The Lea Needs Some Extra TLC

Well we’ve seen it all this week, thousands of dead fish, black putrid water, aerators that are not aerators and now a river dyed green.

The dead fish – This is well documented in the thousands of tweets, conversations and on the telly. From our perspective the amount of dead fish is a disaster for the ecosystem of the Lee/Lea. The river system is already under tremendous pressure from pollution and any more incidents like this week’s could push it over the edge.

The black putrid water – This now stretches from the pool below Tottenham Lock down to the weir at Lea Bridge. I personally can’t ever remember seeing a stretch of river so bad. Even the industrial canals of my childhood were never as bad as this stretch of the River Lee.

We have inserted this short video to show you the source of the problem:

 

 

The Aerators - The solution to all the problems, in your dreams maybe! When we heard about these on the BBC News we were a bit confused. On the day they were supposed to be in place we left Lea bridge at 11:00 and they were not in place. We arrived back at 15:00 and they were not there. On Friday they were not there at 10:00 but were there at 11:00. unfortunately they were gone by 15:30. Most importantly they are just small water pumps sucking out polluted water and pumping it back in. A bit like peeing into the wind!

It needs a lot more than this to create a haven for fish or to have any real benefit to the system.

 

Dying The Lea Green - Okay guys what's this all about? Don't you have enough colour in the Olympic Park with all the overtight Lycra and fancy trainers. The Lea needs TLC not gimmicks. The only green we want to see is reed beds and Lillie's. Use your dye to colour the hair of the organisers if you want more green!

The Litter & Rubbish - On Saturday as we were entering the Limehouse Cut from the Basin we picked up a duvet cover around our prop. This stopped us dead in the water for over an hour whilst we cut it free. This is not the only thing we have to avoid on the river system. By far the biggest cause of frustration is the sheer amounts of litter left by users of the tow path or green spaces. Even when there are litter bins they rarely get emptied. most of the rubbish ends up in the river.


The saga of Deephams - This is fairly simple, the River Lee doesn't want your overflowing sewage. It has enough to cope with from litter, misconnections and pollution from the roads. Use the money you get from water rates or wherever to sort the problem before this river finally dies.

 

The 'Lovers of the Lea' have got their work cut out to get this river back on track.

 

 

New Gearbox for MV. Challenge

Our Gearbox Storyboard
Just as our 2013 season got going we were faced with a major breakdown with our old but reliable gearbox. On the way back from refuelling at Bow we started to loose forward thrust. At first we thought that this was something snared on the prop, but that was clear. As the weekend went on the situation got worse and we lost reverse thrust.

On examination of the oil we could feel small metal particles and smell burning. As such we had no option but to remove the gearbox for stripping down on the bench.

Gearbox and drive plate removed for closer examination

Once stripped down we found that a number of components were beyond repair and no longer available from stock. This would have meant rebuilding the gearbox with a combination of new and old parts, with no guarantee how long it would last. Also damaged was the drive plate, which is fortunately still widely available.

Our committee decided that the best course of action would be to fit a new gearbox, even though it was not a cheap option. Our gearbox of choice was a PRM 750, which was compatible with our prop and the pitch.

The new PRM 750 Gearbox is lowered into place

Also fitted was a new driveplate

 

 

Once the gearbox and drive plate were fitted all we needed to do was take Challenge for some sea trials to ensure the gearbox was working in unison with the engine, propshaft and propeller. 

 





The new gearbox works a treat

 

Want to help? See our box below on how to volunteer with Docklands Canal Boat Trust and participate in the excitement and joy of working on Challenge. You may even get your hands full of grease and sample our wonderful ‘Pottage de Challenge’, a patented soup developed in our galley for volunteers and supporters of our charity.

