Posted by Peter Willis on April 02, 2002 at 22:52:47 from 195.92.67.65:
The internal affairs of the Nancy Blackett Trust, or indeed of Nancy herself, rarely surface on Tarboard, and I've been away from it myself long enough to miss the start of the various threads below.
Now we all know a bit more about scarphing, sistering and suchlike, I think it's an opportune moment to supply an update on Nancy's condition and correct one or two inadvertent inaccuracies in the Jibbooms and Bobstays report.
Firstly, after further investigation, which took place as the mag was being printed, it turned out that not three but eight ribs were cracked. The theory about the Scarborough car has now been discounted (I was never all that convinced by it anyway, given that it fell as I understood more amidships, and Mike Rines would be hardly likely to have missed them). In fact - or so it's reported to me - the timbers have ben doubled (or sistered) but what has happened is exactly what someone describes in an earlier message - the stresses have been displaced and have reoccurred - possibly encouraged (at least in my belief) by the additional weight and vibration of the larger engine.
In the end, it turned out there wasn't too much wrong with the engine, but obviously it was fortunate we'd hoisted it out. We also took the opportunity to examine the keel-bolts under the engine. Their condition prompted us to have the rest drawn (pulled out to look at)and we have now replaced them all - nine in total (Nancy has a very long keel.
All this extra work has inevitably added to the cost of winter maintenance, by about £3,000. We don't exactly mind, since what we're here for is to look after Nancy, and it's good to catch problems while they can be corrected. But it has stretched our finances somewhat, so if anyone reading this feels moved to join the Trust, or contribute to the cost, we - and Nancy - would be extremely grateful. It occurs to me the corroded keelbolts would make an interesting souvenir - their "replacement cost" is around £100 each. Any offers?