Today we had a membership application from Andrzej Orwolski. Andrezj served on the Explorer in 1974 where he was schooled in the science of fishery research by Mr Craig, Mr Forbes and Bill Dickson. He has kindly given us permission to use his photographs on the website and they are fantastic. But I am going …
The Citadel Arts Group living memory project are asking for people with memories and photos of the SS (FRV) Explorer to contact me either through lizhare@blueyonder.co.uk or through our web site. So far we have memories from 2 scientists- John and Doug Beverage, a cook and a galley boy, Terry Liddell so we need trawler …
The Marine Laboratory in Torry has gifted us some hat tallys from Explorer’s time in service. We will need to obtain a couple of sailor caps to fit them to. Hello Sailor!
A lady who is publishing a bit about Explorer in a book (Secret Edinburgh. An Unusual Guide), asked for a photograph of what she rather charmingly called the “Talking Funnel”. So she got one. Here is the talking funnel!
Today we finished putting a coat of primer on our corroded deck. Next step is an interim measure to keep the boat dry by sealing the perforations with this.—->
Check out the status board Captain. In my days at sea the blackboard was king. It never crashed, and as long as it was updated, never by WiFi it worked fine. Anyway here’s the mysterious thing. I have an O level in marine engineering and I can decode quite a lot of this, but…… Everything …
Today’s geekery involves the Stream-line lubricating oil filter. It filtered the oil from the two main generators. Manufactured by Stream-line Filters LTD. Hele-Shaw Works Ingate Place, London, SW8
On the first of November, five Explorer volunteers visited the Scottish Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen. The marine lab scheduled the science that Explorer was tasked with. John Dunn, ex-chief scientist on Explorer gave us a tour. The net shop is the last remaining in Aberdeen. Here, rolls of net are assembled into a trawl net. …
The Explorer has two Kent screens (or clear view screens) in the wheelhouse. The Kent screen is a device where the glass is rotated at high speed to force water of by centrifugal force. Other manufacturers are about but the Kent was much used in UK ships.
In February 2017 we installed zinc sacrificial anodes on steel wire to help protect the hull against corrosion. These work because oxidants, which corrode metals, will oxidize the zinc anode rather than the protected metal structure, thus preventing the structure from being corroded. Every now and again we have to land the anodes to remove …
Today we needle gunned and soda blasted a small area of the monkey island. We then applied marine primer. It obviously won’t fix the leaks, but we are hoping it will provide a corrosion barrier before we do plug the leaks.
Todays bit of of geekery is the High Frequency Direction Finder, abbreviated HFDF and often referred to as the hufffduff. It’s function was to determine the bearing of a radio transmitter on the high frequency band which is in the range of 3 to 30 megahertz. This is the range that ship’s medium and long …
……..to Scott Crearie for his very generous donation of £10,000 to the societies coffers. This is by far the biggest donation since the original purchase of Explorer by the society. Thank You Scott.
Another bit of historical geekery, the Megger. In these days of practically anything and everything being “Mega”, the Megger was eponymously named as it’s purpose was to measure electrical resistance in the range of “megohms”, a megohm being one million ohms, which is a lot. It was often used as a practical joke device whereby …
Today’s geekfest is the Avometer. Although this one was donated by our late friend Brian Murdoch, it is a racing certainty that a similar instrument would have been used by the engineers and radio officer on board the Explorer. The AVO in the name stands for Amps, Volts and Ohms which is precisely the electrical …
The thrust meter measures the thrust at the thrust block using a hydraulic ram to get a pressure reading.
