Report from our Talks Programme, by Peter Keen

The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society

SCARS' November meeting was addressed by (right) Tony Hirst, a well-known figure in the national waterways movement, formerly Director of the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum, and a Vice-President of the IWA, and now the Chairman of the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society. His presentation was in two sections, the first dealing with the history of the vessel and the second explaining the restoration work carried out so far by DAPS.

The vessel was built as the Ralph Brocklebank in 1908 by the Shropshire Union Canal and Railway Company as a tug tender to work between Ellesmere Port and Liverpool, having its own dock on the present site of Mann Island at the Pier Head. The company was involved as a carrier of goods and passengers, in its early days using paddle steamers but eventually going over to screw driven boats. The R.B. is a twin screwed vessel and as such very manoeuvrable. She worked for about thirty years, with three decks available for passengers. The top deck having no cover was rather exposed to the elements, the next down was covered, had seating accommodation and portholes to view passing scenery whilst the lower saloon was more spacious with tables, chairs and a bar.

In 1936 the boat moved to the Manchester Ship Canal where it underwent a substantial refit, (to ocean going liner standards in John Brown's yard) with more covered passenger accommodation and a larger bridge (Right). She was renamed the Daniel Adamson in honour of the instigator of the Ship Canal and first Chairman of the Ship Canal Company and licensed to carry 100 passengers and 7 crew. It was used on the MSC to tow larger vessels and as an inspection barge for VIPs.

With the passage of time, the MSC fell into disuse and the services of the DA were not required and it became somewhat neglected. The 1930s refit had retained the original teak hull and lower decks but had incorporated new superstructure made of softwoods, and the latter was beginning to deteriorate. By 1985 the vessel was virtually abandoned by the MSC and moored at the Boat Museum, open to the usual mindless vandalism which seems to have become so prevalent. The Boat Museum offered to take over the boat but the MSC refused to co-operate, saying it had plans for turning it into a pub. It was far too small for this to be feasible so the neglect continued. By the end of the 1990s leaks had developed in the main decking and water was gaining access below decks so the situation was deteriorating rapidly. At one stage the scrap man was invited to tender a bid for the boat but fortunately this came to nothing.

After much diplomatic wheeling and dealing those sympathetic to the restoration of the DA managed to get MSC to agree to sell it to them, as the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, for £1, on the condition that it was removed from the Boat Museum and the Ship Canal. This was a problem since the DA was not seaworthy and therefore could not be insured in the usual way. Eventually this was sorted out and the boat was towed out of the Boat Museum (after going aground on the undredged lock entrance) along the Ship Canal by Carmet Towing's MSC Viceroy, and across the Mersey to Langton Dock by the Svitzer Tug Ashgarth. Once here, the Preservation Society members could get to work.

As it was not possible to access the dry dock immediately, the DA had to wait until a working tug needed dry dock attention before it could be accommodated in the same dock. Once there, the hull was sand blasted, proofed and painted with 3 to four layers of paint. The plating proved to be in excellent condition for a 100-year-old vessel. In only a few places was it necessary to use small patches and this was where corrosion had taken place from the inside through an accumulation of ash and cinder. It was discovered that there was some damage to one of the 7'6'' propeller blades but fortunately a spare set came with the deal. Every sea valve was removed, cleaned, and refurbished before being replaced, after which the vessel was re-floated and moored away from the dry dock ready for further work.

Over a metre of water had had to be pumped out to allow access to the lower decks and the upper decks had to be sheeted up to prevent further ingress of water before work could continue. Two working parties per week attend to carry out the planned work programme. Although many of the original drawings have been made available to DAPS everything has been carefully surveyed and recorded as it is the intention to use as much as possible of the original materials in the restoration process. Decking is being replaced and proofed, great quantities of sludge have been removed from the bilges, wood veneers are being carefully removed for renovation and replacement and every piece of ballast is to be removed to allow the inner hull to be dried out and repainted.

The Society has been in contact with a large number of engineering companies requesting assistance and in the majority of cases this has been forthcoming in the form of tools and equipment. MSC staff, delighted to see that the DA is to be restored, have been very supportive, offering invaluable advice, knowledge and volunteer time. The engine has been cleaned up and Tony's slides showed just how successful this project had been. Bearings have been replaced or relined so that everything that is supposed to revolve does so. All valves have been cleaned and re-calibrated by local engineering apprentices.

Forthcoming projects include refurbishing the boiler. This is 50 years old and needs to cope with sufficient pressure to operate the engines and other machinery.

Funding is being sought for the removal of asbestos lagging round some of the pipe-work and the installation of modern lagging materials in the relevant areas. The intention is to have the boat in steam for the Capital of Culture Celebrations in 2008. After that other projects will include the fitting of catering facilities, toilets, a diesel generator for the occasions when not in steam and the decorating and furnishing of the public areas.

In a recent lottery application one of the requirements was that the Society should spend a minimum of 100 days per year working on the restoration. Since members have logged over 9000 man hours in the first year of existence this will be no problem. Getting volunteers is similarly no problem - they come forward willingly, bringing their own particular expertise be this the experience of the engine room of a super-tanker, carpentry skills or knowledge of electrical work. A bigger problem is obtaining the funding for the work. Even beyond the restoration there will be the continuing expense of maintenance. The Society has recently been granted £72,000 by the HLF but this is already earmarked for existing projects.

DAPS has a very attractive web site: http://www.danieladamson.com and is constantly in search of old materials, photographs etc which could be added to its archives. [The original article in CANAL CUTTINGS used a number of pictures taken from the website. For copyright reasons they have not been reproduced here - follow the link to the DAPS website to access their vast collection of photographs of the vessel, its history, and progress towards its restoration.]

Once restored to the condition it was in during the 1930s or 1950s (yet to be decided) the Daniel Adamson will be used to give regular trips on the Mersey and Ship Canal. She will be available for corporate hire, and there is already a list of potential customers, and when not in steam she will be available for educational visits, again an eagerly awaited event. There is even talk of sailing up the River Weaver but this will have to wait until there is sufficient depth of water in the river.

DAPS has made tremendous progress in a very short time and the volunteers are to be commended for their commitment, SCARS wishes them every success in the future and looks forward to a SCARS trip aboard the Daniel Adamson.

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