PatrickXavier
10-31-2009, 11:08 PM
http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll182/Rogue1892/Hikitia.jpg
Following five months of refurbishment at Lyttelton in New Zealand, the floating crane the Hikitia is due back in Wellington Harbour this week.
Malcolm McGregor of the Maritime Heritage Trust of Wellington says they have been working up to this day for years. “We’ve been actively raising money for a long time. We were delighted to get a Council grant last year for the refurbishment, and fundraising has been much easier since we secured that. The last few months have been a real adventure for us – from getting the funding we needed, to towing the ship down to the contractors at Lyttelton to do this refurbishment work.”
Work included water blasting, repairing and painting the hull, crane structure and the main deck. “While the Hikitia was in Lyttelton for a bit of rest, relaxation and a serious makeover, she did a little bit of work for the Lyttelton Port too, while she was there. She relocated a cool store for them last week,” says Malcolm.
This was the first time the Hikitia has left Wellington since it arrived on 21 December 1926 from Paisley in Scotland.
Hikitia was built by Fleming and Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland, in 1926. She measures 160.1' (48.58m) in overall length with a beam of 52.35' (15.88m) and a moulded depth of 11.35' (3.44m).
Twin screws are driven by compound surface condensing direct drive engines which were supplied with steam by a coal fired Scotch boiler with two furnaces. A similar but oil-fired boiler replaced the original boiler in 1963. In 1980 this was also removed and the present two small modern package boilers were installed.
The crane was built by Sir William Arrol and Co. of Glasgow. It was designed to lift 80 tons at 50' radius but bettered this on test by 25%. The crane can lift 60 tons at 65' and 15 tons at 75'. The speed of the lift is 80 tons at 4' per minute, 40 tons at 8' per minute, 25 tons at 12' per minute and 15 tons at 24' per minute. The crane weighs 310 tons and at a radius of 65' the maximum height of the hook above the water is 95'.
Following trials, Hikitia left Glasgow on 29 September 1926 under Captain J Fullerton for Ponta Delgado in the Azores, a distance of 1445 miles. She arrived on 9 October. After bunkering, she left for Colon and the Panama Canal, passing through on 2 November. Out in the Pacific, Hikitia encountered strong head winds and rough seas, which caused the vessel to pitch heavily. The next 48 hours were anxious and stressful for the crew with the superstructure straining and some deck plates beginning to crack but then conditions improved and repairs were made. The ship reached Papeete harbour on 1 December and took on stores and coal, sailing next morning for New Zealand. The final part of the voyage was not without incident, as on 13 December Hikitia ran into a submerged object and several days were spent battling rough seas and strong winds.
The log of the Hikitia's delivery voyage has been preserved in the archives of the Museum of Wellington, City & Sea on Queen's Wharf.
Hikitia arrived in Wellington Harbour on 21 December 1926 after a voyage of 82 days. It has been generally accepted that Hikitia's delivery voyage represents a record distance sailed by a vessel of this type with its jib up.
She began work almost immediately and for over 80 years has been a familiar sight on the harbour, taken for granted and unheralded. She has worked on all types of construction projects including wharf construction. Her main role was in lifting heavy cargo onto, and off, ships. She spent some time helping to demolish the wreck of the Wahine.
Hikitia's last job for the Wellington Port Company was the removal of piles near the position of the old Floating Dock.
In 1989 the old vessel was put up for tender and ship lovers imagined Hikitia would be for the knacker's yard and that she would be lost forever. But this did not happen. An enthusiastic couple Bob and Mary Box and John and Joy Ackrill bought her on 12 April 1990, for preservation.
On 30 July 1992, after much hard work by volunteers, Hikitia carried out an 88 ton test lift. This was the final legal requirement for survey and she is now available for commercial lifts up to 80 tons.
Since then she has continued her role in private ownership as Wellington’s floating crane and has carried out over 300 lifts, plus other jobs.
It is expected that the work that the Hikitia will do while based in Wellington harbour will fund restorative work on a more regular basis. The Maritime Trust is working on a 100-year plan to ensure that the ship is maintained on a regular basis including major scheduled repairs every five or 10 years.
The Hikitia is the twin of Rapaki in Auckland. Both ships were built from the same set of drawings by Sir William Carroll in 1925 and 1926 in Glasgow. While the Hikitia continues as a steam-operated working ship, the Rapaki is now a museum ship.
http://file011a.bebo.com/9/large/2007/09/02/05/2102338643a5442446617l.jpg
Shamelessly plagiarised: http://www.hikitia.com/ and http://www.bebo.com/TheHikitia
Following five months of refurbishment at Lyttelton in New Zealand, the floating crane the Hikitia is due back in Wellington Harbour this week.