A ship’s telegraph was used to transmit engine orders from the wheelhouse to the machinery spaces. Unfortunately the wheelhouse and engine room telegraphs on the Explorer have been purloined leaving only the stokehold instrument. The wheelhouse would use a handle to position the telegraph to order the desired speed. A bell would ring in the …
Geek alert! The SS Explorer’s type 21 Decca Navigator. In the days before satellite navigation, Decca ruled the roost for short range navigation. Land based transmitters, a master and three slaves would form a “chain” located around the area. These would transmit on discrete frequencies from 70 to 130 kHz. Special charts with a Decca …
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17830384.ss-explorer-seeks-help-tourist-attraction-plan/
We were visited by these guys today. They took a coach up from North Shields and had a cuppa and a tour of the boat. Michael Smith, one of their number, presented us with a fabulous sketch of the Explorer in action. Thanks for visiting.
…….. hard labour on the monkey island today saw the remnants of the wooden decking removed. The big top it turns out makes an excellent greenhouse and all the troops were sweating like a glassblowers bum. We are now ready for phase 3, when we have worked out what phase three is.
Six months after starting this project we have hit milestone number two. The wooden decking is removed (bar a few details). A couple of big holes in the deck above the radio officer’s cabinet which has been badly affected by water. Now we can see why. Next stage is to remove all the corrosion before …
Another ex crew member visited today. Alex Maine came to share some of his memories of his time on the Explorer.
Today we were visited by Donald Ballance, a scientist on Explorer between 1966 and 1974. Here is a photo of him then and a photo of him now. His tour was more informative for the volunteer conducting it that for him.
After some appalling weather, both wind and rain, the big top seems to be doing its job. There is dampness due to blowing rain and slight leaks but nothing is penetrating to the interior. More progress made today and we now have around a third of the deck up. It’s a slog. And rain and …
Our newly painted main deck passage which Jim Duff has been beavering away at for a week or three.
Today, after fettling the Big Top we began assessing a repair strategy for the deck of the monkey island which has been leaking rainwater, damaging the internal fabric of the ship. We began by developing a method of removing the planking without damaging the aluminium structure. Some of the wood is rotten and crumbles but …
Port and Starboard Diesel Tanks Both these tanks were inspected visually through the manhole doors on 260119. The starboard tank is in relatively good condition and the port tank has light surface corrosion. The port tank is not currently considered suitable for fuel storage.
The big top pretty much complete except at the aft end. Will have to consider if we have enough Monarflex to do the remaining unshielded parts. Should keep most of the water off the deck and out of the accommodation. Turns out it consumed many more man hours than I had imagined. Hoping to start …
A bit of a windy one today and testing the mettle of the Big Top. It is standing up so far but requires tweaking and maintenance. Also we have still to shield the forward and after ends, but we are awaiting delivery of further anchors and clamps. When we had run out of tent tweaks, …
Starting to get some shelter for the monkey island now. Another day or two hard labour should see this finished.
One step forward…….. Started covering the tent poles today. Unfortunately due to a rookies error, the poles are too far apart. The blue reinforcing pads should be aligned with the poles. Doh! So we have lowered the main stay ready to saw some pipe on Tuesday. 👍
Rigging for a tent over the Monkey Island taking shape. When complete it will allow us to repair the leaking deck over the winter.
Today, Andy carried out a long overdue oil change and filter clean on the harbour generator. Around 20 litres of oil and 2 litres of water sludge were drained and the sump cleaned with rags. Fresh oil added snd the save all cleaned.
