[Rafal Zahorski]

Let me continue:

6 - some elements of main mast - destroyed by corrosion - will come back quite soon to original look and condition
7 - all new pipes are born here - a special warehouse - here every new element is made - perfect guys - real artists ...
8, 9 & 10 a new mounted pipes

additionally on 10 you can see a new ballast of Bembridge - used break discs - Bembridge will have ca 60 tons of such a strange dry ballast

Please look at the next post

[Rafal Zahorski]

Let me continue:

11 - all elements prepared to sand blasting
12 - he is not a diver - a sand blasting in progress
13 & 14 - Pilot Mess Room - all wooden elements and furnitures are in my Father's warehouse - will start to come back January - April 2010
15 - our future office - the most beautiful office in whole Poland!!! Ok, I agree, will be in the near future!

New pictures will come here tomorrow ... the story to be continued ...greeting Rafal

[Hugh Ferguson]

Rafal, Tony was an employee of Trinity House and consequently would have become pensioner with them. Pilots were self-employed and only licenced as pilots by Trinity House, never employed.
It did so happen that on a rare occasion a pilot may be invited by the Elder Brethren to a lunch or dinner but I was never one. The only times I attended at Trinity House I had been summoned to attend, and it resulted in having my licence suspended-it was not a happy event at either time. The first time I was suspended for a week for failing-according to the bye-laws governing pilots-to move promptly enough to live within ten miles of Dover: the second time was more serious when I was suspended for three weeks on account of me getting the blame for a minor collision with a small Royal Navy surveying craft. Collision with the Royal Navy was always best to be avoided as the scales of justice were invariably weighted against the pilot.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Yes, I know it but there will be a lot people. Many of them will remember an activity of Pilot Cutters and their Pilots. I hope Tony and others can help. We are trying to do everything what is possible to inform as many as only possible about our project. Hugh it must bring a positive results. Nice ... I guess a collision at sea with Royal Navy ship is the same like a collision with a Police car on the street. Always everybody knows who is faulted! For a moment 20 new pictures!

[Rafal Zahorski]

Fresh pictures made today by Kamil:

1 - 4 a bow with a fresh mounted railings - not ready yet but even now it looks great.
5 - her aft - on the spring we will have here a wooden desk - so only a waterways will be without wood

[Rafal Zahorski]

Now small steel elements - now all sandblasted and painted by primer:

6 - covers for a machinery skylight
7 - a frames keeping a glass for above
8 - 10 - elements of railings and main mast

[Rafal Zahorski]

11 & 12 - a bottom of engine room - before 1976 here were two nice diesel engines from Glasgow made by Polar Engines, two generators and the like - now everything is painted by special paint - still we will place here ca 30 tons of ballast - later on everything will be covered by still frames - a basement for a future floor in engine room
13 - a first part of railing is made
14 & 15 - railings on the bow during construction ...

[Rafal Zahorski]

16 - 20 only railings but what a big change ...

Tomorrow a fresh pictures showing Pilot Boarding Boats No. 46

Greeting Rafal

[Hugh Ferguson]

She's beginning to look like new, Rafal, it is a miracle!!

[Rafal Zahorski]

She will look really nice when I will find somewhere in UK a davits - a columbus type for a pilot boarding boats and a standard simple ones for life boats and two nice wooden life boats. So with these 4 sets of davits and these 2 wooden life boats our project so vessel will be completed. The rest of missing things and elements we will make or find here in Poland. To find our Pilot Boarding Boats was a miracle - so to find a a davits what I listed shouldn't be a problem. But coming back to our vessel - yesterday shipyard team was continuing a railings welding - now even on her aft deck they are. For 2-3 days all will be ready.Than nest story will be co place back all ventilation pipes - we have 2 original ones and the rest will be copied - there is one guy in Szczecin who can do it handy using an old technology. They will be nice. So railings, ventilation pipes, only these davits ...

By the way - please look on the boat No. 46 - every week she look more and more like real Pilot Boarding Boat. Still this week our carpenters will start to paint her on black. First primer for a wood, than 2 surfaces of a black colour and on the end special top veneer. It is a special paint - wood can breath - so even painted wood will dry. We will use that boats only occasionally but we would like to preserve tham for ever. Now they are already 50 years old!

I am just attaching a new pictures without comments - all comments were made in previous posts. Greeting Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

The rest of pictures. Do not worry about all sharp edges - they will be cut and rounded before painting. Anyway a new deck is very strong. Old one simply did not exist.

Greeting Rafal

[Hugh Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Hugh Ferguson

That's incredible, Rafal, I can't believe all this has happened in so few months-I think you ought to receive a medal from someone-maybe the Duke of Edinburgh!
I believe my old uniform reefer jacket with T.H. buttons is hanging around someplace: I'll have a look to see if it has not fallen to bits-I haven't worn it since 1982: you can have it if the moths haven't got to it first! Regards, Hugh.

