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| Oakdale, can she be rescued? - Page 1 | |
| The last wooden flat bottomed Mersey sailing barge | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13th, 2020 15:46 |
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1st Post |
Robert
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This thread is split from an earlier thread about the sinking of 'Oakdale', an historic, the last surviving, flat bottom wooden Mersey barge owned by Dave. Dave is convinced Oakdale can be saved and a fund has been set up for that purpose. I am keenly interested because I know Dave well, I have photographed Oakdale on many occasions, sunsets, storms and as a foreground for star photography. Well I went on a recky this evening and caught up with Dave. The condition of the boat is worse than I was expecting, yet Dave is confident he will have Oakdale floating again by autumn. "It only needs seven planks." Dave assures me. Mmmm, we will see. It would be great if he can revive it but it looks bad. I am planning to venture down tonight, aiming for a single, long, time exposure to the North with the fisheye. Planning to include the ruder prime central at the bottom of the image and most of the boat and rigging including an anchor rope, Polaris and star trails, with the Lake District mountains hopefully in silhouette. Moon doesn't rise until 03:15 so I won't have any help (or hinderance!) there, the high tide is at 04:24 which will mean about a Metre of water where I plan to stand... So I will have to be back to the shore by about 02:00 or so. Oakdale is sat on sand, about 7.2 Metres above tidal datum.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13th, 2020 16:42 |
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2nd Post |
chrisbet
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Seven planks - I'd be in there! Send him some moral support!
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Mon Apr 13th, 2020 16:49 |
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3rd Post |
Robert
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I will take some pix in the morning (daylight) I think seven planks is optimistic in the extreme. He is planning to drag the boat at least it's length further up the shore, reducing it's depth by perhaps a Metre, The stress of that will probably finish her off. He wasn't clear if he was expecting to move her before or after the repair. It really is an amazing structure, the craftsmanship and the way the planks have been bent, twisted and shaped to create the contours of the boat are really something to admire, it really is worth preserving but I honestly feel it's gone too far, I'm not the only one, most of the boat savvy chaps I know here say the same. The sea is so powerful that a boat of it's size endures a real beating in a heavy sea. It was caught by a heavy wave, broadside which rocked it hard and burst the side open near the stern, Dave had to shut the diesel bilge pumps down to prevent them from being wrecked when they sucked in water as the boat sank. When the tide went out, it burst the forward compartments, which were by then, full of water. The batteries are charged, I'm off out at 23:05
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14th, 2020 13:27 |
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4th Post |
Robert
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Well I got one usable image last night, well, actually two 15 minute exposures grafted together. I will post it in my Night Time thread. I just found this article on-line which outlines some of the history of Oakdale. Newer than I expected. https://bobratcliffeupperm.wixsite.com/mersey-flat-oakdale/detailed-history-of-oakdale I have taken some daytime images which show some of the damage to the hull, I will post them later when I have processed them.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14th, 2020 14:03 |
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5th Post |
Robert
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Here are the images of Oakdale which I took this afternoon with D3 and Nikkor 24-120 f/4, ISO 400. #1 I just noticed the 'Dust Bunnies'!  Click here to comment on this image. #2 Starboard Damage  Click here to comment on this image. #3 Closer...  Click here to comment on this image. #4 Towards the stern, showing the amazing way the boat is constructed, those boards are two inches thick.  Click here to comment on this image. #5 The rudder and the pumps on the stern deck, lifted from the engine room.  Click here to comment on this image. #6 The port side.  Click here to comment on this image. #7 This is where the hull burst open when it was full of water as the tide went out.  Click here to comment on this image. #8 The forward damage. You can see right into the innards of the hold and engine room. The tide line at this side was the last 10.2 Metre tide mark from last week, while she was sat on the bottom. When she went down the water level was washing over the deck but it had a force 10 gale behind it that day, a very heavy sea.  Click here to comment on this image. I can't see seven planks fixing that. It needs a very large pond liner sliding under the hull and wrapping round her.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14th, 2020 14:51 |
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6th Post |
jk
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#3 The cat is watching you with suspicion. I cant see that 7 or even 17 planks are going to fix this but what do I know about this type of work. Biggest one I have built is 10ft long.
____________________ Still learning after all these years! https://nikondslr.uk/gallery_view.php?user=2&folderid=none |
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| Posted: Tue Apr 14th, 2020 18:00 |
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7th Post |
chrisbet
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Green oak planking is relatively easy to work and many of the damaged planks are straight, so if he has the finances then repairs should be fairly straightforward. Depends of course on the condition of the ribs, being part in steel they may be rotten but the fixings have remained in place despite the timbers being torn away. I'd be inclined to trim away any rotten edges and temporarily fix softwood planks to fill the holes and cover with tarred canvas to keep the water out of the hull. Then work from bottom upwards removing whole planks and replacing them properly, doubling up the frames with new steel angle - if the boat only floats at springs then the neaps should give enough time to do it plank at a time.
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15th, 2020 01:13 |
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8th Post |
Robert
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Sounds like a good plan Chris but given that I don't think there is a sound plank on the hull and the bottom must be as bad, we are talking about re-cladding the entire boat, at which point in my view it ceases to be a viable proposition. Re-cladding the bottom must be a dry-dock job, which was the original reason she was heading for Glasgow about 15 years ago, until she was forced to take shelter in this estuary, else Oakdale would probably have been wrecked at St.Bees or the Solway if it had made it that far.
____________________ Robert. |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15th, 2020 02:52 |
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9th Post |
chrisbet
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Her bottom is greenheart, a very durable timber, especially in marine environments. The side planking is oak which is notorious for rotting where water meets air. I would not be surprised if she has rotted out from the inside where the oak has been damp from rain / condensation over the years.
____________________ If it is broken it was probably me .... |
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| Posted: Wed Apr 15th, 2020 06:43 |
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10th Post |
Robert
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Yes the inside of the side planks is worst, which makes it worse because they look not too bad but in reality most of the side planks are soggy rotten. If the bottom is greenheart then it may not be so bad. Yesterday evening: D800 with Nikkor 18-35 3.5-4.5D, bracketed and HDR'd from 5 exposures out of nine in the set.  Click here to comment on this image.
____________________ Robert. |
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