A message from the Chairman of the SS Explorer Preservation Society Brian Murdoch It is with a very heavy heart that I must let you know that our good friend, Brian Murdoch has died. Following a period where he struggled against a form of blood cancer he succumbed to an infection he was unable to …
The main deck starboard side has been a slip and trip hazard for a very long time due to deterioration of the wood and is very slippery in the wet. Today we had donated some nice wooden planks which we have laid down the deck and covered with mesh to make a nice safe walkway. …
Continuing my adventures in the lookshoory superyacht Síbín, I find myself in Kingston upon Hull, or ‘ull as the locals say. ‘ull is home to the Arctic Corsair, a motor trawler built in 1960 in Beverley. She is now a visitor attraction on the River ‘ull, and she is about to receive a massive cash …
Yesterday I visited the above attractions in Grimsby. These provide a bit of a template to a possible future for the SS Explorer. The Ross Tiger has been opened up internally to allow visitors a reasonably easy tour although she is not suitable for people of reduced mobility. The heritage centre is …
National Fishing Heritage Centre and MV Ross Tiger Read More »
SS Explorer Preservation Society – Annual General Meeting 7 July 2018 Chairman’s Report Since my last update, given at last year’s AGM, many things of note have happened: One of our most important tasks is building the organisation in order that we can be seen as credible in the eyes of potential funders and we …
SS Explorer Preservation Society – Annual General Meeting Saturday 7 July 2018 at 12 midday for a start at 12.15 Leith Docker’s Club, 17 Academy Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 7EE Agenda 1. Welcome & Introductions 2. Apologies for absence 3. Minutes of previous AGM 4. Matters Arising 5. Chairman’s Report – Andy Marjoribanks 6. Treasurer’s …
Today, we are delighted to welcome on board our newest volunteers, Halina Pasiecznik and Steve Ball. Welcome to the view from your window Halina and Steve.
I have been asked to publicise some events by the above organisation. Friends of The Maritime Heritage Trust Forthcoming Visits 30 June 2018 – Richmond Historic and ceremonial river craft and gentlemen’s yachts. The day will include behind the scenes visits and traditional boat trips on the Thames. Further details – meet at Richmond Bridge …
Forth Ports hosted an open day at the docks today taking visitors on a tour of the port in vintage buses. Never one to miss an opportunity, our chairman Andy organised for the buses to stop at the SS Explorer while he boarded and gave a short talk and passed out publicity material. A guestemated …
When Explorer was under construction in Halls shipyard in 1955, another vessel was under construction in Hall Russel at the same time. This ship was to be the Sir William Hardy, a fishery research vessel commissioned by the the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Unlike Explorer, she was a diesel electric vessel and suffered …
What connects the SS Explorer to the Rainbow Warrior? Read More »
…on the Explorer. We were visited by five people from Epoch Design (.co.uk) who were given a partial tour (due to their time constraints) and tea and bikkys. Mean while, in the fishroom, work continues to make a workshop space by the building of a workbench by our highly skilled craftsmen. A wee …
Today we hosted a couple of tours of the SS Explorer. The larger group were procurement professionals from the Northern Irish, Welsh and Scottish governments. And a net gain of three new members. Tours are always available through info@ssexplorer.org
Work continues on making the fishroom into a workshop with the installation of power and lighting, and the purchase of a £50 air compressor from Lidl.
Just came across this nice little drawing
Some of the SS Explorer crew visit the Maid of the Loch.
…….fishroom deck painted. May god bless her and all those who walk on her.
Today, Andy, Jim and Phil manned our stall at Leith market. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Colin, Emma and our newest member Alexander “Chen” Chenery got on with painting the fishroom. Top coat of the white pretty much complete. Green anti-slip deck painting to do. Duncan in the meantime continued repairs to the lavvy ashore …
Today the society set out its stall at the Ship Ahoy event on board the tall ship Glenlee in Glasgow. Various exhibitors partook including model makers, Skylark IX, Falls of Clyde, Caledonian MacBrayne to name a few. Jim Charlie and I fielded a lot of enquiries. Time will tell if we get any new members …
Today George Slesser took a trip down memory lane visiting the Explorer. George served on Explorer as a scientist and he is pictured here in the lab and in the cabin he occupied.
…….one old and one not so old. Courtesy John Dunn.
Folks from the Granton Hub which we visited two weeks ago having a wee neb at the stokehold.
Charlie Blyth and Colin Williamson finished undercoating the fishroom today while Duncan topped up the daily use tank and manufactured a wheelkey.