The Duke has been the Master of Trinity House since 1969. I really must ask him if he could be interested in becoming the Patron of this enterprise which might lead to the Trinity House flag being hoisted on the jack-staff.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Yes, it will be great to see again a TH flag on her mast. But ... it is very difficult to achieve as far as I know. Andy was trying - I will have one flag but only to be placed under a deck. I will try to ask for full set of flags. There are several flags - each is used with other important man on board. I am very impressive about this traditional marking of TH vessels. Anyway worldwide a maritime tradition is disappearing - so every sign that somewhere somebody is take care is very important. I am now reading a book " The Super Silence Service" by Michael Tarrant. Really very interesting. I have a lot to learn before a restoration of Bembridge will be completed. You said: "The Duke has been the Master of Trinity House since 1969". On the same year I was born :-)))
Greeting Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

Hello Everybody,

Let me present a new develop in a restoration:

1 - whole vessel
2 - a fantastic, slim and impressive bow
3 - water level - here was before one looong hole as you remember - if anybody can see - where it was? Perfect job of our shipyard - even a Smith's Dock team will be proud of it
4 - you see a part of a ballast down in the engine room - still 30 tons is on berth near Bembridge - in the back you see a begging of a floor construction
5 - these are a supporting pillars for a floor frame - of course during welding. Bellow the floor will be a ballast - 70 tons of old car's brak discs

[Rafal Zahorski]

6 & 7 - making of the floor in the engine room
8 - a view from an engine room to a machinery skylights ...
9 - a view from a stairs hole to a main deck - our future office
10 - a view for the same place but from her stern - you can see that walls are on the same place like her old rear superstructure - removed in 1976 by Cosag Marine Services

[Rafal Zahorski]

11 - at picture 10
12 & 13 - aft stairs - almost ready!
14 & 15 railings during restoration

[Rafal Zahorski]

16 - 18 - railings - continuation of works
19 - the first vent pipe - still must be removed, sand blasted and painted - but ... look great! Like original!
20 - the most important place of THPV Bembridge - here under this steel shelf will be in the future a shipyard table - still in Essex Yacht Club - we will try to buy it or get it back, on the top should be mounted a ship's bell & over that place on the bridge's front will be mounted a Trinity House Crest - we have it in UK - will be collected in January 2009 - than I will come to UK for ca 1 week. in the next post you will see a bell what will be copied ...

[Rafal Zahorski]

21 - a bell from other THPV - we will make a copy if it with BEMBRIDGE 1938 or we will find original one - we "almost" know where it is - so we know where it was 10 years ago. Every week we are closer to it today owner - we will do everything what is possible to get it. Andrew is working strongly on it and he will be for sure sucesfull
22 - a new screws for a bow bollards - will look as original eaten by corrosion
23 - a top of a mast - we call in in Poland "an apple" - heavy bronze element - with two rolls for a flag ropes
24 - next new restored elements of our main mast
25 - we are calling it a "rome screw" - for our main mast too

In the evening I will place here pictures showing our progress with Pilot Boat 46 and now started boat 44 - they arrived in one time and in the more or less the same terrible conditions. But today the difference between 46 - almost finished and 44 started is really huge - nice to see it really. Later on I will publish a last pictures from Bembridge made by my on last Saturday.

Best greeting Rafal

[Hugh Ferguson]

Brilliant, just brilliant!!

[Rafal Zahorski]

Thank you Hugh!

Now boats - first almost completed No 46 - now even a bottom is ready:

1 - a bow - one side prepared for painting by primer, second board is painted just as a trial
2 - ready port board
3 - a part of starboard painted black - still waiting for a second time and top veneer
4 - rudder
5 - deck

[Rafal Zahorski]

Let's continue:

6 - bow of 46 - almost ready
7, 8, 9 & 10 - a first approach to boat 44 - she was on THPV Bembridge in 60' - so you see - whole destroyed deck was taken away - it was nothing to be saved. All elements were removed by hands - no hammers or other tools were used - time, rain and rubber anti slippery carpet caused that all flat elements of a deck were simply biologically destroyed.

[Rafal Zahorski]

That's all. Please compare boat 44 with almost finished boat 46. Within 2-3 months both boats will look as a new ones.

For a moment THPV Bembridge on 05.12.2009.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Let's start:

1 & 2 - you see a new covers for a machinery skylights - glass for them will arrive on Monday
3 - maschinery skylights - you can see three closed holes used before for bull's eyes. In 1976 Essex Yacht Cloub team covered that area by isolating matrial and fibre glass materials. So all original covers were closed by over 30 years. To get more light somebody made 3 holes on each board and placed originla bull's eyes coming from removed stern superstructure. When we removed that covering materials whole isolating material was wet and smelling. Old covers were so rusty that we damaged them in hands. So it was no chance to rescue something what simply did not exist anymore.
4 - a comletelly flat steel after reparation - soon will be painted and nobody will remember about these artificila "wondows"
5 - "an apple" back on the top on a main mast.

[Rafal Zahorski]

6 - 10 - simply saying: rear stairs are back! Looks great - now aft deck is completed! Only painting and will be liek in 1938!

[billyboy]

Great restoration work worthy of much praise. well done