FMB 43957. "Ark Royal" |
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Pathfinder
Admin Group Pathfinder Joined: 06 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 91 |
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Posted: 04 August 2009 at 10:25am |
FMB43957 is now resident in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in a fully oprational condition.
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Pathfinder - Forum Moderator
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johnk
Senior Member Joined: 25 March 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1355 |
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Hi Richard,
Indeed, enjoyed the great news and coverage of AR very much, well done to you all for keeping going and getting this fine vessel back on the water.
JohnK
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Pioneer
Moderator Group Pioneer Joined: 07 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 675 |
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The last day We removed all the borrowed gear from the boat and when we had her upright and steady, marked the waterline with a pen. This is necessary, as the waterline where it crosses the chine up forward, is always difficult to get right. The photos we have will give us the exact lines, and before she goes back in these will be painted on. The trailer duly arrived, and after many adjustments, we found the right settings for the supports, and she has been settled down for the duration. The next time afloat will be early May, when we have a month available to us in Hythe Marina. If you want to try her out, let us know closer to the time and I am sure we will be able to accommodate you. We hope that you have enjoyed this week with us, and look forward to more news as we progress. BMPT Edited by Pioneer - 21 January 2009 at 9:41am |
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Pioneer - Forum Moderator
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Pioneer
Moderator Group Pioneer Joined: 07 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 675 |
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From left to right. Peter Baillie (BMPT Chairman) James (BHBY Engineer) Terry Ford. Director and Treasurer. Chris Clayton (MD BHBY) David Ross (Director) This morning an absolutely beautiful day in the This boat came to the Trust for restoration in 2002, donated by Mr J Rollings, who had bought her out of service and used her himself. All that was needed this morning, was for us to give her a serious wipe over from stem to stern, and she looked first class. When you remember that she has not been attended to for about 4 years, this is surely testimony to the first class restoration carried out. This was undertaken in the first instance by Powerboat Restoration, with Phil Claburn leading a team of volunteers from the Trust, led by Rodger Woodhams. Rodger’s team of Little Jim, Big Jim, David, John and many others who gave freely of their time to recreate the hull and upperworks, followed by the insertion of the old P6, took many years. The effort was well worth it, as she needs little work done today, so many years down the line. The need to replace the engine is well known. Briefly, the P6 and gearbox were showing sign of distress, as was the driver one trip, when he had neither ahead, nor astern! We intended to replace this with another P6, but this work was consumed in a fire at the yard we were working in. The decision to replace the P6 with a modern Perkins M92B was based on firstly, extending the operational life and reliability of the boat considerably, and secondly, we were able to raise funds for a new engine more easily than for a 60 year old one. Parts for the P6 and the gearbox were found too extremely difficult to source. This final phase, which has taken over 2 years of hard work and dedication on the part of the Board, Peter, Terry, David, Tony and myself, has finally seen her on the water where she belongs, and in fine mechanical fettle at last. The press visited us today, and we gave them all the information for which they asked. The results will be available on www.dailyecho.co.uk in a day or so. Go to the “Video” button to see her on the water, and to “Photographs” for stills. Tomorrow we are visited by the heritage Lottery Fund, so once more onto the river. I hope the weather remains as superb as it has been today. |
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Pioneer - Forum Moderator
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Pioneer
Moderator Group Pioneer Joined: 07 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 675 |
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Good afternoon.
As promised an update of today's events on the river.
The day dawned misty and murky, cold but not wet.
Minimal wind, and the river flat calm.
Three Trust members, Terry, David and myself arrived on the pontoon at 1000, to find the boat still afloat, having been moved from the double banked position to alongside the pontoon.
This made the untarping much easier, and as you will see from the pics, we stowed the cover over the centre cabin, apologies for this, she will look better for the press tomorrow..!
First check the bilges, and these showed slight amounts of water, which tasted more fresh than salty. This must have come in with the driving wind and rain of yesterday.
Soon mopped up, and the boat tidied a bit , as the weather much more friendly.
