But how was I going to get Lady Jane to Fareham? At 90 feet, with an untried engine and rudimentary controls, the task seemed impossible.
Lady Jane's main engine–a six-cylinder, 550 HP 6D6 Industrie turbo diesel–stands taller than I do. Her tanks hold more than 6,000 gallons of fuel. A Kuypers hydraulic gear box, which is a massive affair with one forward and one reverse gear, drives a bronze, four-bladed prop six feet in diameter.
TIM NOLANJane's compliment of onboard batteries.There is much to Lady Jane's machinery, but the highlights include a 110-volt DC compressor with two large compressed air bottles; several generators; and a 25 HP, air-cooled, hand-crank, two-cylinder, noisy, smoky, dirty Lister donkey engine.
Starting the beast is a little more complex than turning a key. To give you an idea, here is the checklist to start the engine I was given by the previous owner:
- Open Chimney
- Open sweet water header tank valve
- Check sweet water level
- If level low, open valve to water supply
- Close when level sufficient
- Position 110 & 24V breakers for charging
- Fill and adjust bottom air tank
- Turn oil filter wiper
- Open raw water sea cocks
- Check gear in neutral
- Prime engine oil
- Prime crankshaft
- Oil valves & pillar bearings
- Open day tank valve
- Open fuel filter
- Check fuel supply
- Set throttle half turn
- Check governer in run position
- Start with air
That last bit, "Start with air," is literally true. One of the compressed air bottles gives the engine the initial kick it needs to get started.
TIM NOLANDisappearing holes: Repairing the bulwarks.Remember, I had never skippered anything. But within days I met John, who skippers the local harbormaster's patrol boat. He came on board for a look about and announced: "Any time you'd like me to skipper her, just let me know."
As soon as the tides were right we were off to Fareham on what would be one of the most exciting days of my life and Lady Jane's first time to sea in three years. We set off down the river Itchen at a slow 5.5 knots, followed by a plume of smoke as years worth of accumulated oil burned off the exhaust. The engine behaved beautifully, although we never pushed her to perform.
I was a bit nervous about setting off in winds that topped 20 knots, but Lady Jane's voyage to Fareham was largely uneventful. In fact it was extremely gratifying to be cutting through the waves while all the other small boats around us bobbed about. My decision six months earlier to buy the old rust bucket suddenly didn't seem to be so bad after all.
Of course, the heavy work was still ahead.
HULL AND BACK
With Lady Jane safely alongside the dock the welding could finally begin. It started on deck, where the big winches had previously been removed. It was their removal that caused a hole to be punched right through the thin, rusted steel that covered the hold below.
Welding is easy; anyone can do it. Welding well, however, is a skill that is amazingly difficult to master. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I'm becoming more able. Despite my growing skills, I remained in shock at just how poor a state Lady Jane was in.
During a big cleanup effort in the crew quarters, we discovered the hull, supposedly 10 millimeters thick, had rusted right through below the waterline. All that was keeping Lady Jane afloat was a plug of rust. What an experience it was fighting the clock as I cut a man-sized hole in the hull and welded a new piece back in–all while the tide was out.
I have been able to cut costs by doing some of the welding myself, though I use a professional welder to do the tough structural jobs. There are places where the steel is so thin that I'll have to go back and replace it later, when I have the time and money.
I have two welding rigs now. The first is a big clunky transformer welder, which was temperamental during big welding jobs. I finally succumbed and bought a small, lightweight inverter welder. That tool, and a proper light-reactive mask, have transformed my welding abilities from poor to mediocre.