 

Volunteer & Trustee Recruitment

Have sleepless nights and get your hands dirty on MV. Challenge. We can offer you something  exciting and invigorating with very few perks and you’ll probably never meet a celebrity! However, what you will gain from joining us as a volunteer on Challenge will stay with you for the rest of your life and will bring joy to our numerous disabled users. If you want to consider becoming a volunteer or trustee then follow our recruitment drive on our Blog at http://www.mvchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MVChallenge   A full recruitment and information pack is also available on our website at http://www.dcbt.org.uk/publications.html

Why We Love The Lee Navigation



The last ten days has seen unprecedented communication on social networking sites regarding the litter and pollution on the River Lee Navigation.

Canoeist struggles with rubbish at Lea Bridge Weir

For a brief period during the 2012 Olympics the river sparkled as daily cleaning was undertaken before and during the games. Unfortunately this all stopped when the games were over. The river then became dirtier than we have ever seen it in the past 30 years.

When the original Trustees of the Docklands Canal Boat Trust set up our charity in the early 1980s, they chose the River Lee Navigation as their home as it was one of the nicest, vibrant and healthiest rivers running through London.


Our Boat at Lea Bridge back in the 1980's

Everyday, and particularly at weekends, the banks were thronged by anglers catching all forms of prize fresh water fish. The only anglers you see now are the un-knowledgeable who think the methane bubbles rising to the surface are actually fish. The fish have long gone!


Even today our clients love their cruises and holidays along the river, even though it is under such pressure from pollution.



2012 and our client still 'Love the Lee'

Let’s go back a few years to a different part of the country. As a lad growing up my local river was the Mersey as it flowed through South Manchester and Cheshire. Goodness me, that was a dark, uninviting and lifeless river that was virtually an open sewer. Back then it was classified as the most polluted river in Europe.

After 25 years of concentrated effort from all agencies they now have salmon back in the Mersey and it is a haven for wild life. Click or copy the link and download the Mersey Life PDF Booklet:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/wildlife/102362.aspx

The Mersey’s success is The Lee’s loss as it now as the unenviable title of the most polluted river in Europe.

To say the River Lee is on the brink is an understatement. It is being attacked from all quarters which has rendered it on a bad day an extremely unpleasant environment.

Follow https://twitter.com/TheoJThomas or https://twitter.com/Thames21 for daily updates on pollution and the work that is being undertaken.

Thames 21 Volunteers on the Lee

All is not lost as yet. We still have all forms of wild life on the river and numerous groups and individuals who are concerned about the welfare of the river and the Lea Valley Park.

Still plenty of wildlife on the river to build on

As a small charity that relies on disability groups for our income, we are concerned about pollution on the Lee and have our own environmental policy to ensure as considerate boaters we do not pollute the river.

We also have a long term plan to remain on the River Lee as it still has one of the most vibrant communities in London, is still a beautiful environment and a river we continue to love.

 

Besides, if t'people up t'north can get their river back than surely we can do it down here!

A Year on the River Lee in 2012 with MV. Challenge

As we prepare our boat ready for our new season we'd like to share with you some of the wonderful sights on the River Lee during 2012.

We are now taking bookings for your 2013 boating adventures on the River Lee. Book now to avoid disappointment. Email: bookings@dcbt.org.uk

Volunteer & Trustee Recruitment 2013

As January comes to an end and our 2013 season is fast approaching we are undertaking a volunteer and trustee recruitment programme.

Over the next nine weeks we will be preparing Challenge for the first of our residential cruises and putting the finishing touches to our winter refurbishment programme.

Volunteers are required to assist with this programme and join us as crew members to run our river boat.

We can offer a full induction and training to achieve nationally recognised certification.

What will I be doing?

This will depend on the role that you carry out but may include:

• Skippering the boat*
• Crewing the boat
• Providing hospitality to guests
• Fundraising
• Maintenance of the engine, boat and electrics*
• Marketing of the organisation and our work

*Depending on skills or training

Email us for a full information pack and application form at chairman@dcbt.org.uk

Serious Damage to MV. Challenge

Over the past three years the volunteers at Docklands Canal Boat Trust, who all have disabilities, have worked all hours to modernise our community boat.

 

Over the past few weeks we have shed blood to put in a place an energy management project which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund. By last weekend we had finished phase one of the project and were preparing to move on to phase two.

