Baragoola 7th May 2011

In attendance: Nick, Peter C, Geoff E, Glen, Ernie, Gary, Mark T & Mark R Visitors: None This week we gathered donations of $110 and managed outlays of $0. So keep those (tax deductible

donations) coming in!

The blog site has closed and now redirects to our “Works” page – no more messiness! The blog was

simply the “guts” picked out of these newsletters with a few pictures and tended to be a month behind

anyway so this is better in the long run.

The first of the renewal forms have now gone out – you’ll be getting yours this week or next week, so

keep an eye out for them.

Unfortunately I couldn’t attend this weekend, so the information is “second hand” – thanks to Glen for

the pics and to Gary for some of the information provided.

I’m told Saturday started very cold but improved somewhat – maybe not too much as the guys are all

wearing sloppy joes! Not a bad turn-out for an off weekend either – thanks to all those who attended.

On to the work – Gary installed a small piece of electrical equipment that we purchased a few weeks

ago; small but very, very important. High on our wish list for some time has been an isolation

transformer for the shore power supply.

Simply, an isolation transformer does not have a direct electrical path from the power input side (shore)

to the power output side (Baragoola). This has several advantages and for the Baragoola the benefits

include increased safety for the volunteers whilst working on board and also minimising the potential

for stray galvanic currents causing hull corrosion and degradation of the protective anodes.

Some months ago quotes to source an isolation transformer were gathered but at over $1000 it was

determined in the order of importance that the transformer would have to wait. We were fortunate and

lucky to source an unused unit to our exact specification for approximately $350. The amount to

purchase this unit was generously donated by a member.

This weekend the unit was installed and proper reconfiguration of our power distribution system (to

MEN downstream of the isolation transformer with earth/hull bonding) means that all sub-circuits on

the Baragoola are now fitted with and protected by RCD's. Correct function with an RCD tester was

confirmed. As it also happened, a faulty fluorescent lamp unit was later plugged in and tripped the

corresponding RCD. This fluorescent unit may have proven either dangerous or a nuisance; previously a

faulty unit may have tripped the main shore protection, disabling supply to the Baragoola and also the

Cape Don, with a complicated reset procedure. Now it just tripped our sub-circuit.

The isolation transformer installed in its new home

It’s actually quite small – about the size of a case of wine but bloody heavy at 60kg – the weekend

before when it was bought onboard entailed the efforts of four men to bring it up.

All worth it in the long run however.

Also 'down-graded', rather than upgraded, this weekend was the main isolation switch at the shore inlet

fitting. Another previous inconvenience was the nuisance overload tripping of the breaker at our point-

of-supply aboard the Cape Don. Though manageable but annoying to the Cape Don volunteers when

they were present, it was always a possibility that if we 'tripped out' whilst the Cape Don was

unattended, we may have remained without supply. The scenario has been mitigated by downgrading

our main isolator breaker with a 16A unit so that peak loading will now trip on the Baragoola and not

elsewhere.

We had numerous 'tests' performed today that strangely coincided with cups of tea - with all below-

decks lighting on for a work day, each time the electric jug was turned on it would eventually trip the

main isolation breaker. Which is the desirable outcome, it is able to be reset by us. Gary had made a test

ammeter to measure our loads and this corroborated the tripping. Whilst we remain on the current

supply, we will always be limited to what we can operate at once. At least now we have the ability to

rapidly recover from these situations.

There is also on the agenda a change of the shore and auxiliary supply connections; a consolidated

switching arrangement to allow selection of the shore power or, in the event of its failure, the auxiliary

generator. It will also allow the auxiliary generator to be switched between supplying either the

Baragoola directly and accessories such as the hot water heater, welder or compressor - all without the

need to disconnect/reconnect any supply cables.

Glen set to complete the painting in the Ladies Salon; this area now has all its second coat of colour and

a trim applied and is finally looking like it used to forty odd years ago. The deck head remains to be done

in white – this will occur after repairs are effected to it upon which lighting will be installed as in the

main cabin.

Detail of Ladies Salon, starboard entrance showing colour scheme

The varnish on the windows remains to be done and brass handles re-installed on some of the windows.

As well, some work needs doing on some of the floor boards but overall a large amount of work has

been completed in here. Wiring is also temporary at this stage and will be done properly at a later date.

However, the changes are amazing compared to what it looked like a year ago – grubby and decrepit.

As it was in April last year

As it is now

Nick was at work in the shower – this was created from the removal of a toilet that once existed in this

area many years ago and the floor is uneven and didn’t drain properly. As a result the steel has been

damaged by rust along the bottom edges. A bag of cement was mixed up and applied to even the floor

out and allow water to drain properly once back in use. There may be a bit more to do but once

completed the damaged steel work will be repaired and the concrete floor painted up.

Original floor of the shower showing rust damage and wooden “plug” of old toilet pedestal

We haven’t done a huge amount of work up here beyond a little bit of remediation and some painting

but an effort will need to be made once we have our black water tank installed to re-plumb the out of

service toilets, trough and shower. So a bit of work for someone with plumbing skills!

Upstairs Mark R got stuck into oiling the loading ramps – some of these will require replacement wood

but as much as possible we’ll keep the original material, therefore we need to preserve these and the oil

will do that job for us. Mark also began the cream external painting in this area – we’ve “neglected” the

starboard side somewhat so this is good news as it means that people who look at our ferry from the

coal loader will have a much more pleasing view rather than old paintwork! This side has weathered less

well than the other side as it tends to not get as much sun to keep it dry. Conversely, the hull is in better

condition on this side as it doesn’t cop the waves.

