News
VIC 96
16 June 2009
On 5th July 2009 VIC 96, also known as vessel C668, will steam out of Maryport in Cumbria 37 years after her last voyage, to return to her home for many years, Chatham in Kent.
On the National Historic Ships Register, VIC 96 has been restored over the past 5 years by a band of twelve devoted trustees making 800 mile round trips from the south to make her seaworthy. She is one of only a few such craft remaining and was originally commissioned by The War Office in 1945. These Victualling Inshore Craft supplied Royal Navy ships at anchor and served ports such as Sheerness and Chatham during the Second World War.
VIC 96 is still powered by her original coal fired Crabtree steam engine.
The 1,000 mile voyage home will begin on 5th July 2009 whenVIC 96 weighs anchor and retraces her steps back through the Crinan Canal and Loch Ness to the East coast of Scotland, then heading south to Chatham where SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) have generously offered a berth in Chatham No. 1 Basin. The voyage will take around 8 weeks.
Skipper and project leader Derek Gransden said "It is a remarkable effort by our members, and we are extremely proud of how much we have achieved and how much we have learned. The VICs were true workhorses of the fleet and we can't wait to get her back to the port that was her home for many years as C668."
The Trustees comprise 2 women and 10 men from 42 to 82 years, with diverse backgrounds in engineering, joinery, property, surveying, building restoration, electrical engineering and specialised coatings who now have new skills such as plating, welding, decking, caulking and of course scraping and painting!
Milestones of the project so far include plating the hull with 70sq, m. of steel; casting and making a new propeller; refurbishing the windlass; re-tubing and refurbishing the Cochrane steam boiler; stripping and rebuilding the engine from scratch; replacing rotten decking with pitch pine reclaimed from 100 year old piles from the Thames; replacing the wheelhouse with one made from teak salvaged from the old tannery in Canterbury; replacing the ceiling in the hold with timbers salvaged from old sailing ships.
For further information and images please contact Clare Curling clare@vic96.co.uk (07736 525937) or Derek Gransden mailto:Derek.gransden@vic96.co.uk (07885 596026). Also see their website: http://www.vic96.co.uk/