Malcolm McGregor of the Maritime Heritage Trust of Wellington says they have been working up to this day for years. “We’ve been actively raising money for a long time. We were delighted to get a Council grant last year for the refurbishment, and fundraising has been much easier since we secured that. The last few months have been a real adventure for us – from getting the funding we needed, to towing the ship down to the contractors at Lyttelton to do this refurbishment work.”
Work included water blasting, repairing and painting the hull, crane structure and the main deck. “While the Hikitia was in Lyttelton for a bit of rest, relaxation and a serious makeover, she did a little bit of work for the Lyttelton Port too, while she was there. She relocated a cool store for them last week,” says Malcolm.
This was the first time the Hikitia has left Wellington since it arrived on 21 December 1926 from Paisley in Scotland.
Hikitia was built by Fleming and Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland, in 1926. She measures 160.1' (48.58m) in overall length with a beam of 52.35' (15.88m) and a moulded depth of 11.35' (3.44m).
Twin screws are driven by compound surface condensing direct drive engines which were supplied with steam by a coal fired Scotch boiler with two furnaces. A similar but oil-fired boiler replaced the original boiler in 1963. In 1980 this was also removed and the present two small modern package boilers were installed.
The crane was built by Sir William Arrol and Co. of Glasgow. It was designed to lift 80 tons at 50' radius but bettered this on test by 25%. The crane can lift 60 tons at 65' and 15 tons at 75'. The speed of the lift is 80 tons at 4' per minute, 40 tons at 8' per minute, 25 tons at 12' per minute and 15 tons at 24' per minute. The crane weighs 310 tons and at a radius of 65' the maximum height of the hook above the water is 95'.
Following trials, Hikitia left Glasgow on 29 September 1926 under Captain J Fullerton for Ponta Delgado in the Azores, a distance of 1445 miles. She arrived on 9 October. After bunkering, she left for Colon and the Panama Canal, passing through on 2 November. Out in the Pacific, Hikitia encountered strong head winds and rough seas, which caused the vessel to pitch heavily. The next 48 hours were anxious and stressful for the crew with the superstructure straining and some deck plates beginning to crack but then conditions improved and repairs were made. The ship reached Papeete harbour on 1 December and took on stores and coal, sailing next morning for New Zealand. The final part of the voyage was not without incident, as on 13 December Hikitia ran into a submerged object and several days were spent battling rough seas and strong winds.
The log of the Hikitia's delivery voyage has been preserved in the archives of the Museum of Wellington, City & Sea on Queen's Wharf.
Hikitia arrived in Wellington Harbour on 21 December 1926 after a voyage of 82 days. It has been generally accepted that Hikitia's delivery voyage represents a record distance sailed by a vessel of this type with its jib up.
She began work almost immediately and for over 80 years has been a familiar sight on the harbour, taken for granted and unheralded. She has worked on all types of construction projects including wharf construction. Her main role was in lifting heavy cargo onto, and off, ships. She spent some time helping to demolish the wreck of the Wahine.
Hikitia's last job for the Wellington Port Company was the removal of piles near the position of the old Floating Dock.
In 1989 the old vessel was put up for tender and ship lovers imagined Hikitia would be for the knacker's yard and that she would be lost forever. But this did not happen. An enthusiastic couple Bob and Mary Box and John and Joy Ackrill bought her on 12 April 1990, for preservation.
On 30 July 1992, after much hard work by volunteers, Hikitia carried out an 88 ton test lift. This was the final legal requirement for survey and she is now available for commercial lifts up to 80 tons.
Since then she has continued her role in private ownership as Wellington’s floating crane and has carried out over 300 lifts, plus other jobs.
It is expected that the work that the Hikitia will do while based in Wellington harbour will fund restorative work on a more regular basis. The Maritime Trust is working on a 100-year plan to ensure that the ship is maintained on a regular basis including major scheduled repairs every five or 10 years.
The Hikitia is the twin of Rapaki in Auckland. Both ships were built from the same set of drawings by Sir William Carroll in 1925 and 1926 in Glasgow. While the Hikitia continues as a steam-operated working ship, the Rapaki is now a museum ship.
http://file011a.bebo.com/9/large/2007/09/02/05/2102338643a5442446617l.jpg
Shamelessly plagiarised: http://www.hikitia.com/ and http://www.bebo.com/TheHikitia