Maybe we should turn her around!

Mark oiling the deck

What also hasn’t helped is that these ramps take a lot of the water run-off from the roof, at some stage

the original downpipes have been removed and replaced with ones in a different position. No doubt it

seemed like a good idea at the time but it has introduced problems. The PJ Company left nothing to

chance (and that’s evident throughout the boat) so in time we’ll have to reinstate the original drain

locations.

In the meantime much ongoing damage can be eliminated by careful preservation of the existing

material – we are replacing very, very little on the Baragoola and have been very fortunate thus far. You

may recall that NSW Heritage claimed that up to 65% of material on the boat would need to be

replaced, thus resulting in a “replica”. Fortunately this statement is patently and monstrously incorrect

and thus far nothing has had to be replaced – a fine testament to the skill of her builders and the quality

of the material used back in 1922.

Equally we have been fortunate in that much of the original paint colours are still there under layers of

latter paints which has aided us in having the tones faithfully reproduced – although it has to be said

that this one topic has produced much discussion and debate at times! Fortunately for us, Geoff E is a

stickler for the details and has been able to determine what needs to be used and more importantly,

exactly where it needs to be used as well.

As usual work was also done downstairs with Geoff plugging away at cleaning back the hull. He used this

weekend to also apply another coat of Rustmaster in the battery compartment – an area that he

vacated and was taken over by Ernie for use as his workshop. And Ernie looks completely at home down

there working on some piece of equipment or another.

This week Geoff had some assistance from Mark T with the cleaning up work, great to see others helping

out with this all-important work.

Geoff in the control room

The above picture also shows some of Baragoola’s steam heritage; immediately to the right of Geoff’s

head is a round patch – this is a blanking plate over the old space where an outlet pipe used to go. There

are many of these reminders in the under deck areas scattered throughout the ship and we are

fortunate that her conversion was done “on the cheap” as they give us much material that can be used

to interpret her various phases.

Other locations on the bulkheads also show where various pipes used to be that are no longer there and

of course the biggest reminder is in the engine room where the old coal bunkers are now the diesel

tanks.

Mark cleaning in the control room, note the partially disassembled air compressor beside him

Ernie continues to do amazing work and has done some absolutely meticulous restorations of

Baragoola’s electrical equipment, he very obviously enjoys his time on the boat and it’s wonderful to

have him there doing the work he does. Mostly he and the other engine crew disappear for the day and

only surface during lunch and cuppa breaks and this weekend was no different with he, Peter and Gary

working to solve the mysteries of the vintage switchboard – a job now made a little easier as I’ve

managed to get access to the ferry’s operations manuals and have started transcribing them for the

guys – in fact these came in useful this weekend as Peter was able to use the information in one of them

to solve a problem he’d noted with one of the generators.

You may recall that some attention has been given to the air compressor. We are planning on removing

the old tank as it’s suspect, but the motor and starting equipment will remain in place and be put back

into service – the tank is one of the rare items where we have decided to replace an existing item; it has

been left to the elements for over twenty years and represents a safety risk so it has to go.

The new tank will be slightly smaller and installed in the same place – this will have to go through the

access hatch in the deck above and the old tank will go out the same way – the logistics of doing this will

be rather interesting when the time comes but I have faith that our ever ingenious work crew will work

it out – they always do!

One of the things that Ernie has recently restored is the controller for the air compressor – here are the

shots.

Before….

…. and after

All in all a good day with much accomplished by the team.

Next working day is next Saturday, 21st of May which is an “on” weekend for us, so we’re looking for a

good turnout.

Contact Nick, myself or Glen for pickup on the day from our usual spots at Greenwich and Waverton..

If you’re coming don’t forget to bring lunch – we provide tea, coffee, cold drinks and fresh fruit to all

volunteers on board.

Don’t forget – all donations above two dollars are now tax deductible – see our website for details on

how to donate.

That’s it for this week – don’t forget you can keep up with all the latest on our forums at

http://www.savethebaragoola.com/forum/index.php and you can see our old newsletters at

http://www.savethebaragoola.com/works.html

Show your support!

We’re pleased to announce some additions to our range of collectable items.

All items can be ordered by sending an email to help@savethebaragoola.com with the following details:

Your name Postal address Size (for clothing) and quantity Your contact phone number All items will be sent with an invoice payable within 30 days.

White T-shirt, printed with Baragoola’s build year and our web address, available in white cotton only in

sizes S, M, L, XL & XXL. Price is $22 including delivery.

SS Baragoola – Baragoola as built in 1922, white coffee mug.

Price $25.80 including delivery – available now.

SS Binngarra (class vessel), white coffee mugs.

Price $25.80 including delivery – available now.

MV Baragoola – Baragoola near the end of her public life, white coffee mug.

Price $25.80 including delivery – available now – limited edition.

Coming soon will be a range of mugs featuring the current four Manly ferries. The price for these is the

same as the current stock and you can pre-order if you wish.

Specify which you want – Freshwater, Narrabeen, Queenscliff or Collaroy.

These should arrive between four to six weeks from now.

Designs will be the same as our current range.

And also coming soon – a new range of calendars similar to those released last year but for the financial

year 2011-2012.

These are printed on high quality thick glossy A4 card and will feature several views of the internal and

exterior of Baragoola. Only twenty were printed last time and they went quickly so it would be a good

idea to pre-order now to avoid disappointment!

Price will be $30 including postage.