Saturday 21-March work party

David Blagrove and Richard
Cox either struggling with the
cloths or perhaps planning
on some hang gliding!

A bit of a challenge today with the scaffolding on the museum coming down - it was planned for yesterday - so we moved Sculptor back to the lock waiting area in order that we could pump her out more easily and offered a lock wheeling service for boats transiting Stoke Bruerne for the period we were on the lock waiting area.  As soon as we could we moved over onto the water point

The cloths were then removed (not easy in the wind) and stowed.  We also washed the gunwales to get rid of the green winter slime and polished the cabin sides - what a difference that makes.

Sculptor is now ready for the summer with the cloths neatly stowed.

The plan for our next work party, scheduled for Saturday 5-April is to clear out the back cabin and get it ready for scumbling.  Brian Mayland kindly visited to see what needs to be done to the back cabin.

Another achievement today was to remove the old ballast from the uxter plate where it was helping promote rust - we have managed to sell the ballast for a donation £30 - it has now gone to a boat in Birmingham.

Volunteer hours 32 (total 102 to date)

Volunteer hours by Rob Westlake refurbishing the hand pump 15 (total 117 to date)

A bit of summer preparation

The engine room doors
now stand out on Sculptor 
and the brass porthole
looks cleaner

A couple of us (DB and KD) spent a little time on Sculptor yesterday morning giving the brass a bit of a polish and, with advice and help from Mike Partridge of Stoke Bruerne Boat Company, polished the right hand engine doors - what a difference that made.  Mike and Kathryn are planning a road trip to Braunston during the week; we'll buy a bottle of the same stuff (Carnauba by Craftmaster) and polish the right hand side of the boat - we'll leave the left hand side until we turn the boat!

Volunteer hours 4 (total 70 to date)

Work on the back cabin

The new panels in the back cabin

Old wood being burnt and
warming up the cabin

Iain Dunkley, who undertook some work on the back cabin last year, has kindly started to sort out the remaining work that is required before we start to restore the cabin to the decorative state it was in when the boat was taken 'on charge' by the fore-runners of Canal & River Trust.

It strikes me that with the wood against the steel of the cabin side good, regular and proper ventilation of the back cabin is important to keep it in good condition.

The primed new panel with the
mouldings in place

We now have to decide on the appropriate style of decoration for the back cabin.  I have been advised by some very knowledgable people what the style was when Sculptor was taken on charge as an exhibit and I understand that it is that style that the back cabin should be kept in.  There have, I understand, been differing opinions over the years and I suppose it falls to me to ensure that the decorative style agreed upon is agreed by all parties and fits the legal requirements of an accessioned exhibit - not easy!

Volunteer hours 22 (total 66 to date)

01-March work party

The space for the containers

One container in place

We had a planned work party today to re-ballast the boat.  We had a good clean out in the hold just forward of the engine room bulkhead to make way for the 2 1,000 litre containers.  Sadly they would not fit in their 'cages' but did fit like a glove without them - that means they are supported on three sides by the structure of the boat. If filled to capacity they will add 2 'short' tons (4,000 lbs) to the ballast.

Rob's repaired pump
in action

Pumping out the rear
bilges using the 240v!

We then pumped the boat out using Rob Westlake's repaired hand pump - well done Rob - it worked very well.

We also plugged the boat into the 240v mains and pumped out the bilges at the back of the boat - they need doing because the stern gland needs some attention - that's on the list for the next working party.

The boat did appear to be sitting in the water in a much more appropriate way and just looked better. She sat in a way that befits a lady of her age!

Once the 240v pumping was finished we moved the boat back to the water point to put some more ballast in the new tanks - she sat down a bit and looked every inch the boat she is.  We also put 2 additional barrels just aft of the mast.  We still need to remove the iron ballast on the uxter plate which is now in the plan for the next working party - we have a cunning plan as to how to get rid of it (and not by dropping it into the canal!).

As it was such a lovely afternoon and because we had the OK from CRT to move the boat we gave her some exercise and took her up the winding hole just short of the tunnel, down to the A508 and back on to her moorings.  The consensus of opinion was that she handled a lot better and certainly stops much more quickly now.

Some photos of the day:

Sitting better in the water and life-jackets on
A CRT requirement we are happy to comply with

Rob Westlake winding Sculptor at the A508
For those that know her she is sitting better in the water we think

Volunteer hours 24 (total 44 to date)