellent second lounge (as well as the original) or dining room (accepting the challenge of getting up the stairs with food, but again, a not insurmountable problem). A nice place to sit and eat in summer as it has a door to the top deck outside and is the right size for a table to seat 8 to 10 (about the number of people who could stay in the crew cabins).

The equipment room is probably the right place to have an office. A good size, the control gear on the wall would not be a problem and again, it is on the upper deck so will good light.

There is lots to think about and it is quite exciting to be able to undertake this whole project. As I joked with a friend, if I can get the systems working in the boat and the control gear working then it will be a simple job to have it computer controlled and potentially from my iphone. The idea that I can switch on the generators and the heating from the mobile phone before going to the boat may be a gadget which is too hard to resist.

Lucky Find

The inspection went well. Spent about an hour on board looking mostly at the equipment. I was lucky enough to find a box of 5 folders and several hundred pages of manuals. They at the complete set of electrical system manuals for everything on board, including the printed circuit board layouts. Its quite a find. Its all there, wiring diagrams, diagnostics, cable runs, the lot. Absolute god send.

The down side of being left in the ship is that they were completely wet through and all stuck together. A long weekend of drying though has recovered nearly all of it. The only thing missing was 3 or 4 drawings which were blank as the CAD drawings were not printed on the same paper and ink as the rest of the manuals.

What is interesting is what was originally on board.

The whole ship functioned from radio signals. It had a GPS system, a modem, a CPU board run from Motorola 6808. The ship still has an intruder detection system and a fire suppression system (gas). All automated. All the fog horn and lamp systems appear to be on board still and the windlass motors are all still there. Pretty much its a functioning light ship.

Its all crude old fashioned technology. Fascinating stuff. Even the generators ran automatically.

Can't wait to get on board and start putting it all back together.


Fog horn controls


Fire suppression controls



Power systems


All the pipes in the ship are coloured to make them easier to trace through the ship.

Countdown

The countdown has started. Off to see the boat for final inspection tomorrow before completing the deal next week. I say inspect, but short of there being a huge hole in it I will be happy. I am really just wanting to get on board again for another look around.

I have even bought an uber torch for the day as the last visit resulted in a gazing into a lot of dark places. I now have a torch that can be seen from the moon.

South Rock

I have been trying to find out where South Rock is. The best indication is here. Sadly there is no photo coverage in the sea from Google (maps or earth) which is a shame. But I guess the cost of satellite coverage is too high to cover rocks in the sea.

This is the only picture I can find. The original lighthouse on the rock is from the 18th century.



To see the light close up look here

See the BBC report on the removal of the ship from South Rock here and the interview with the head of CIL here