The Initial Look – The First Dive 28/09/24:

The verdict after the dive was positive, apart from having to move the odd fridge to gain access Nick managed to get to the interior and most of the exterior apart from half the hull length that was hard up against the bank. The problem was visibility, the broads were so silty that as soon as the diver entered the water he was left to use finger tip searching of the hull as you could not see anything even with a powerful torch.

A plan was hatch for a further visit with a need for plugs, sheeting and a lot of pumps!

The First Pump attempt – 22/11/2024:

unfortunately with no diver available the pumping did not show what we had hoped which was the breaches in the hull that we needed to block to get her floating, time for a rethink

Second Pump and Dive 2/1/2025:

Time was of the essence now as we had been given a deadline to get her afloat and to safety as the owner had sold the property and needed her gone before completion.

A lot of though and head scratching had gone into how best to do this and new people had joined the effort bringing skills and knowledge that we needed

Though had been given to could we add airbags into the hull to displace water but rejected as the deck was never designed to take that load when new let alone after 80 years with at least 15 being underwater.

Next idea could airbags be used external to raise the hull, in theory yes but brighter people than me did the calculations and realised that the size of bags needed would have to be commercially hired (we had no money!) and the air needed to fill them would be beyond our small band to do. That is without the problem qof how to get straps under a hull sitting in about a metre of mud. The final nail in the coffin of that idea was one side of the boat being hard against a bank we could never inflate bags that side.

So it was back to plan A pumps but this time with a diver on hand to feel for the inflow of water and plug any holes found.

SO once again with pumps and volunteers from the Norfolk Fire Museum on hand we set to

Nick disappeared nto the murky and cold water to try and find and plug any holes that the pumping uncovered

As you can see the visibility was an issue but during the day a number of holes were found and plugged but still not luck in even getting any sort of level drop in the hull to show we were winning.

Time for another rethink and planning but as a group were were not beaten……..yet.

Raising an old old wooden boat – 28/02/25:

The pre-planning for recovery of S32 could only go so far. The concept has always been do-able, on paper, however this has all needed revisiting in detail since we have achieved a credible (mostly floating!) project, where often the minor items that were assumed to be simple, now are tripping us at every turn.

In truth, the stars need to align to get her to safety; safely, within bounds of her structural integrity, respecting ownership requests and critically, preserving the environment.

So right now, in all honesty, the stars still need to align for us to achieve our goal. The finest detail at this time is still critical so you may find that the remaining options on the table may need to reassessed at any time, to ensure that we respect and satisfy each and every stakeholder group.

The concept is easy enough. The difficulty is in the detail.

This is where we are right now: testing each and being tested, daily. No stone remains unturned, but our local awareness and expertise is growing exponentially (although many not starting from scratch) and we have a small volunteer team with energy and determination.

Please be patient with us at this challenging time – we all want to see a BPBCo Whaleback preserved in ASR form and not least to see S32 recovered, but ultimately the one’s “doing the doing” on site have to make that judgement call on how best to do it on the day.

Whilst no doubt we haven’t considered every single permissible option, many have been ruled out as simply unachievable within our modest means.

Trust that we’ve had a damn good go and are now working with a couple of the most realistic & practicable options in the short term.

She’s big:

A 63ft craft is BIG for the broads and so takes some planning to get around, not least because she won’t fit under every bridge or through every cut. Add into the mix that she has no power, no steerage and will likely have multiple tow boats supporting her move, she’ll end up being one of the biggest moves on the Broads this year. Only today did we hear about another craft being recently moved which has sunk in the middle of one of our possible routes, without insurance, so the authorities are having to fund her recovery!

We have to accept that being so big, we have to make allowances, which includes reduction of her Air Draught to allow her to get under the numerous low bridges along her planned route (but still tide dependant). This will require removal of the fwd guardrails (to be saved for later use) but also carefully removing the top half of her wheelhouse. Again, this will be saved for later use BUT critically, neither are original and we are already planning the possibility for their replacements to create the ASR spec silhouette anyway (TBD).

Any delay in tow (aground or under a bridge) increases our exposure time to danger so we therefore are VERY aware of our responsibility when it comes to making sure that we prepare and manage our recovery activity correctly in a safe and timely manner.

Funding:

Your assistance with fundraising is so very much appreciated. Rest assured that everything that is contributed will be used for the works in the very short term. This money is being used to pay for the professional services that we need to satisfy all stakeholders (as previously mentioned) and nothing is being taken by the volunteer crew.

Bigger and better advertising is what we are aiming for, however we have to respect the wishes of the property owners at present (which is fair) so we can only go fully live once she’s under tow.

Her application to join National Historic Ships register is now being prepared too.

