Monday 25 March 2019

Monmouth - No problem!




Thursday 21st March 2019 was an epic day for Wye Invader Two, after several years of planning, the conditions were just right to attempt a journey to Monmouth Rowing Club. After 5 months winter maintenance and having only just gone back into the water the night before, she set off for Portishead….


Wye Invader Two arrived in Portishead to wait for the tide to return later that day, it was then a quick trip across the River Severn turning left into the mouth of the River Wye, onto Chepstow, then to Brockweir and finally Llandogo for the night, arriving just after dusk the same day. On Thursday at 08.00am she set off for Redbrook and then Monmouth, arriving in Monmouth at 11.00am that day after battling severe flood water under Monmouth Bridge. Video footage was taken on the journey and will be available soon - Keep watching the website for details. In the meantime here's a taster from still images taken by the crew.




To see more photos see the Wye Invader Two News page

Friday 15 March 2019

Finishing touches



The area where the 3 trestles supported Wye Invader Two, had their first bitumen coat applied in February, they have now had a second and final coat. The weed hatch was also removed, sanded down and repainted with bitumen, the rubber seal was cleaned, gasket sealer applied on both sides and then the weed hatch was replaced.

 

The starter motor is often forgotten, in the case of Wye Invader Two it only took 10 minutes to remove, put in a bag and have checked at an auto electricians, there was problem and it has cost just a few pounds to fix, that’s got to be better than the starter motor not working when you are in the middle of nowhere, the starter is back on the engine and checks out all working correctly.

By Thursday, most of the job list had been completed and it was time to clean the interior and refill the water tank, now it’s just a final full check before we are back in the canal.

 



Sunday 3 March 2019

Nearly all finished!



Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th February 2019

The main fuel pipe from the in-line fuel filter to the diesel injector pump was replaced and the diesel low pressure ‘leak off’ pipe from the injectors back to the injector pump has also been replaced.

The diesel fuel filter was been changed and the in-line water separator has also been cleaned, resembled and checked for leaks, which is fairly important as Wye Invader spends a lot of time on the Severn Estuary.

Coolant antifreeze leak - one of the hoses was replaced, the system topped up and checked and the engine run up to pressurise the system, there are no leaks at the moment after 3 days and the coolant level in the pressure tank has stayed the constant.


Finally, the engine was washed down with hot water after it had been degreased with an oil solvent.

 

On Wednesday, the 3 trestles used to support Wye Invader were moved to allow the remainder of the baseplate to be cleaned of bitumen and rust and then repainted with a coat of fresh bitumen, along with the hull which had it’s final coat.

A busy 2 day’s but summer is on it’s way and we still have the 5 anodes to replace and some rust spots areas in the engine bay to sort out.