Saltersford to Yarwoods

After a short stay at Acton bridge over the the Easter holiday, CRT swung the bridge open for us and Safe Hand continued up the River Weaver. Our next stop was Saltersford Locks lower mooring.   Engineering works to the sluice mechanism prevented the lock from being cycled, and despite being near completion as we arrived, complications arose and this picturesque mooring wound up as base camp throughout the summer of 2019.



Without access to dock facilities, decent surface preparation is not practical, so the worst of the scale is scraped off and a thick coat of Jotun marine primer gets applied.  This rough and ready paint job will prevent further deterioration during conversion, and I won't mind if it gets a bit scuffed up during the heavy work still to come.


Topcoat begins to transform Safe Hand's rust streaked appearance, and also serves as a declaration of intent to restore. Several passers by had commented on her shabby looks, and some pictures turned up in the 'Wrecks and Relics' section of ShipSpotter.com


As many lines out as we can manage, since the bollards at this location are intended for narrow boats and small pleasure craft, and can easily be plucked from the ground by a vessel this size.
Showing her new colour scheme. The blue came out a little lighter than intended, but this can be rectified in a few years time when the quality paint goes on.



Along with painting, the chopped up remains of the aft tank were still on board. Approximately 15 tonne of plate and girder.
  Deliberately retained on board for ballast in case the Mersey crossing was choppy, this steel can now make it's way to the local scrap yard. Many thanks to Rob for helping me haul this stuff up, out, and along to my van.

The restored steamer Daniel Adamson is a regular sight along this stretch of river.



Underway again - Once through Saltersford locks, arrangements were made with CRT to swing the the three road bridges, and one footbridge on the way to Yarwoods Basin.
Opening a 19th Century swing bridge with worn bearings required the attendance of a full M&E team. In full working order, this bridge can be cycled in less than 10 minutes, however its current state requires super slow operation, which caused some significant traffic disruption. We even made the local news.

In an attempt to minimise traffic disruption, we tied up in between the two Northwich bridges to allow traffic to clear.





Arriving at her new home, almost exactly where she was launched 70 years ago!

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