Andromeda’s Wheelhouse!

Andromeda’s wheelhouse was a great place to be!

Photo’s 1-6 show the wheelhouse as it was when we first brought Andromeda home to Fleetwood. There was a lot of redundant electronics to get rid of and a lot of work needed to make it look clean as it had been neglected for years but it was worth it in the end.

I used to love being up here – especially in summer!

The photo’s below shows how the wheelhouse looked after it was de-cluttered and cleaned up – I also had a new solid mahogany entrance door made (at a cost of £360 as it had to be a custom size due to it being so small!), stable door style so that we could open the top half only to let air circulate but keep the three Yorkies inside so that they didn’t wreak havoc on deck!

Scraping & Anti-Fouling Andromeda’s Bottom!

The growth and barnacles on the hull were scraped off using garden Hoe’s and the prop, kort nozzle and rudder were cleaned up using an angle grinder – a messy, smelly job but well worth it in the end!

The chap doing a balancing act on the long ladder is our friend Barry Hampson who owned a working Tug called ‘Seaport Alpha’ at the time.

Once the hull was prepared, it was painted with Anti-fouling paint then fitted with new anodes.

While the boat was out of the water I had a marine survey done by Geoff Heaps from the Liverpool area – which thankfully was very positive!

As you can see, Andromeda still has the name ‘Patricia Campbell’ painted on the hull.

Dirty Bottom!

Once Andromeda was on the slip-way we could see what we were up against – and it was surprisingly little!

Though there was some growth and barnacles on the hull, Rudder, Kort Nozzle & Propeller, the Oak planks were in very good shape and the seams below the waterline were for the most part intact and tight!

The substantial Keel was also in very good shape so we were pleasantly surprised considering the boat hadn’t been out of the water for a few years!

 

Out Of The Water!

Once the redundant fishing gear was removed it was time for Andromeda to come out of the water…

The Crew Quarters…

This is the room under the stern deck that used to be where the crew of up to eight fishermen would sleep.

There were eight coffin style bunks in here plus a table and seating so I would imagine it could have got a little claustrophobic – and smelly!

Access was via the ladder you can see in the photo, through quite a small hatchway which must have made things difficult if you needed to get in or out in a hurry!

These photo’s show the room stripped out and during the replacement of some deck planks.

Although it didn’t smell good, looked very dirty, was in need of a good clean and a paint job, the substantial oak frames and the timber joists were in good condition.

Heavy Metal!

Lifting the redundant heavy fishing gear off Andromeda.

In all we removed around 32 tons of steelwork which meant that Andromeda now weighed just over 64 tons!

Stern Roller & Deck Hatch

The stern roller and its housings were no longer needed so I cut them off with an angle grinder.

The deck hatch was beyond repair so I removed it and would later fit an aluminium top with a porthole set into it which would allow some natural light into the former crew quarters under the stern deck.

 

 

 

The Engine Room…

Andromeda’s spacious engine room.

Though the big Cummins 430 diesel engine looked in need of a good clean and a re-paint, it sounded so sw..e..e..e..t!

 

A New Floor For The Fish Hold…

The Floor of the fish hold was in a bad way so I replaced it with a double layer of 18mm water resistant chipboard, after first re-setting some of the joists that had worked loose.

The Galley – 2005

The Galley – before and during the time it was being stripped in 2005. This would later be converted to a Utility room.