Timeline to recovery:

This project has been running for a few years now but we are finally getting really close to having a 63ft whaleback safely recovered. She is not in perfect, or even seaworthy condition but still quite remarkable for 80+ years of service – a credit to her previous owners.

The level of effort to get her raised has been significant but we are def winning this time.

We do need to be realistic about where we are heading but equally remember to take one step at a time.

She still likes to remind us who’s boss so does sometimes take on a little water, even after the fothering work, but comes up easily and we have more activity planned to rectify this before tow.

So far, she’s been identified, acquired, refloated and now we continue with a tow to a yard that can lift and store her before we can realistically plan the next stage.

As above, size is a hugely influential factor considering that the Broads is not set up to support a craft of her size so not every yard has all (or any!) of the requirements we’ve set out (mainly lift, store & HGV road access). Once she is safely blocked on dry land we can take a step back, admire her lines and breathe a little.

Your patience in helping this project to fruition is greatly appreciated. Feel free to ask questions but please be aware that we may not be able to answer them all due to ongoing adjustments & complexities in our route forward.

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Raising an old old wooden boat – 21/03/25:

Consolidating credibility – how to convince our external stakeholders that she’s good to go.

As I said a few weeks ago, the difficulty is in the detail. This is where we find ourselves in deep now, fully engaged with the Tow team and Broads Authority, all with best intentions to get S32 safely onto her new adventure.

It may feel like we have very few big updates but….. the order of the day, on repeat are Risk Assessments, Method Statements, Recovery Plans, Certificates and Assurances. The “what ifs” all need answering, in detail. This isn’t really info we can share openly and is incredibly subjective.

On this matter, where we find there to be some subjectivity in any given risk assessment, we have to defer to those who will be taking that risk on our behalf – they get the judgement call on this and we can only provide the mitigations.

The tow team conducted a site visit this week and S32 did us no favours. But on the positive side, we do now have a firm list of requirements we need to meet, all of which are well within our gift to achieve.

So, we find ourselves with some work to do to best guarantee that S32 can transit safely to a suitable boatyard.

Where you may ask? Well, the yard selected is not the nearest unfortunately, but it is the only one that has space, adequate lift capability and road access (for eventual onward road transport – although to where is still TBC).

In the next 2 weeks we will be preparing for our activity days on site. We’re now collecting materials before we can start the additional carpentry, more robust fother wraps around her hull and a haircut (to get under low bridges).

We will then let her be still for a few weeks while we build greater confidence in her ability to stay afloat for a prolonged period (fairly important for the tow!), allow the combined team to do further internal inspections and provide remaining paperwork and assurances to the BA. This can all happen while we wait for the next quiet period on the broads – most likely after the Easter holidays.

We know it may sound like we are dragging our heels here, but we have a small and committed working team who want to do this right. To rush is to risk failure…. and we don’t have another 63ft Whaleback so cannot risk to fail with S32!

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Raising an old old wooden boat – 04/04/25:

Just get it done.

2 weeks ago I wrote about our preparation for tow to meet the requirements of the tow team who will ultimately be taking on the liability of moving our old wooden boat to her selected location of safety. The reality we’ve had to face is that, rather than being able to convince ALL parties that she WILL be made good to tow IF the paperwork is in place, we have had to do the work before the paperwork will be raised. Fair but not ideal considering our tight timeframe we are working with.

So, on Mon, Tues and Weds of this week we assembled the Scrapheap Challenge boat rescue team onsite to do everything within our capability to get S32 ready for tow. All this whilst nurturing a relationship with the new owner of the property against a backdrop of their own wrangling over their property transaction.

Much discussion had determined that likely cause for her sinky repetition was a leaking join in the original small fother sheet (decided upon at the time to reduce cost, that at that point was high risk). A new bigger doubled up fother sheet (150kgs of heavy tarp) was sourced along with further materials to protect this precious sheet. Additional materials for frame, deck and shell reinforcement were brought along, aswell as some essentials to look the part for tow.

What did we do?

Application of 2 pumps got her floating within an hour or so of start up. So far so good!

The aft space pumped very quickly giving her a heavy bow trim and list to port due to non-uniform free flooding ability of the compartments – a Herald of Free Enterprise moment was considered and quickly countered with call of “all hands to stbd!”

Once up and level she has floated happily since.

The team split their efforts to deal with the applying the additional multi-fother and also internal structural work. The transom corner posts and sideshell have taken the brunt of the weather so needed reinforcing inside and out to allow a controlled push, if required, by the tow vessels. The historically applied overboarding of the transom itself helped massively – thanks to whoever had done that years ago!