We called James, and at 1030, the button was once again activated, and the engine burst yet again into Perkins Overture No 1.
We ran the engine under ahead power for half an hour, and when james advised he was ready to go, it was let go fore and aft for the first time with her new heart beating. The river was flooding so, as we were berthed at right angles to the tide, she lifted off without anyone having to do anything.
Then the first selection astern, and into the river we backed. From astern to ahead and apply rudder to stem the river, and slowly increase the revs. She behaved like a Lady, and we headed down the river for a while ,before turning and coming back.
All the temperatures and pressures behaved perfectly, so a happy engineer. Along the way, the sound of machine gun fire from the after cockpit caused an instant shutdown. Serious increases in blood pressure and voice levels ensued. James disappeared, as engineers do, below the boards, but came up smiling a minute later. The bonding bridge strap over the flexible coupling had come adrift at one end, and was flailing away at whatever it could find. Problem solved, as was a small leak from an exhaust connection, and we were under way again. A few more twists and turns. The simple approach to the pontoon ended the day with an easy tie up, and shut down.
She is proving to be very sound so far in all departments, and what a pleasure it is after the long slog to get here.
Early start tomorrow for the Press, so more anon.
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Pioneer - Forum Moderator
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johnk
Senior Member Joined: 25 March 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1355 |
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Hi All,
Indeed, what a great day for the trust and all those who have worked so hard, congratualtions to everyone, she will be another great example of what can be achieved for our marine heritage, and I think proudly joins all the others such as MTB 102, Medusa, 1502 .
Johnk
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Pioneer
Moderator Group Pioneer Joined: 07 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 675 |
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Richard asked for this to be posted;
Good afternoon all,
In wet and windy weather, and mostly dark and cold, AR was lifted from her beds this morning at 0730.
By 0800 she had been lowered into the river Beaulieu, and checked for leaks whilst still in her slings.
No serious ingress of water ensued, and she was handed to a mooring, double banked on a yacht, close to the lift.
The original plan to wait till later in the morning to start the engine,was abandoned, as the weather was very unfriendly, and strong winds and rain forecast for the rest of the day.
Accordingly the yard decided to get on with the start up, and at 0830, her new engine sprang into life, at first touch of the starter button.
Checks were made of all the engine connections to make sure no leaks were evident, and after 15 minutes neutral running, the ahead selection was made on the Morse control.
James, our Yard Chief Engineer, had made sure the correct attachment had been made to the gearbox selector, and with a gentle surge ahead onto her lines, we started the first hour of running under load.
A very slight vibration through the deck, and a quiet throbble emanating from the exhaust, all testimony to the excellent work performed by the "Team James" at Agamemnon Boat Yard Beaulieu.
We are very grateful to the Management and Staff at the yard for their patience, efficiency and diligence, to achieve this result. Thank you.
With this major milestone achieved, we will run her over the rest of this week, including runs out on the river, to see how she behaves.
The attached photo shows her with ahead selected, alongside in Beaulieu.
I will report on each days events as they unfold.
Kind regards
Richard
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Pioneer - Forum Moderator
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johnk
Senior Member Joined: 25 March 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1355 |
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Oh my word, what a mess, thankfully the fire was stopped before it reached the Medusa, very like the fire at Newsons, took the shed but the brigade stopped it spreading to MTB 102 on the slipway outside.
JohnK |
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Pioneer
Moderator Group Pioneer Joined: 07 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 675 |
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Some shots of the devastation caused by the fire. While the dingy off 'Medusa' has survived |
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Pathfinder
Admin Group Pathfinder Joined: 06 December 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 91 |
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Tuesday the 30th October 2007.
This morning a fire in the Hythe Boatyard destroyed all our engines, gearboxes and parts which we had sourced. We were going to start the rebuild on Wednesday, but now need to start all over again. Fiancial problems will now bedevil the work, as the money spent so far has gone up in smoke, and there wont be any more from the source we had found.
The fire did not affect either the Medusa hull, or the Ark Royal hull thank goodness.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. |
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