Is Medusa ok?

there has been a fire at a shipyard in Hythe, I wonder if Medusa is ok?

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7068781.stm

From the Medusa team...

A big thank you to all for the messages of support over the last 24 hours.

The story so far is this.  As our yard foreman opened up to start work yesterday morning he saw flames coming out of the gas powered heating sytem which is in th engine shop.  He cleared the site and called the fire brigade.  The two engine shops and two shiwright shops above went up very quicky and are completely destroyed.  The shed containing Medusa is completely unaffected and she is safe.  The ships engines were in the engine shop just about ready for test run after a years hard work.  It will be later today before we can get into the site and see what has survived. 

This is a setback but  no-one was hurt, the vessel is OK, we are insured so the project will still complete, perhpas a little delayed.

Alan

From the Medusa team,

late last we were able to re enter the site with the fire brigade and were able to assess the damge at first light this morning.  The devastation has to be seen to be believed...huge steel girders twisted and bent and debris everywhere.

In the middle, sitting proud, were two gardner 8l3s.  The alloy bits have metled but they are substantially intact.  Later a specialist firm has treated them with preservative oil and wrapped them.  As soon as we can we will remove them and get working on them again.

Qite a lot of internal fittings have been lost and will have to be remade but equally so a surprising ammount has survived so all is not lost.

Not sure how to post pics here but will add some to the Medusa website over the next couple of days.

Alan

From the Medusa team,

a quick update.  Our engines were craned out though the reamins of the roof last Wed and have gone away to be examined to see if they are recoverable.  The small Gardner 1L2 bore the brunt and we found that the piston had melted in the bore.  One of the main engines shielded the other to some extent and we are hopeful that these might be recoverable though the condition of the cank bearings after being heated is a concern.  At a minimum we will need to find new starter motors, injection pumps and a variety of other bits.  The full list of what has been lost is depressingly long but most can be rebuilt. Th two Oerlikons have losy their shoulder harnesses and gunsights and one of the barrels is decidedly banana shaped.

We are back at work on the boat and making good progress.  Sifting throught the rubble for bits is less fun but nearly done,

Alan

From the Medusa team,

a quick update on progress.  Things are looking promising for the engines.  Immediately we had access to the building we used a specialist firm to clean and coat the engines with preservative oil, inside and out.  Shortly after we craned them through the reamins of the building (no easy task) and transferred them to Gardner Marine Diesels at Canterbury.  There they have been stripped and it looks like the two main engines are recoverable although both crankshafts will need to be reground.  The auxilliary (1L2) became so hot that the piston melted in the bore and this engine may well be beyond hope.  Over the next months we will be hunting for bits, in particular 4 starter motors (two per 8L3); these may be difficult as they are handed and have extra switch contacts in them so that they operate in tandem. All suggestions welcome.

The rest of the last couple of weeks has been devoted to recovering as many bits as possible by sieving heaps of ash looking for treasures. This is a filthy job but worth it as quite a few bits have been recovered and can be refurbished.

Progress on the boat is good with first layer planking now well on the way and second layer not far behind.

The cause of the fire still has not and probably never will be ascertained but it clear that it was not deliberate.

Alan