With the multi-fother applied, we could get to tidying the decks by battening out at the deck edges and removing excess material. The removal of the fwd guardrails proved challenging with only battery powered tools but these have been safely stowed for future reinstatement (Safety First!). In addition, the careful removal of the non-original (post yr 2000) superstructure remains has reduced the airdraft to below the required limit for transit under the low bridges at Great Yarmouth.

Cleats were reinforced or replaced, decks overboarded and stiffened where required (using what sheet materials we had) along with bumper tyres fitted at each corner (scrumped from a local hedge near my house on the previous day).

To add some extra internal rigidity the deck under the wheelhouse has been reinstated, tieing the port to starboard structure at midships. This added structure will prove invaluable during lift. This also allows the original fwd and aft stairs to be reinstated, along with a series of deck boards fwd and aft, resulting in the ability to conduct a full walkthrough in relative safety.

So she’s now been left with decks swept and keepsakes stowed, pumps installed ready for start up (if needed) and a fully battened and pleated multilayer skirt to keep her safe.

The wheel and captains chair have been refitted for a bit of fun but can come off very easily – we liked the Mad Max look!

This is ultimately the best we can achieve with our limited budget, time and skills. But boy did we do ok – a great team to work with!

Now we enter the next tricky stage: we await the return of the tow team to mark our homework (scheduled for next week) who will then, if happy, need to produce the appropriate package of risk assessments, method statement, proof of competencies and insurances for Broads Authority to permit passage to her new home. The exact date for tow then needs to be arranged.

Please say a little prayer, cross your fingers, make a spell, meditate or however you chose to ask for assistance in helping us achieve acceptance for the tow and lift.

We will update you when we can BUT we shall soon find out whether our efforts are enough to start to move S32 to safety. I’d rather not consider the alternative at this point!

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The Final Preparations for the Tow – 12/05/25:

Post the inspection by the tow company a request was made to replace the two rear tow cleats with new wood as this is where one of the tow boats would be attached to provide not only some directional stability while she is towed but perhaps more importantly a means of braking! What we did not want to happen is us getting 12 tons of boat moving through the water with no means of suddenly stopping if the need arises.

After a quick visit by a member of the team a few days before to provide some measurement so the pieces could be made two members of the team spent a morning unbolting the old broken cleats and drilling holes through the new cleats and bolting them securely through the deck

A mornings work and it was done so S32 was now as ready as she would be to be towed from the dyke that she had called home for the last fifteen  years ready to start a new life

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Marking our Homework – 13/05/25:

Time to hand over S32 to the professionals for her trip up river from her resting place where she was found and raised to Salhouse Broad as a temporary mooring for the summer where she can rest and further work be done to her ready for her lift out of the water onto dry land

On the 13th Sutton Staithe Boatyard sent the smaller of there tow boats down to check out the dyke as it was believed that there had not been any river traffic down it since S32 last sailed in a good number of years before. The depth was taken by the age old method of using a boat hock over the side and while shallow in places all seemed satisfactory for the next day despite the water Lillies that had taken over a section of the dyke.

When the member of the that was there to greet the boat posted a picture to the rest go the team as quick as a flash someone came back with the It had to be Brian!

“He’s not the messiah – he’s a very naughty boy!”

Well what can I say the team of four had done most of the work had all got to that point 😦

Next a final inspection was made of S32 to make sure everything was in order and a trial pump was made of the last remaining water in the hull using the boatyards electric pumps that could get the water level lower than the team could with the two petrol trash pumps we had on board.

We are all set for tomorrow or where we…….

After the boatyard team left a final check on the mooring ropes but one of the team revealed that since January when she was originally floated and moored the vegetation had not surprisingly grown and it was impossible to get to one of the mooring posts to untie the rope. 

A quick messaging between the two people that were going to be around to help tomorrow resulted a scythe being added to the car load of tools, ropes and mud weights being assembled for the next day.

Now we are as ready as we could be with the time and resources we had available and tomorrow would tell if we had done enough.

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The Big Day – 14/05/25:

The two members of the rescue team that could make it on the big day assembled early to perform the necessary gardening to the mooring points before anyone else arrived but before that the electric pump was started to make sure that S32 was a dry as possible for her move.

Soon after the six man crew from Sutton Staithe Boatyard arrived in the larger of the tow boats called Norman.

Work then started of preparing the tow and moving S32 out from what many might have thought might be her last resting place particularly if they had seen her back in October sunk on the bottom of the broads with water almost covering her decks and during the many subsequent working visits since then

With a bit of manhandling between the eight people on site Brian moved S32 expertly out of her home onto the dyke proper where the full tow of Norman with two tow ropes of forty feet attached to the transom post on S32 via the two front cleats and Brian taking up the rear using two twenty foot ropes attached to the newly repaired cleats. 

