Winter Maintenance Update

As we wrap up another winter season, we wanted to update our supporters on the maintenance activities carried out on SS Freshspring.

This winter's maintenance schedule faced significant challenges due to persistently poor weather, including low temperatures, as well as a reduced number of volunteers on Wednesdays. Despite these setbacks, our dedicated team continued to focus on essential routine tasks, ensuring the ship remains in good condition.

Repairs Undertaken:

New Tie-Rods: Replaced for the large tyres on the forward fender to ensure continued safety and functionality.

New See-Through Cover: Fitted on the steering engine, providing better visibility and protection.

Temporary Repairs: Carried out on the focsle bulkhead sill to prevent further damage.

New Woodruff Keys: Replaced on the ship’s wheels of the steering engine, improving steering control.

New Halyard: Installed for the bow flagpole to ensure proper flag display.

Regular Maintenance:

Fortnightly Oil & Hand-Turning: The main engine continues to be regularly oiled and hand-turned to maintain its readiness.

Generator Service: The generator received a full service, including an oil change, to keep it running smoothly.

Boiler Draft Fan: Cleaned, oil-changed, and repainted to maintain efficiency.

Steering Engine: Was cleaned and repainted to keep it in top working order.

Power Washing: The superstructure and decks were power-washed to remove dirt and debris accumulated over time.

General Repainting: Essential repainting was carried out to ensure that the ship looks and performs its best.

Projects:

Dinghy Planking Preparations: Work on planking the dinghy was impacted by the cold weather, which prevented the glue from setting and curing as expected.

Auxiliary Engine Adaptors: Fabrication of adaptors to enable auxiliary engines to be run from a compressor was underway.

Wheelhouse Scaffold: A scaffold was erected around the wheelhouse in preparation for a complete cleaning and re-finishing of the wooden exterior.

Despite the challenges, our team remains committed to the ongoing maintenance and preservation of SS Freshspring. We thank all our volunteers for their continued support and look forward to better weather and more active projects in the upcoming months.

We would love more volunteers to continue with maintenance work over the spring and summer period on Wednesdays. Specific skills are not important—some basic painting/DIY experience might be helpful, but most important is a willingness to get stuck in with the team. If you're interested in helping out, please reach out to our team

Stay tuned for further updates and consider joining us in our efforts to preserve this historic vessel!