The restoration of PS Ryde.

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burgundyben

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Many will know of the poorly paddlesteamer at Island Harbour on the Medina.

Well it seems a group have crowd funded sufficient shillings to purchase the ship with a 24 month window to remove it.

Aside from the mammoth task ahead and as much as i would like to see it go ahead (partly cos I have a view from my office and I'd like to watch the removal), but, I' not sure I agree with it. There can only be a limited market for pleasure trips on a paddle steamer and I would hate to see the Waverly struggle due to lack of passengers. We don;t need two paddlesteamers struggling.

Not to mention Medway Queen.

There should be an national hollistic view taken that brings a sustainable solution to the public. Not a restoration attempt of very old hulk.
 
I seem to recall the Medway Queen was once at Island harbour and used as an entertainment venue ?
Maybe the local council would like to buy PS Ryde as they seem to like investing in chain ferries which don't work so maybe funding the restoration of PS Ryde as they clearly have a few spare millions for project boats might be a solution?
Good luck to those involved though even if I suspect the council won't help what looks like a far more useful way to shell out a few million and provide local jobs .
 
It would be good if local youngsters could be employed on the project to learn skills that would help them get a job , eg steelwork, engineering, carpentry, painting, upholstery etc
 
burgundyben said:
Many will know of the poorly paddlesteamer at Island Harbour on the Medina.

Well it seems a group have crowd funded sufficient shillings to purchase the ship with a 24 month window to remove it.

Aside from the mammoth task ahead and as much as i would like to see it go ahead (partly cos I have a view from my office and I'd like to watch the removal), but, I' not sure I agree with it. There can only be a limited market for pleasure trips on a paddle steamer and I would hate to see the Waverly struggle due to lack of passengers. We don;t need two paddlesteamers struggling.

Not to mention Medway Queen.

There should be an national hollistic view taken that brings a sustainable solution to the public. Not a restoration attempt of very old hulk.
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..and of course don't forget The Maid of the Loch

http://www.maidoftheloch.org/

Donald
 
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They've got to get it floating within two years? Is that feasible?
 
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Mark-1 said:
They've got to get it floating within two years?
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I think they plan to cut it up and remove in sections.

To be honest, I've been following it on facebook, but nowhere else, I have not seen a plan of any sort. I'm sure they have a well structured plan with a fall back if funding can't be found.
 
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burgundyben said:
I think they plan to cut it up and remove in sections.

To be honest, I've been following it on facebook, but nowhere else, I have not seen a plan of any sort. I'm sure they have a well structured plan with a fall back if funding can't be found.
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Thanks, found it on FB. I respect them for having a go but it does seem a bit pie in the sky. Doesn't seem to be any money.
 
davidej said:
It's difficult to raise the funds to acquire and restore these old boats but it is even harder to find a long-term sustainable use for them once they have been restored.
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Having seen the state of it a few years back I think that finding a long-term sustainable use for it once it's been restored might be the easy bit! :D
 
Not a chance, she's way too far gone, last pics I saw of her a few years ago the funnel had collapsed through the superstructure.

A shame, but she was always controversial, loads of dreamer ideas to restore her over the years - I'd guess it was about 30 years ago some hull plating was replaced, and I met someone interested in all things steam who reckoned their group could do the resoration but the then owner was rather difficult to deal with.

I went aboard her many times as a youth when there was a nightclub aboard, she still had the engine and many bridge fittings.

PS Ryde was used as a minesweeper in WWII, there were photo's of her in this role on some bulkheads.

I believe like Medway Queen ( that ship won an award for most people rescued or similar ) the Ryde also did well at Dunkirk.

In those days, 1978 - say 85ish, the Medway Queen languished on the mud nearby filling with every tide - she was I believe the original nightclub then there was a fire and she was abandoned there - a chum and I went aboard at low water and the engine and lots of original brass fittings were still there ( yes we left them ) - she was taken away on a raft for the restoration - last I heard that project wasn't going too well either ?
 
Seajet said:
last I heard that project wasn't going too well either ?
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Not at all. Rebuilt into a brand new riveted hull. Tremendous effort and great progress.

On the basis that Medway Queen was rebuilt using a new hull, then the current state of P S Ryde I think technically is doable. Cut her up, removed, rebuild. There's no engineering barrier. There may well be a (unsurmountable?) fundraising barrier.

My thought is that maritime conservation should place funding over a cross section of craft, rather than a shot gun at a barn door approach to rescue everything. Given that we have Waverley and Medway Queen, the hollistic approach to maritime conservation might be that there is no need to restore Ryde.
 
While for personal sentimental views I'd like to see Ryde restored - and she would certainly require a new hull ( I knew medway Queen has one, from Bristol wasn't it - but thought there were still financial snags ) - Ryde would be virtually an entire new ship with just the odd badge I should think, like you I don't see the demand.

Sad to say an eyesore now, maybe the best realistic approach would be removal of her wreck with an info display panel and photo's at the marina.
 
Seajet said:
Sad to say an eyesore now, maybe the best realistic approach would be removal of her wreck with an info display panel and photo's at the marina.
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The Isle of Wight has significant industry in wind turbines and has biomass plants burning gas from rotting maize. I'd like to see a visitor centre, taking the engines from Ryde as a centre piece, with solar panels and wind turbines powering it, a small biomass plant, bunk houses for visiting school groups, a mix of looking back and forward. The centre could be built in the shape of Ryde, the possibilities huge and could be fantastic, but clinging onto restoration of the current ship seems to me a limited view (and I'm a huge supporter of maritime conservation).
 
Agree with the comments above. I'm normally in favour of preservation but in this case it seems a bit too late and the passenger paddle steamer market seems to be pretty much saturated.

Given so many restorations are effectively new ships (Ryde would be, Cutty Sark is) it strikes me building from scratch a class of ship that no longer exists, but which has very good original plans would be far better use of the time/money. (Not that there is any money for Ryde!)
 
Mark-1 said:
Agree with the comments above. I'm normally in favour of preservation but in this case it seems a bit too late and the passenger paddle steamer market seems to be pretty much saturated.

Given so many restorations are effectively new ships (Ryde would be, Cutty Sark is) it strikes me building from scratch a class of ship that no longer exists, but which has very good original plans would be far better use of the time/money. (Not that there is any money for Ryde!)
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And we shouldn't forget the Kingswear Castle and also the slightly now sad looking Balmoral which have also been in the market for nostalgia trips. I don't see the PS Ryde coming back at all - far too far gone and it sounds like the project raised just £5k to buy it, not really close to the £1.3m spent on the hull alone of the smaller Medway Queen.
 
burgundyben said:
The Isle of Wight has significant industry in wind turbines and has biomass plants burning gas from rotting maize. I'd like to see a visitor centre, taking the engines from Ryde as a centre piece, with solar panels and wind turbines powering it, a small biomass plant, bunk houses for visiting school groups, a mix of looking back and forward. The centre could be built in the shape of Ryde, the possibilities huge and could be fantastic, but clinging onto restoration of the current ship seems to me a limited view (and I'm a huge supporter of maritime conservation).
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I like your idea a lot !

I've always been saddened by the large pool of mainly wasted talent on the Island, and a visitor centre like this would be very fitting.

It should of course also include displays on flying boats and hovercraft, though maybe they could skip the floating bridge display for now. :)
 
burgundyben said:
...On the basis that Medway Queen was rebuilt using a new hull, then the current state of P S Ryde I think technically is doable. Cut her up, removed, rebuild. There's no engineering barrier. There may well be a (unsurmountable?) fundraising barrier.
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So that's effectively building a replica, not restoration?
 
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