It was soon found that whilst the better facilities enabled a more secure and inherently warmer environment in which to work. It still left areas that were difficult to get at with any degree of comfort. It was clear that in order to work on the underside of the boat safely the former lifeboat would have to be inverted! Even with today's equipment turning the hull safely over was not going to be an easy task. The trust's biggest concern was the safety of those involved in the task as well as the safety of the lifeboat hull. It was felt that in any turning manoeuvre that the hull would undergo stresses far in excess what one would have deemed possible on a lifeboat hull this old. The hull is in extremely good condition for its age, but the safety of those involved was paramount.
A plan was devised whereby the hull could be effectively turned making things far safer, the plan was to more or less encase the hull in two wooden sheeting templates that encircle the hull placed forward and rear to the hulls centre beam. Scaffold tubing bars would then be fitted for and aft around the templates in an effort to make the whole outfit more rigid. To complete the assembly a set of strong rollers welded into a "H" beam would be placed underneath the hull to allow the whole set up to be managed safer.
On paper or in theory it sounds so easy to do, the reality however, is far harder to actually achieve! Many hours were spent working on a suitable plan of how the design should look before making up a scaled down model of the hull and the assembly. The front of the trailer which houses the lifeboat has a large section at the front substantially higher than the flatbed part. It was this element that created many problems when considering how to approach the turning of the lifeboat, it was in order to balance this one element that the roller assembly was designed.
The small photograph to the right hardly does the ambitious scheme justice as it was quite a complex model to make when keeping it to scale. The roller assembly beam can be seen running the length of the hull fore and aft at the height of the raised part of the trailer. The photograph clearly outlines where it was hoped the templates and scaffold tubing should be placed. The plans for the turning and the scaled model were put before a general meeting of trustees and people interested in our project and a lengthy discussion ensued. The plan was amended to represent valid points put forward and it was agreed to begin looking at the practical side of the plan.
It is worth pointing out that before embarking on any practical work that the trust sought professional advice on the effectiveness and safety of turning the hull. The former lifeboat is of such importance to Whitby's heritage that it would not have embarked on the turning exercise if it was deemed irresponsible or unsafe. Having taken professional advice the consensus was that whilst a little complex the condition of the hull was deemed such that it was suitable for the manoeuvre and that it was thought within the capabilities of the working members!
The steel scaffold tubing was pretty simple, as this would only entail cutting the necessary tubing to length prior to fitting it. The wooden templates were going to be made from sheeting that the trust was in effect recycling. It was the roller assembly that took the lion's share of work and the part that eventually created the greater frustration. The trust has to make the best use of what funding is available to them and it was thought that using two sections of heavy duty angle iron readily available would make up for what costs would be incurred if a new section of "H" girder were purchased.
The trust is also trying to reclaim items for use during the restoration, not only as a cost cutting exercise but for the benefits for being able to recycle things. The photograph to the left gives a clear indication of the complexities of the working area and as usual Tim was in the thick it there is not a lot of room between the hull and the trailer and Tim is perhaps the person who is more at home there.
The photograph to the right perfectly illustrates the two sections of angle iron placed almost under the hull. From this point the sections were extensively welded to ensure that there was no chance of them splitting. The idea was that when the hull was lowered onto the rollers it could be rolled into a position whereby the hull was supported equally on the trailer making it not only more stable but more importantly safer to carry out the roll manoeuvre.
Once the welding task was completed it was decided that before going ahead with making the templates that a trial run of 'rolling' the hull backwards and forwards be tried first. It was at this point that whole exercise hit its first step backwards, after many hours put into making the roller assembly the hull refused to move safely along on the rollers! It was obviously going to take some more thought and the volunteer working team had little choice but to go back to the drawing board.
It also became apparent at this point that the effective height of the lifeboat was such that unless the hull was taken off the trailer and lowered that it would not be possible to roll the hull through 180 degrees. The original plan was to completely invert the hull during one single revolution. It was believed that doing so this way would limit the stresses on having to turn the hull on different occasions. Unfortunately this was no longer really practical and the trust instead remained positive that turning the hull almost 90 degrees one way would give ample room to work on the inverted hull, before repeating the exercise the opposite way to do the other side. It is not quite what was originally planned, but then the trust and its working teams are effectively on a learning curve and are quite content on amending plans where necessary.
Surplus wooden sheeting had been acquired by the trust and separated in order to make sure each sheet was suitable.In July the trust was fortunate enough to have the services of a unit of army cadets who cut the templates from one previously made by the working party. The sheeting was then offered up to the hull and secured in place. The photograph shows the first two wooden sheets in place which eventually made up the circular support frame as well as the additional strengthening used to support the hull for the rolling exercise. As well as the lateral hardwood slats placed to maintain the beam integrity a section of lighter coloured planking can be seen below these slats.