This gave a total tow length of over a hundred and forty feet and as S32 has a bean of sixteen foot six inches, no wonder it took time to get permission from the Broads Authority to tow her!

Talking of which just as we finished preparing her the Broads Authority ranger and a volunteer turned up right on time in there very smart launch to accompany S32 and make sure other boats kept out of her way.

Right on schedule at just after 10 the tow proper began, Norman in the lead took up the slack and began moving S32 gently out of the dyke, there was only a moment when I though we might be in trouble when she stopped on what had already been identified as the shallowest part of the dyke but the skill of the tow crew cam into play and she was soon on her way out into the River.

I must admit it was strange seeing her go out of our hands so we could not influence the result after all the hundreds of volunteer hours we had spent floating her and preparing her but it was understandable that none of us could accompany her as the Boatyard was taking on the responsibility and hence risk during the tow so they did not want any distraction.

All that was left for the two of us in the team to do was tidy up, thank the new owners of the property that had been so accommodation to us during our for them unplanned extra stay and chase S32 up river to see if we could see her passing.

The point we chose was just outside The Swann Inn in Horning, not because we needed a drink you understand, it was too early to be celebrating but as this was the point that the tow needed to change direction the most and so was the point the tow company was most concerned about.

While we were waiting we meet up with Andy from the Broads Authority who had liaised with the team and Sutton Striate Boatyard in filling in the paperwork to get permission for the tow who had come out to see it go past after all his hard work.

After what seemed like a long wait with thoughts going through our minds of what might have gone wrong but in reality right on schedule S32 can past making the turn look easy and contented on her way towards Salhouse Broad so we both jumped in the car and headed there to welcome her.

At just after midday we spotted the rangers boat appearing through the eastern entrance to the broad with S32 following, the ranger came over to the two of us and asked quite mattered factly where we would like out delivery made and after a quick check with Kelly Banthorpe the Manager of Salhouse Broad who had also come out to welcome S32 it was confirmed that she was to go on the western edge of the broad where she was not only out of the way of the holiday boats but protected from the wind as much as possible by the trees.

The crew from Sutton Staithe Boatyard expertly mannered her into position and deployed the four mud weights we had given them that morning to hold her in her temporary resting place and after a quick chat and rescuing my hat I had stupidly left on board in the rush of departure headed off with there two boats back to there yard.

The report from all parties was that the tow went well, she tried to slowly vier off to port under tow but could be corrected by the following boat was happy at a steady 1.2 knots but they did reach a heady 1.8 knots at one point but the movement to port increased at that speed.

All in all I think both teams rescue crew and the tow team should be congratulated on the tow and not forgetting the Broads Authority ranger who keep curious boaters away from her and everyone safe as she went along

Now onto the next steps of raising the rest of the money to transport her and lift her out of the water so she can be unwrapped, cleared out and dried out so she can be assessed to see what her restoration options are.

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BBC Look East – 9/6/25:

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Subsequent Visits to S32 on Salhouse Broad

While it might all seem to have gone quiet on S32 front work is still going on behind the scenes.

The history of her is being researched both service and post war and throwing up a lot of interesting detail, read about it https://asrwhaleback.com/masb-32-history/ but remember to return regularly as new detail will be added as and when they are discovered and time allows for the site to be update, please remember the group trying to save her is small and we are all volunteers!

Visits have to be made out to her to check on her condition and recently some measurements were made that showed the internal structure as she is now is not the same as a RAF HSL despite what some people may believe and wish for. We have no idea what this means to the options for her rebuild until she is safely lifted onto dry land allowing a detailed inspections of her hull but one thing is certain the planning needs to be to lift her as a MA/SB hull as the position of the bulkheads affects the lift strops and spreader bar placings.

Talking of planning this work is progressing at pace as she needs to be out of the water and on dry land before winter sets in.

This means a subsequent commercial tow needs to take place with the approval of the Broads Authority and at cost and this also limits when it can take place as it needs to be outside of the holiday season.

Space needs to be found at a boatyard that we can lift her out of the water onto a lorry to safely move her, not an easy ask as she is a big boat for the broads and despite a number of suggestions and site visits nowhere with a crane on site has been found that can both lift her and a big enough for the size of lorry needed that can access the site.

This means a crane needs to be arranged with the lorry to coincide with the tow and a suitable strap plan to carefully lift her, others have tried to do that before with a whaleback without careful thought and it did not end well!

Finally a storage site needs to be found in the local area where she can be cleared out, engines and other mechanical equipment removed before the serious work of inspection and controlled drying out can begin.