Restoration Round-up
by Colin Greenall

Part 1: Work Party Report

Sunday 22nd March 2009:  Spike Island - "Barmere"

On Friday 20th March I received a call from Peter Keen to say that he had been informed that Barmere had been set loose and was drifting about the canal So, later in the afternoon, I went down to Spike Island to review the situation.  I found that Barmere was still on her moorings but that all was not well, one line was missing and the others slack. Also, some of the hatch covers were missing, as can be seen in the photo below.

Friday night and Saturday was spent ringing round trying to get a team together and gathering the equipment that might be needed.

Sunday was dry and sunny, but there was a strong wind blowing, which I knew would make things tricky.

Ian was already there when I arrived at Spike Island. We walked up to Barmere to look at what needed to be done then returned to get the equipment. Steve from West Bank Boat Club kindly offered to lend us his dinghy for which we were most grateful. Chris arrived to give us a hand, although he could only stay a couple of hours.

With gear in the boat we set off up the canal for Barmere. The wind was strong, but behind us. On reaching Barmere we went to the port side to get out of the wind, made fast and tied the ladder on round one of the bollards. Ian climbed on board and I stayed in the dinghy to supervise.

First of all some attention was given to the line that was still attached. The shackle was removed from the loop that had been round the bollard then it was decided to release the shackle that attached the line to the rail, but only after a rope was secured to the line and tied to another bollard so that the line was not lost overboard.

At this point Bill Walker, a member of the Boat Club appeared. I then took a rope to Chris and Bill on the bank, just as Paul Hazlehurst arrived on his bike.

The rope was pulled to bring Barmere back in and give Ian chance to make a loop in the steel rope and get it round the bollard, I asked Paul to come in the dinghy and then get on board Barmere to give Ian a hand. Between them they manage to get the shackle back on to the rail and re-secure the port side rear line.

Now it was time to see what could be done with the missing line on the rear starboard side.

Bill had to leave at this point, but said that he would get some of the lads from the boat club to give him a hand to tighten up the moorings one day next week when the wind had dropped.

When they fitted the new moorings they left two white buoys attached to the mooring lines on deck, fore and aft, one Steve from the boat club had given us (he had rescued it from the canal edge) the other was floating alongside Barmere.

The buoy in the canal was lifted and found to be attached to nothing except a length of rope. In the water there was a length of rope floating about and attached to this was a thin steel line and then the thick steel line. Ian and Paul hauled it up on to the deck and eventually made it secure round a bollard and shackled to the rail. They then went up to the front and returned the steel lines over the bollards and made them as secure as they could. Then the two white floating buoys were both shackled to the rear lines and we decided that there was nothing more we could do in this strong wind.

Paul returned to the dinghy while Ian handed me the bag of equipment, then he joined us in the boat and untied the ladder, we then set of for the bank where Paul had left his bike.

We then walked the dinghy back to the boat club yard and returned it to Steve, who told us that he would give Bill a hand during the week.

Sunday 5th April 2009: Three sites in one day:
Winwick Lock, Dry dock and Hulme lock

We arrived at Winwick with the sun coming through and it looked as if we were in for a dry day. Soon the volunteers begin to arrive, first Peter then Ian, John and Paul - so along with Darren and myself we have a team. First we get a few bits and pieces from the yard and then we set off for Winwick Lock.

On site the project for the day is to relocate the balance beam missing from one gate and repaint it.

After some discussion it was decided to leave the beam as it is, because to lift it back in place would have created a health and safety risk due to the rotten state of the timber around the mitre joints that fit over the hinge post. So out came the paint and brushes and everyone set to slapping on the undercoat. It was around this time that Chris and Bob arrived to swell the numbers.

In the warm sunshine the undercoat soon dried and after a tea break and more discussion the gloss was applied. The black and white finish really made the gates stand out now and the passengers on the nearby railway will be able to see that there is or was a canal alongside the line. It will be visible from the M62 motorway as well.

At dinnertime Ian, John and Chris went home, while the rest of us move on to Winwick Dry Dock where the metal fence needed some new paint.  George arrived and soon the wire brushes where in action and then on went the undercoat - we only did the white part, having used up all the black gloss at Winwick Lock.

While the undercoat was drying we move on to our third site for the day, Hulme Lock. Here we managed to lift the well cover back into place and make it secure.

We then returned to the Dry Dock and applied the white gloss.

Thanks to everyone for their assistance.

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