 

Sometime on 5th November some scumbags broke into the boat and destroyed all the work we have undertaken. As well as cutting out all the new cable and copper pipe they caused untold damage by ripping out sinks, wash hand basins and the boiler. Not content they then set about trashing the place. The photos below detail some of the damage caused:

Cables cut from the distribution board and ceiling

 

New Cable and batteries ripped out

They ripped the boiler off the wall just to get the copper out

Everything thrown everywhere

The sad thing about this fiasco is that the £000s of damage they caused will only get them about £30 at the scrap yard. In the mean time we have had to cancel our volunteer programme for the winter where we support young people with disabilities.

 

The scumbags who did this to us will not win as we won't let them. The police have prints and DNA and one day they will be brought to justice. In the meantime our board of Trustees will move forward in the spirit that makes our project unique.

 

Our boat was named Challenge because it was a major challenge to raise the funds and get the boat built in the first place. This is just another challenge in our long history and we will WIN...

 



Energy Management Project

NEWSLETTER

We are now several weeks into our Big Lottery Fund project and we now have in place the electrical framework to expand and complete our energy management project.

Since our last blog posting we have taken delivery of the equipment for the first phase of this project and installed it in the partially rebuilt engine room/crews cabin. Before we look at this new setup it is worth taking stock of what we have undertaken so far in this essential project.

Planning Phase

When we took over the charity in 2009 we had been made aware that the previous year there had been a major power failure as a result of a whole section of 50mm cable breaking down.

Once the new team had taken a good luck at all the wiring, how electricity was generated and all the associated problems, we knew we had no option but to develop a new system and replace the bulk of the equipment and wiring.

The first thing we had to do was to reduce the reliance on the generator as everything on Challenge was electric and linked to the generator. Hence, no power, no cooking, no battery charging, no pumps, no lift and no lights.

The first thing we did was reinstall gas as part of our galley refurbishment. The cooker, toaster and kettle were slung out. The next thing was to design a system that provided us with energy 24/7 and the primary battery charging came from the main engine and not the generator.

Funding the Project

Funding was always going to be a problem as estimated costs put this project at around £10k. This is more than twice the annual income of our small charity, which essentially is just enough for our annual running costs.

Fortunately we were successful in being awarded an ‘Awards for All’ grant from The Big Lottery Fund, http://www.awardsforall.org.uk This grant has now enabled us to take forward our project that will now put our charity and our activities on a firm footing for the foreseeable future.

What we have done so far

• Stripped out all the old panelling, timber framework and old insulation.
• Strengthened the floor and substructure for the new battery bank.
• Rebuilt the port side walls with higher grade insulation.
• Stripped out or rerouted all the 24V and 240V wiring.
• Installed a new 240V distribution board with RCD protection.
• Installed a new 24V distribution board.
• Replace the old 2x110amh battery bank with a 6x110amh bank.
• Installed a new Victron 24V Inverter/Charger & associated controls.
• Resited the main engine and generator batteries.
• Replaced all the 50 & 70mm cables to batteries, equipment and main busbar.
• Installed new fuse carriers/fuses & battery isolators.
• Replaced the 12V alternator with a 24V model and splitter system
• Drank loads of coffee and consumed copious amounts of cup-a-soup
 
 

Although it's nice to see pretty photos with any project, we've decided to pull them all together in the short film above.

 

Where to next?

The frozen kettle

Because winter’s fast approaching and we’ve ripped out the walls, ceiling and insulation, we need to ensure we get the insulation back ASAP. Our past experience of an uninsulated steel boat has not been a pleasant one. Icicles hanging from the ceiling, frozen water in the kettle and dripping water every.

Over the next few weeks we will be getting the rest of the walls/ceiling rebuilt and insulated. At the same time we’ll be putting in place the plans and work programme for the second phase of the project, the solar and wind power charging.

Nearer Christmas we may even treat our volunteers to an economy brand mince pie, and, if they play their cards right, we may even consider letting them have Christmas Day off.