Tonight Jim Duff and I went along to the Granton Hub where a talk was being given on William Speirs Bruce. A jolly good talk about a Scottish explorer of whom few people have heard. We took our publicity display and received a lot of interest with a dozen people signed up to visit the …
A piece of stationery was discovered today hiding in a telephone and being used as insulation. A bit of Leith history. Menzies and Co. was a very old Shipbuilding business in Leith which was bought by Henry Robb Ltd. in 1963. In other news, Jim and Duncan fitted a new tarpaulin over the funnel to …
Duncan and Jim working on making the monkey island waterproof. In the meantime I serviced the AC generator engine. After that worked on getting some undercoat on the fishroom.
Another mention. Thanks to Phil Harley.
We have long been aware that the money island leaks. It is an aluminium deck partially clad with wooden decking. The wood is rotten in places and corrosion in the aluminium is allowing water in. After the recent heavy snow followed by the diluvian downpour on Saturday, the ingress of water was seen to be …
We are delighted and honoured to announce that Sir Andrew Cubie CBE has agreed to become a Patron of the SS Explorer Preservation Society. The list of Andrew’s past achievements and positions is too long to list here so I will ask the Scottish Cancer Foundation to help out. Sir Andrew Cubie CBE Welcome aboard …
Located in the captain’s cabin, this key cupboard has no longer any keys to store.
The original radar equipment as fitted to the Explorer when new is long gone having been updated probably more than once during her long career. Phil Harley has done some research for us and he believes that the Marconi Mk IV equipment shown was the original fit.
In a trawler as opposed to a research vessel the fishroom would take up much of the fore part of the ship and would be filled with ice and hopefully with fish at the end of a voyage. Explorer has two fishrooms, the port one is accessible only from the deck and is equipped with …
Andy and I needle gunning rust and paint from the fish room. It is intended that this space will become a workshop and storeroom. PPE or what?
[pdf-embedder url=”https://ssexplorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Bygones.pdf”]
Some photos by Andy of me disappearing down a hole to take some photos. Going. Still going. Aye going yet. Are we there yet? Just round the next corner. Gone.
Why Steam? The Explorer was powered by steam , because her operational requirements were more easily met by the use of steam. Yes diesel electric and straight diesel were around when she was being built, but neither could compete when it came to noise and vibration. A research vessel then as now has to be …
Why Steam? Further to my last, an update courtesy of John Dunn Read More »
Why was the Explorer powered by a triple expansion steam engine when contemporary trawlers were being powered by diesel engines? This is a question which has vexed us here at the SSEPS for years. A couple of bits of information have revealed themselves over the past few days which give rise to a theory. First …
Herring larval surveys on Explorer One of the jobs which the Explorer did regularly throughout her service career were surveys in the North Sea and up and down the West Coast trying to determine the potential density of herring. It is almost impossible to overstate how important the herring was and indeed still is to …
As told by Jim Duff. A bit out of date but interesting if you like ships. To see the blog properly, click the pop out icon at the top right. [gview file=”https://ssexplorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/SS-Explorer-Preservation-Society.docx”]
First job of the day was Jim preparing sandwiches for our distinguished visitors. Muggins here spent a couple of hours removing corrosion from the smokebox prior to carrying out a boiler survey on Tuesday. Going by the condition of the smokebox, it doesn’t look good, but I shall dive inside on Tuesday armed with a …
The crew of the SS Explorer would like to extend our thoughts and sympathy to the friends and relatives of Duncan MacDougall and Przemek Krawczyk who are missing after the Tarbert fishing vessel Nancy Glen foundered in Loch Fyne on Thursday 18th January.
