Hi Folks
Whilst some of you know about the progress of Frances Ann's refit I expect most of you will have forgotten all about her. The refit is coming closer to completion, i.e. the jobs list will probably fit on one page now, which has pleased my Dearly Beloved. I will skip the family politics, but she asked for a current photo of the boat since a number of her friends wondered what it looked like. Herewith the attempt to get it all in one frame:
The attachment FA in the garage 1 (600 x 450).jpg is no longer available

- FA in the garage 1 (600 x 450).jpg (73.26 KiB) Viewed 2976 times
The main changes that have occurred are the plumbing in of the condenser and the addition of a tiny hot well. The larger water separator, for use when puffing, has been replaced with a rather lighter one (the 'mahogany' sausage on the front of the boiler). The boiler casing has been radically altered so that it now possible to remove the two 'shoulders' of the casing and get at the tubes with a brush. I doubt if that is visible with the low res photo. Revising the brass strap fixings has enabled the cylinder drain pipes to be brought forward to a position on the side of the boiler casing where one can operate the taps. Thinking taps, the Windermere Kettle has also been installed in the saloon just right for a warm brew on a wet day when mooring and retiring to the saloon has greater appeal than braving the wind and rain.
Of course we will have to see if all these changes work out when steam is raised.
Regards
Pete