PS Ryde

Thanks, John. I'll post the outcome here!

 

Hi Guys just having a look around and i was wondering if there is any new about Ryde?

 

This was her April last year, I am not a naval architect but a sailors eye says her keel is no longer true, and there is very major corrosion below the waterline.

 

That above pic made me incredibly sad.

I have often walked past Whippingham Marina years ago.

In 1982 I attended the IOWSR AGM on the PS Ryde. She was in quite good nick then. The boilers had been removed, but the engine room was shiny and well kept. The saloons were varnished and very presentable. Opposite you could see on the other bank of the Medina the hulk of a once proud 'Medway Queen' seemingly beyond hope and rotting away in the mud...

Cheers,
Julian

 

trying to lift her will break her back, sorry but she went beyond being able to be restored years ago, she is finished, allow her to be cut up and that will be the end of it, She is now structurally beyond saving, accept it, put her out of her misery if the keel has gone, she will brake up anyway .

 

Really. It is about time the old girl was laid to rest. Even the Medway Queen needed a new hull and that was salvaged from the I.O.W years ago. Bring on the men with the flaming torches sad as that may be, it really is only the kindest thing to do now.

 

Maybe recover the engines before the scrappies move in, if a suitable museum could be found for them?


Keith

 

But what would the engines "mean" on their own?

 

A very impressive piece of engineering?


Keith

 

you rarely get to see them inside a ship after all

 

Wasn't/isn't there an engine at Chatham dockyard which just sits there. Difficult to understand what it did or how it worked.

 

If I remember correctly her engines have already gone.

 

The boilers went in the 1970s, but not the engines.

Cheers,
Julian

 

What a depressing picture!

 

You do on paddle steamers...or at least every PS I've sailed in!

 

Indeed. No better way to see them, book on Waverley and watch those cranks fly. never look as good once extracted-thinking of PS Caledonia's engines which provide a slightly sorry sight.

 

Well I dont know what the future holds for her now, but some brave souls have managed to buy her, with the intention of preserving her. Best of luck on that one!!

Edit: The group has entered into a contract to purchase it.

 

There was an article in a recent copy of Steam railway that there was a company in negotiations to buy it and was applying to the relevant authorities for the permits to move it. (by cutting it into sections to move it). Apparently one of the reasons it hasn't been scrapped is that it has asbestos in it, so it can't be chopped unless that was dealt with.

I saw the ship for the first time at the Marina in September. It is effectively sitting on dry land. The back end is in better condition. The middle section looks the worst because the superstructure has dropped. I took some pictures so I might post later.

 

Any asbestos under the high water line will have been washed out by now, I would have thought, but yes, if there's any in the superstructure then that complicates things. At least Able UK, who were responsible for scrapping the Dover, both knew of the asbestos issues with her and were already approved to handle the stuff.

 

There is some links about the recent purchase here

https://www.islandecho.co.uk/ps-ryde-paddle-steamer-purchased-and-saved-from-the-scrapheap/

https://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/17262753.ryde-queen-paddle-steamer-purchased-for-restoration/

https://www.gofundme.com/ps-ryde-tr...vdVTUoS9qfWitHJtFxX9oQezcni5ex7OgVxndMkQSEHqQ