Yesterday we welcomed George Wood who came all the way from Aberdeen by bus to visit the Explorer. His father was a Chief Engineer on-board. George tells us that when the ship was doing research on currents and tides the Explorer used to deploy buoys with tags on them. When they were subsequently gathered in …
For around twenty years, the Edinburgh Dock in The Port Of Leith has been home to the SS Explorer. I suspect none of the volunteers on the SS Explorer realise how much the dock has changed over the years. I certainly didn’t. One of the potential plans for a permanent berth for Explorer was the …
Ship’s plans and drawings have been uploaded for the delectation of geeks and engineers and geeky engineers. Plans and Drawings
I came across this document during a trawl (gerrit?) of the internet for FRV Explorer stories. It describes one aspect of Explorer’s (And FRVs Clupea and Mara) research and although it contains some hard sums, there are also some pretty drawings. Enjoy. A Net Drag Formula for Pelagic Nets
Some cleaning and water damage repairs were carried out today but the main task was to clear the starboard fish room with a view to descaling and painting in the hope of converting into a workshop/storage area. It had developed into a bit of a dumping area for all sorts of rubbish. Some large pieces …
By Jim Duff [docxpresso file=”https://ssexplorer.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Radio-Room-Clock.odt” comments=”true”]
Topping up the diesel daily use tank was a laborious task involving 20 minutes on a semi rotary hand pump. Andy, our illustrious chairman was undertaking this task today when he noticed this. And this. So we fired up the harbour generator, opened the appropriate valves and gave it a go. And it worked! 20 …
Popped down to check the moorings given 50kt gusts off the berth. All secure. 👍
Contemporary photos Nerd album
I have finally got round to making a photo gallery. This is the first one of “In Service” photos. More will hopefully follow when I get enthused. Click here to see.
Festive buffet on the SS Explorer today courtesy of Jim Duff. Sorry to have missed this alcohol fuelled extravaganza. 🍷😜🤪
Our own John Dunn narrates this short documentary about the FRV Scotia’s, one of Explorer’s successors role in marine research.
Team Brass Monkeys pushing the cause of the SS Explorer in Leith Market.
It would seem that our venerable old lady was used to spy on the Russian navy in her day. Commander John Ian Steven Obituary We have it on good authority that signals intelligence was her primary role. The 007 of the Northern Seas.
It would seem that our venerable old lady was used to spy on the Russian navy in her day. Commander John Ian Steven Obituary We have it on good authority that signals intelligence was her primary role. The 007 of the Northern Seas.
Jim and Maggie busy cleaning the labs today. I laid a bit more anti slip netting before skiving off for a tour of the Apache II pipe-laying vessel, one of our neighbours. I think Explorer could pretty much fit in Apache’s navigating bridge. After that back to help Charlie fit a lamp in …
Liberated various items from the Vos Raasay and the Vos Islay which are being broken up in Leith Docks. Various light fittings, cleaning chemicals, lifebuoys and sundry other items. Thanks to Dale marine for allowing us to scrounge.
Must be close to a record with ten volunteers on the SS Explorer today. A fair bit of cabin cleaning achieved today. Also the port side ladder to the boat deck was welded on with our new welding machine. The ladder has been awaiting this for more than two years! At …
A link has been added to the bottom of this page to give a flavour of life on a contemporaneous Granton trawler. Check it out and thank your god that you don’t have to live that life.
Today we had a new carpet laid in the saloon which is now looking very plush.
Check out a new page with an article from the Press and Journal about the computer. The Computer
Some photos of a recent visit to the SS Explorer by a group of retired Salvesen mariners.
After hosting a visit on Explorer by crew members of the pipe laying vessel Apache II, they responded in kind by hosting a tour of their vessel.
Jim proudly surveys his concrete handywork as the battle against water leakage continues.
…..removed from the saloon pending laying of a nice new one.
……overhauling the starting air valve for the harbour generator.
A wee poppy on the dockside. Also Explorer moved a metre north to keep new gangway clear of the Armco barriers.
Another cement box over perforated boat deck deck. 99% of water ingress now stopped 😀
Courtesy Rob Newman. Thanks to Chris Claydon.
Gangway to the boat deck kindly donated by the guys at Forth Ports.
…the story of the SS Explorer on our media page.
Civil engineering on boat deck complete. Hoping for reduced ingress of rain water.
