From the Radio Caroline website:
Ross Revenge Charity – Update and new total funds to date
When we last reported, £131,000 had been raised after the initial Crowdfunder Campaign. Since then more donations have regularly arrived and we have gratefully accepted bids for items of memorabilia that we keep discovering.
Thus the total has reached £200,000.
Better still due to pledges recently made totalling £15,000 and an estimate of income over Easter, we now set a new target of £250,000.
COSTINGS
At the point of seeking Lottery or other external funding, questions will at once be asked of costings for goods or tasks that we know will be required and which can be discovered in advance.
ANODES
All ships have or should have sacrificial metal anodes firmly attached to the hull so that the anodes decay and the hull thus does not.
Sacrificial Anode
Messrs M.G Duff are the major supplier of such goods and they have quoted us a figure a little under £10,000 for 50 anodes which will if properly attached, protect the hull for a decade. The placing of these items is a science and skill that we do not possess. If we place an order M.G.Duff will send a chart showing just where the anodes should be affixed. We will now ask for a pro forma invoice.
PAINT
Paint Spraying
A surveyor we have engaged has calculated the square footage of the hull from the keel to the top of the bulwarks, also the area of the rudder and propellor.
This has enabled Jotun Marine Coatings to calculate the amount of primer and top coat needed. The amount is 1700 Litres at a cost of £18,000 which by our calculation is less than half price. This being so the surveyor will now be asked to measure the area of the inner bulwarks, steel decks and superstructure in the event that we are able to increase the order.
TOWAGE
When nobody was paying us any attention, we have towed Revenge with tug boats having only 400 horsepower and the voyages were successful. Those happy days have ended, regulations are tighter and fuel costs have become enormous.
GPS Avenger
General Port Services who we have used before have quoted for a ‘top of the range ‘ tow using their vessel GPS Avenger, having 4000 horsepower. The price is £18,000 from Bradwell to Lowestoft and £29,000 to Hull. Remember, that is just one way and we need to come back. Again we will ask our surveyor how much pulling power is actually required, which will be accepted by the various agencies who will decide if we can depart. Maybe those costs can thus be reduced.
INSURANCE
Revenge has insurance but only to stay anchored in a fixed position. We paid an additional £500 for cover from Tilbury to Bradwell. With the passage of time and the fact that the Tilbury departure was only one way, we estimate ‘from’ £3000 to cover the next voyage.
ULTRA SOUND
Something we very much need to know is the thickness of the existing metal of the hull. The fact of Revenge having been built for such heavy duty work and that the owners specified thicker plating still, may work in our favour. We can have the metal ultra sound tested internally and externally in critical areas, also testing the sea chests and air bottles, for a modest £1000 as the surveyor is local and semi retired and he does tasks that interest him as a paying hobby.
This work will be done in April and frankly, we do not know what will be revealed.
QUALIFIED SURVEYING
In order to be allowed to leave Bradwell, Revenge will need to be put in to fit condition where a qualified surveyor having specified all tasks required and having confirmed them as having been done, will be prepared to issue a Towage Certificate. Without this none of the relevant marine agencies would let us leave and no tug skipper would take us. We have some experience of this from our preparations at Tilbury. It would be good to think, though it may be hopeful, that a one day survey may identify all requirements and a return visit to inspect the work. We cost this at £6000 + £3000 more for every additional day.
HULL PREPARATIONS
Water Blasting
The days of chipping hammers and needle guns are over and grit/sand blasting is falling out of favour. Dry blasting is mostly prohibited for health reasons. The new process is ultra high pressure water blasting. Not like the pressure washers one can buy from hardware shops, but a stupendous amount of pressure, deadly if you get in the way of it, but capable of removing all paint, rust and weed growth. A company, Tech Coatings are looking at this task but as it is for them a very big job they need to bring in another firm to assist. We do not as yet have a price.
HOUSE KEEPING
Ladder
We could choose and carry out random tasks on board, but as mentioned above these need to be prioritised by a professional. But now that better weather is approaching, some running repairs need to happen. A reliable means of boarding has been established with a rebuilt and strengthened ladder and steps for the tender for those who are not as agile as they once were.
Batteries
Of our many generating sets one is the generator of last resort, a big and old Lister Diesel indestructible and built like a brick ‘outhouse’. The start batteries had failed and may have been shorted out by debris falling on them from above. We’ve made a battery box with a lid, with the new batteries placed clear of the cold concrete floor. Lead acid batteries do not like being cold. The Lister now runs.
The power alternator on our Blue Perkins genset failed beyond repair. A new alternator has been obtained at reasonable cost and installed and the Parkins is useable now only that it needs a new exhaust box.
The massive M.A.N V12 generator has stood idle for decades, but since it is there it may as well run. There is a long story concerning this engine that will keep for another time, but work has commenced to make this useable, even for short periods.
When time permits we then start on the air compressors in the engine room as DC power is required and the Deutz and M.W.M generators are air start and presently we have no air.
This is our situation as of April 2024.
If you would like to help us you can donate to our charity Crowdfunder or enter one of our regular prize draws at rossrevengeofficial.com – you will be helping to preserve this important piece of broadcasting history for future generations. Every donation counts.
If you have donated to our appeal – Thank you.
