When 80 year old boats need more repairs........

[BWM]

 

 

Errm - no, I think they are real rivets in real holes put back to look like that is what they are doing, but because it is not possible to buy new guard iron in the right size and profile to match what should be there, the original has had to be repaired, and I think a decision taken to weld it on to the new sections of plate, rather than trying to remake all the original holes and riveting it. (I'll look at some more photos of later work when I have them available to check that is the correct explanation).

 

So unlike some modern boats where people pay money to put fake rivets on the outside, I think we were paying to have real ones replaced on the inside, but they are, I believe, no longer serving their original purpose! (Do Hudson owners ever have fake rivet heads inside the hull as well, I wonder, or is this a bit of one-upmanship!).

 

As more of the story unfolds you will see we have also had repaired the additional internal bracing put there for ice-breaking, even though this is diagnosed as the reason some of the worst wastage of the plates has happened over the 75 years since it was put there. We could have saved money, and left it out, because it now serves no purpose, but we wanted to impact the history of the boat as little as possible.

 

There will always inevitably be compromises. When the original restoration (or part restoration!) was done all the new sides, counter and cabin were done hot riveted. However a decision was taken with rebottoming that it is all welded in, with no rivets. But anyway, at 10mm, that bottom is far thicker than what it replaced, so is also "non original" in specification. I guess this applies to most rebottomed and refitted "Grand Union" boats - I doubt many have been rebottomed in recent years using hot riveting? Certainly Flamingo has not, although unusually, (and perhaps slightly worryingly!) , she retains her original 1936 riveted bottom under the engine room, something we are told is quite rare. It seems to be in surprisingly good order, and generated some interest at Brinklow Boat Services because "you don't get to see them very often, any more".

Hawkesbury still retained the original riveted bottom fore and aft until being completely rebottomed, the engine room was very time consuming - apparently the usual procedure involves cutting out the engine bed, I insisted that it remained in place.

[alan_fincher]

Here is the next, (and final), photos of the steel-work done on Sickle in the late summer.

 

We didn't see the final result with all the blacking on, until it was afloat, and out of the dock.

 

Blog post linky.

Hawkesbury still retained the original riveted bottom fore and aft until being completely rebottomed, the engine room was very time consuming - apparently the usual procedure involves cutting out the engine bed, I insisted that it remained in place.

 

Without comparing the actual photos detail by detail, that looks significantly different to a Large Northwich's original bottom, (including construction of the engine bed).

Why are there apparently missing bits to the top angle, towards the front end of the beds, please?

[Jrtm]

Hawkesbury still retained the original riveted bottom fore and aft until being completely rebottomed, the engine room was very time consuming - apparently the usual procedure involves cutting out the engine bed, I insisted that it remained in place.

Nice to see it being replaced and riveted back in rather than just welding back in. Assuming it is riveted back in.

Edited January 1, 2017 by billybobbooth

[BWM]

Here is the next, (and final), photos of the steel-work done on Sickle in the late summer.

 

We didn't see the final result with all the blacking on, until it was afloat, and out of the dock.

 

Blog post linky.

 

Without comparing the actual photos detail by detail, that looks significantly different to a Large Northwich's original bottom, (including construction of the engine bed).

 

Why are there apparently missing bits to the top angle, towards the front end of the beds, please?

The cut outs are to provide flywheel clearance, and as such may not have been there originally.

 

Nice to see it being replaced and riveted back in rather than just welding back in. Assuming it is riveted back in.

unfortunately the new bottom plate was welded in place, but at least in future the option to replace it with a riveted one remains - I would have kept the keelson as well but it had already been removed before I intervened.

[Chertsey]

Here is the next, (and final), photos of the steel-work done on Sickle in the late summer.

 

We didn't see the final result with all the blacking on, until it was afloat, and out of the dock.

 

Blog post linky.

 

 

Without comparing the actual photos detail by detail, that looks significantly different to a Large Northwich's original bottom, (including construction of the engine bed).

Why are there apparently missing bits to the top angle, towards the front end of the beds, please?

But how different is it from an original Woolwich bottom? Edited January 2, 2017 by Chertsey