After much searching we believe that water leakage into the mess room and engine room is largely originating from the corroded base of this ventilator. So in accordance with merchant navy tradition it will be repaired temporarily with a cement box. Photographed is Jim’s shutter joinery skills.
A couple of DC lights in our rapidly improving saloon were not working so fuses found blown along with a couple of lamps. One dark lamp remaining to fix. One of the pieces of Explorer’s history which we thought we lacked photos of were the lay-up years in the Cromarty Firth. Today we noticed this …
A drawing of the proposed replacement of the FRV Explorer surfaced on board the old girl today.
A modest turn out for the society’s Annual General Meeting. Attending were: front row left to right Charlie Blyth, Bob Harley, Andy Marjoribanks, Colin Williamson, Derek Learmont. Back row, Alan Hush, Jim Duff, Cron Mackay, Simon Sawers, Brian Murdoch, Alastair Goodman, Emma Fraser and Bill Fallon.
The Society had a presence at both these events over two weekends raising the profile and a wee bit of money.
Caravan all packed up for the trip to Castle Fraser tomorrow. First thing in the morning I’ll be picking up the newly designed posters and fliers that have been designed by Deborah Mullen DEBORAH-MULLEN.COM Meeting up with Brian on Saturday to man the Explorer stand and hopefully attract some followers and sponsors. Weather’s …
A busy day on the Explorer. Ingress from the storm last week had brought the bilge levels up. So two of our pumps were rigged in series to take the bilge water to a slop tank. Charlie made progress on the mate’s cabin deck light. And a major leak was attended to …
A quiet Saturday on the Explorer. Mooring lines a bit slack so tensioned up. Inspection of the ship after this revealed serious water ingress from the recent rain into the mate’s cabin through the decklight. The decklight has been removed along with the rotten wood in it’s cofferdam. Covered up but fairly urgent …
All that rain on Tuesday (60mm+) revealed a few leaks in the superstructure – one behind the Ruston powered harbour generator sounded like Niagra – even above the noise of the generator. Andy found a scuppers drain pipe that was blocked and another that seemed to have a completely burst pipe. The first was cleared …
A bit of time has passed since the last blog but things are progressing. The AC generator has been problematic with AVR issues eventually solved and then a persistent over speeding issue which is hopefully now solved. A lot of internal cosmetic work has been carried out by various members, including repairing the mess room …
Most of the decklights have been refurbished and refitted making the ship a bit more weatherproof. AC generator has been behaving itself over the last four weeks so fingers crossed it is now reliable. It was also recently serviced. Work is in progress to get the saloon up to standard with various bits of joinery …
Dog repairs continue. New surplus vent trunking on deck dismantled to make tidy. Galley cooker work continues. Two floodlights installed in ER. Further work to do. Fire detector fitted at ER entrance. Further detector to be installed above AC gen. Fire extinguishers restowed in accordance with advice received.
Our thanks to Technip and the crew of the MV Orelia. Orelia is currently de-equipping in Leith prior to her last voyage to be dismantled. The Company and the Chief Engineer have been kind enough to allow the SS Explorer to repurpose and recycle some of their stores. Among other things, our engine room will …
Director’s “Away Day” Whiteboards and scones and resolving the life of SS Explorer.
Hatch dogs and galley work progress. After peak tank drained and inspected.
Port fresh water tank partially filled to improve list and trim of vessel. Ballast tank vented and inspected. Galley floor cooker base screeded. Still to complete. Work on tidying quayside continues. Work on hatch dogs continues.
Forepeak ventilated and inspected. Approx 100kg of debris (corrosion and cement) removed. Tank filled with fresh water. Work started on securing hatch dogs.
Alternator room bilges dried out and various wet packaging and debris removed. FW tank bulkheads at fore end in poor condition.
The SS Explorer Preservation Society is a charity registered in Scotland. SC023518
The SS Explorer Preservation Society is a Private Limited Company No 156992
