SY Gondola Revisited

It's that time of year again when the Steam Yacht Gondola will be coming out of the water here at Coniston and we will be undertaking the annual maintenance work. The last sailing of the season will be Sunday 4 November 2012. In preparation, Bill and Russ have been replacing the keel blocks. 

                    

What is a keel block? you ask.  The above photographs show you that they are what the boat sits on as it comes out of the water.  These oak and metal ones are replacing the old ones that were made of larch.  More photographs to follow as work progresses.

"Hot Works" for Croft Farmhouse

This is to show the process of lead being welded to create the apron at the bottom of a chimney stack for Croft Farmhouse.  The work was carried out at Bowe Barn, Keswick and not on site as we are not allowed to use anything that can cause a fire in our properties so this reduces the risk of fire damage.  A permit needs to be obtained from the property's General Manager.  The process of lead welding has been developed instead of beating the lead into the shape required.  Oxygen and acetylene is used to get the lead up to the correct temperature to enable it to be shaped.

Congratulations...............

to Phill and his partner Sarah on the  birth of their son, Thomas David William born on 22 September.  Best wishes to all.  Here's hoping his plastering skills come in handy for the nappy changing!

Just a quick update on Eric's Joss Naylor challenge.  Unfortunately due to the adverse weather conditions - well it is the Lake District - he was unable to do more than the first section.  Eric and Darren were due to meet Eric's wife in the car park at the Kirkstone Inn but they had difficulty in finding her.  For anyone reading this who doesn't know the car park, it is small.  They also had driving rain and strong winds to contend with so it is with regret that the whole project has been abandoned for this year.

Just about three months ago Eric, our clerk of works, was 60 and I think had a mid-life crisis. 

He has decided to run the Joss Naylor Challenge. This challenge involves climbing 30 hill tops, crossing some 48 miles of mountain terrain and ascending nearly 17000 feet.  The route starts in Pooley Bridge, Ullswater and finishes at Greendale Bridge, Wasdale.  Each age group has a specific time limit varying between 12 and 24 hours with different times for men and women.  There is no emphasis on record times and pacers are mandatory for safety reasons.  Eric needs to finish within 18 hours and he has been collecting sponsors with the monies raised going to the mountain rescue.  He is starting the run on Saturday 18 August at 4am and Darren Moore will be running with him.  I will update you next week as to how he has gone on.

Fell Foot Farm, Little Langdale

At the same time the major rebuilding of a barn wall is taking place at Fell Foot, Little Langdale.  As you can see from the photographs, this work involves propping the floor and the whole roof to dismantle the wall and then rebuild it.  For this work we are using a local contractor, John Charnley, who is the son of our tenant farmer Philip Charnley.  The finished results will be in the next blog.

Galava Gate Roman Fort, Ambleside

It has been a while since our blog was updated but we have not been idle.  Our builders have been working with volunteers on the Roman fort at Galava Gate, Ambleside.  Works include de-turfing, cleaning and consolidation of existing walls.  Phill, Adam, John and Bryan have worked with different volunteers over the past 15 days helping them with the consolidation work on the walls of the fort that were last excavated in 1913.  The work has been carried out in conjunction with archaeologist Jamie Lund. The event is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and forms part of the Windermere Reflections programme.