This lighter coloured planking is actually a very substantial piece of wooden planking that is secured along the length of the hull. This planking is designed to support the hull along the keel section throughout the rolling manoeuvre. In order to secure the support it was necessary to utilise the original bolt holes used for fitting the actual keel. The task of aligning the holes and drilling the new holes in the support somehow turned into quite a task, it was however, critical to make sure that each of the holes was aligned. The photograph to the left shows part of the wooden sheeting cut out to form the lower section of the whole wooden rolling assembly.
Finally with everything in place the trust called on willing hands to try out the assembly. The hull was tentatively lowered onto the roller assembly and whilst the hull was beginning to roll with pressure it was clear some small modifications were needed. It was not too long before the changes necessary were made and with help from those present the hull roll was achieved. The photograph to the right shows the lower part of the support frame, cut to fit the contours of the hull.
Even in situ it is possible to turn the hull through 45 degrees and it was decided that this would be enough for the work expected on the underside of the hull. The photograph to the left is a good example of the hull revolved so that work can be carried out, in this position the hull looks quite strange but it made working on the sides of the hull far simpler..
From the outset the trust were aware that the bottom of the hull had been breached and that there were other complex repairs needed to the hull. The hull is a double planked hull and in order to effect the repairs to a suitable standard the trust acknowledged quite early on that repairing these hull breaches would be the domain of the professional. We are fortunate that Whitby has such a unique heritage and although there are a limited number of people still working using traditional methods we have some fine craftsmen who are able to tackle such a demanding tasks. Having the ability to effectively invert the hull as required would be beneficial to the people responsible for the repairs.
David Ross, is a joiner who is more than qualified to help the trust, having served his time as a boat builder he is well acquainted to traditional methods. The fore and aft parts of the keel were such that they required quite a bit of work including replacing substantial parts of the keel wood work. Before he could tackle the job however, it was necessary to source a section of quality timber.
David gave the trust guidance on what to look for as well as tips on sources likely to hold the timber we needed. In order to get timber that would stand the test of time we were advised to look for a section of quality 'wet' Oak following David's advice to avoid seasoned timber. It is possible to use substitutes such as Ash or Elm although Oak was the preferred choice. A suitable section of quality oak was purchased and taken to the workshop where David started by reducing the timber to a size that was easier to work with. It was interesting watching David reduce the hulk of timber.
Not personally knowing David, I asked him how he had become involved with the work on the lifeboat. He told me that he had been persuaded by the current Whitby lifeboat coxswain Mike Russell to come along and see what we are doing. David told me that although he is now retired he is happy to help where he can and that 'it helps fill the day'! Given his skills we are glad that he has been willing to become one of the many people involved with the project sharing his skills and knowledge as a traditional boat builder.
The timber arrived 'on site' as a section of oak and David has skillfully managed to make it an integral part of the William Rileys keel. David has joined the timber so that as the hull work progresses it will not be visibly different from the original section of keel.
The hull breaches were unsightly to look at when the lifeboat arrived back in Whitby and even when the hull was cleaned up with all debris removed they were a constant reminder of how the hull had deteriorated. As the work within the hull progressed the project seemed to move along quite well, whilst the breaches craved attention. The trust has many skilled workers as close allies, the keel work and the hull breaches however, were always going to the domain of the professionally skilled worker. Once more we looked within the town for a suitably qualified person skilled with traditional boat building methods and willing to take on such a demanding job. One such person stood out as being the ideal candidate as the knew of a similar job he had undertaken on another of Whitby's ex lifeboats, the "Mary Ann Hepworth".
Mike Coates, was for many years the owner of Coates Marine a boatyard and yacht chandlery. Although no longer the proprietor of the business it has retained its name, a name perhaps synonymous with the towns heritage? Mike also has a unique connection to the RNLI as he was a crew member of the lifeboat for a number of years, in which he was awarded a decoration for his services. The hull breaches on the William Riley happened to be placed almost centrally amidships and if we did not have the capacity to invert the hull it would have certainly been an uncomfortable task of repairing the breaches. Mike started by removing the timber surrounding the holes, taking this away until he reached sound timber. It was once this was done that the full extent of the hull breaches could be seen for what they were. It was quite startling to see the work that was needed and it was apparent just how important it was to have a skilled craftsmen doing the work.
Copyright © Colin Brittain 1999 - 2008