At 10.00am there was a parade of vessels under the bridge and NEMT  starred with Rachel Douglas, Favourite and Sovereign.

Returning from the Arbroath Sea Fest, NEMT took the opportunity to call in at St Abbs.

It was Monday 15th August and this was the first visit of “Favourite” since she left the harbour five years ago. “Favourite” fished from St Abbs for the last 33 years of her working life and it was the first time former skipper and owner Peter Nisbet had the chance to see her. It was also a homecoming for “Rachel Douglas” as she also spent her last years fishing out of the pretty harbour. The harbourmaster and old crew members from both boats gave a warm welcome.

NEMT members had a sunny weekend at the Arbroath Sea Fest where they received a great welcome.

The old fishing vessels “Rachel Douglas” and “Favourite” motored up to the event by way of Eyemouth and arrived just as the festival was getting into swing at noon on Saturday 13th August. The second day of the event saw the arrival of our friends on the Scottish Fisheries Museum’s fifie “Reaper”. Already in the harbour was the old Humber sloop “Spider T” and zulu “St Vincent”.

Fred Crowell proudly stands next to Sovereign on Monday 4th April, having just launched her after ten months and approximately 5000 hours of restoration work by him and the small team of volunteers he led.

In spite of serious funding problems, the vessel is now structurally sound and working again. Seventy five years after building she is back in fine condition, restored to her 1950s condition.

Thanks must go not only to Fred but to National Historic Ships, The Community Foundation and The Port of Tyne Fund who all supported the restoration.

A few minor jobs remain: the accommodation in the forecastle is to be completed and some of the spars are still missing but it is hoped they can be finished for the summer when she will be travelling the north east coast.

The saw was purchased from VWM Ltd Machines Lancashire. This has been a considerable investment for the Trust and it was a pleasure to conduct the buisiness with VWM www.vwm.co.uk

Click on images to enlarge……………………………………………………….

Visit their splendid web site www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk

Take a look at the “Articles” and the NEMT video!!

Thanks to Gary and Nick.

Stem removed with some planking

It is great to report that tremendous enthusiasm is maintaining the schedule of the restoration of the Henry Frederick Swan.Progress has been very encouraging for 2011 thanks to all of the hard work from a dedicated team of volunteers. Such tasks as the removal of the drop keel and drop keel casing ( away for shot blasting at the moment) have tested our ingenuity but where there’s a will there’s a way.( reference: Dec 2010 News Letter) Most of the internal deck bearers have been removed along with the aft whale back and aft bulkhead. These are now on the joiner’s bench awaiting reconstruction. The dismantling of this class of vessel is very different to conventional boats. There are no glued sections, no steel spikes or nails ; just beautifully made close fitting interlocking joints all fastened with bronze csk screws. It is more like taking apart a piece of furniture than an old boat! Amazingly so after nearly 100 years, the majority of screws come out with very little problem at all. 

 Stem and Stern post timbers have been removed ready for renewal. New, large radius, oak crooks have been obtained along with sufficient oak planking for gunwales, stringers, frames etc. Sincere thanks must go to A&J Scott Timber supplies (www.ajscott.co.uk) for their superb co-operation and proffesional help in the choice of timber, slicing and transportation to our workshops in Wapping Street. 

  One major challenge underway is the removal of the 15inch wrought iron Keel Bolts. As to be expected, these have been found to be severely corroded by way of the oak keel. The top and bottom section where they sit in contact with the steel is of reasonable condition but the acid from the oak, has made a short meal of them. However, with the use of a specially made sliding hammer puller, the bolts were drilled and tapped into their heads and with a carefully applied hammer inside the boat along with plenty of grunting and groaning from underneath! we are managing to extract them!                                                                                                                                                                            Keel Bolts

A purpose built work platform has been erected to facilitate the rebuild of the aft bulk head. Precise (well, as close as possible!) templates have been taken from the badly rotted frame followed by the careful separation of the the frame from the double planked in filled section.

A freshly overhauled Gardner engine was fitted into Sovereign on 5th January 2011.

The old engine was of the same type but, having been in the boat since 1955, it was in very poor condition. Fortunately the old gearbox was reuseable after stripping and adjustment. The overhauled assembly was carefully installed by Fred Crowell.

The Port of Tyne Fund was able to give a grant to make the job achievable, helping towards the cost of work on the engine and also helping contribute to the new fuel tanks. The Community Foundation Serving Tyne and Wear and Northumberland were able to make it possible by seeking the support of the funder, so many thanks are due to all the parties for the work being able to go ahead.

All this assistance has made it possible to get the vessel seaworthy again.

An infestation of beetle grubs was found in the upper forward frames, decking and bow planking of Sovereign.

Fred Crowell was able to remove the infected areas of timber and replace with new, a difficult task involving awkward scarfing of new timbers to old in very confined spaces.

The forward area is now free of grub problems and in sound condition.

Repairs to the Sovereign have been given support by the National Historic Ships Committee who have awarded an emergency sustainability grant. This enabled Fred Crowell to start repairs to the seriously deteriorated hull.

Once on Fred’s slip, it was found that the spikes holding the planking onto the frames were badly corroded. Some had rusted away entirely leaving nothing to hold planks in place other than water pressure and the caulking. Several planks have now been entirely replaced, about 2000 spikes replaced, re-caulking undertaken and a lot of filling carried out, making Sovereign secure below the waterline.

Many thanks to National Historic Ships for contributing.