Engines and Old Boats

-->

Old Boats

We managed to arrive in Chester with some extra time, so decided to continue on down the canal to the end of the Canal at Ellesmere Port, where the Shropshire Union Canal actually meets the ocean and where boats on the canal would have picked up their cargo to be taken in to the cities and towns in England. In its heyday this port would have been bustling with activity, but now the ships sail by to load trucks which replaced the trains which replaced the canal boats. The area now is occupied by condominiums, a large modern hotel, and The National Waterways Museum. Hearing good things from fellow boaters, we decided to visit the museum while in Ellesmere Port.

The museum is a rambling complex of over nine building housing different aspects  of Inland Waterways history. There is a stable, a blacksmith shop, a woodworking shop, a basin full of old boats, a general history building, and my favorite, the engine room.

Many of the old boats were in terrible shape, and many were full of water. At least two were

Living Space for Narrowboat Family

sitting at the bottom of the basin completely submerged. One caused me some concern as I drove into the basin and found a smokestack sticking out of the water, and metal pieces just below the surface where I needed to go. Apparently there is a plan to move these poor old boats into a building where they can be preserved. There were a couple of original old working boats which you could enter to get a feel of how the families working these boats lived. Where we use the entire 70 feet of boat for our three bedrooms, two baths and full galley and lounge, entire families lived in an area smaller than one of our bedrooms. They needed the rest of the boat for carrying cargo.

Fire it up!

Most of the old boats on site are way to far gone to be restored and will simply be preserved for display, but the engine room was a different story. Here, dedicated volunteers have lovingly restored old boat engines to perfect working condition. There was a rainbow of colours with engines of yellow, red, blue, turquoise, and even black. The brass and stainless glistened and although these old engines would have thrown oil and grease around as they pushed the boats along the canals, these were polished and shining. They have all been restored to perfect working condition and are run regularly. When I was wandering around admiring the engine artistry, a volunteer fired up a huge single cylinder diesel engine. Watching him run through a complicated series of steps to get the engine going, I was happy to know that our little four cylinder engine started with a simple turn of the key. Although I enjoyed all of the museum, this room was my favorite.

And now, you will be subjected to pictures of engines.

Rhythm of the Ship

The Noordam is a large ship, almost 1000 ft. long and 82,318 tons, with 11 guest decks, 6 restaurants, 10 lounges, two swimming pools, a gym, casino, sports court and duty free shops. Our room is like a nice hotel room, and dinner is served in a beautiful upscale dining room like a fine restaurant in any city. Although luxurious and comfortable, it is still an ocean going vessel making its way across vast amounts of water, and you are always aware that you are on a ship. But you quickly become accustomed to the rhythms of the ship.

Getting Ready to start Engines

Although we have had nice pleasant weather and calm seas, the ship still moves with the waves and rolling oceans. After a day or two you get used to it and learn to walk the decks and hallways without stumbling from side to side.

Everywhere you go, you hear and feel the rhythms of the ship. As well as being rocked to sleep by the motion of the ship, there is also the hum of the machinery from the AC unit cooling the room to the rumble of the engines deep under the room. The motion of the ship causes other little noises; our balcony door had a little squeak, that was mostly white noise rather than annoying, and on certain days at certain speeds and wind conditions, there was a constant rattle from a balcony down from ours.

As you walk the Promenade deck which goes completely around the ship (Three times equals one mile for the walkers), you get a variety of noises, from the rumble of the engines and propellers as you cross the open back deck looking down at the wake streaming out behind the ship, to the ventilation fans cleaning and circulating air throughout the ship.

When the ship is underway, there is a gentle constant vibration everywhere you go on the

The Atrium

ship caused by the massive engines generating power to run this floating town and to push the thousands of tons of steel through the ocean. The sounds increase when entering or leaving port or anchor, as the ropes are untied, anchor chains raised or thrusters activated to move the ship in the desired directions. We often leave port at dinner time and the hustle and bustle of getting hundreds of people efficiently fed can hide much of the initial movement and noise, but the sudden increase in the rumble under the ship as the propulsion pods push us away from the dock lets people know we are underway.

Loading the Tenders

If the seas get a bit heavier you get an additional sound added to the rhythm of the ship as, instead of slicing through the waves, the ship gets lifted on one swell and crashes into the next one sending a shudder through the entire ship. In very heavy seas this becomes a constant addition to the ship’s ongoing symphony of sound and motion.

Sunset at Sea

After a week on a cruise you get very comfortable with the ship’s rhythms, and the first day on land you miss the gentle motion and noise. I imagine that after 43 days at sea it will take a few days before I get a good night sleep without the ship rocking me to sleep.

Engines, Exhaust Pipes, and Oily drip Pans

Ok, so girls, you may not want to read this blog post. I’m afraid it is about my visit to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton Ontario, and I admit it, I love the engines, exhausts and oily drip pans. This one may not interest you.

On the way back from Niagara-on-the-lake I decided to stop at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum with my daughter’s significant other, Mark, who was really interested in visiting this attraction. It is a really nice museum featuring Canada’s aviation history with an emphasis on warplanes from the Second World War. What is interesting about this museum is that it is a working restoration and maintenance facility. As you walk around, you see the planes as they are being worked upon.

This is not a government museum, it is a charitable foundation started by two friends with a love of old planes. They started with a Fairey Firefly, that needed restoration, and now have over 40 planes in a hanger at Hamilton Airport. Their most significant airplane is a Lancaster bomber from world war two that is one of only two currently flying. Their mandate is to maintain a collection of aircraft from the second world war to the present, but a visit to their facility clearly shows that a strong emphasis has been placed on actually maintaining and flying these planes. Rather than sitting safely in a museum, the planes of the Canadian Warplanes Heritage Museum are used, the engines run, and they are flown on a regular basis.

As I walked around the museum, it was fascinating to see these planes being restored and maintained. One side of the museum is a working restoration facility, and you can see the planes in various stages of completion, and you can read about the trials and tribulations of the process. As I walked around, the huge Lancaster bomber was sitting in the middle of the hanger surrounded by people actively working on it. I watched as new tires and brakes were installed and the four massive Rolls Royce/Packard engines were exposed and being worked upon.

A closer look at the group of people working on the planes shows a mixed group of mostly older grey-haired airplane technicians, because although the foundation does have paid employees, 100% of the work done on these amazing planes is performed by volunteers doing it out of a love of Canada’s avation history. As I toured the facility I asked one gentleman who was cleaning a B25 Mitchell Bomber if the engines worked. He explained that any plane that had an oily drip tray under the engine could be started and flown. As I continued my tour I discovered that most of the planes had a dented oil stained metal tray under the engines. I was told that the Lancaster Bomber was being maintained for a transatlantic fright to England for a tour.

 

Interested in taking a flight? One way the foundation raises money to maintain the planes is to take people up for flights. The price varies depending on the plane, but I was told that someone had given over $200,000.00 to be on the Lancaster’s upcoming flight to England.