The fate of Irish Lightships

DavidGD

Further to my post yesterday. My son has recently bought the Cormorant, which has a chequered history. She was built in 1876/78 by the Victoria Shipbuilding Co., West Passage Cork, Ireland. She was 91 ft long, 21 ft wide and her draft was 11ft. She cost £7.500 to build and served on many Irish stations. Her construction was a composite of teak planking over Iron Frames.

In 1942 she was sold to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners and renamed "Lady Dixon" after the Harbour Masters wife.

In the 1940s and 1950s she is reputed to have been used as the Belfast Pilot Station, but I am doubtful about this as the only photo available does not, in my opinion, show the same vessel (see photo).

Later in life she was destined to become a pirate radio station, but Customs and Excise intervened!

Later she is reputed to have been moored at Pitsea and converted to a houseboat under her original title of Cormorant (not to be confused with a later lightship called Cormorant II built in 1964).

Now she is moored at Hoo near Rochester. Only one third of the above deck accommodation is habitable and below deck is in a poor state and bare. It is too late for preservation, so my son is following the conservation route. It will be a houseboat (houseship?) but with as many of the original features preserved as remain at present. The 'stumps' of the main and the mizzen masts are still there below deck, but nothing above.

We can find only one picture of the vessel (see photo) which we assume was during her time in Pitsea as a houseboat or houseboat project. We would love to find out what she looked like originally and any other history.
David

Judgement Day

Good luck with the preservation/restoration project. Perhaps you could do a blog like the one for "Gannet" http://lightshipgannet.blogspot.ie/ and keep us informed with progress. I have been unable to find any pics of Cormorant other than the houseboat one that you posted but I'll keep you in mind if I find anything.

DavidGD

Thanks. I will have a go at a blog, but have no experience with such things! Any important discoveries I can post here.
David

Freedive Ireland

Fantatsic project best of luck with it. Be great to see the updates.

DavidGD

More by luck than judgement, I am now a blogger - your fault Judgement Day!
A first, tentative post can be seen at

http://cormorantlightship.blogspot.co.uk

David

Judgement Day

DavidGD wrote: »

More by luck than judgement, I am now a blogger - your fault Judgement Day!
A first, tentative post can be seen at

http://cormorantlightship.blogspot.co.uk

David

It's addictive! I have added you as a link on my blog here: http://insatiablecollector.wordpress.com/ I really need a dedicated lightship one.

pedroeibar1

Walter Hayward Young the artist (probably best known for his work for Tuck & Sons, the postcard publishers) painted a few lightships as 'Jotter' - when he toured Ireland on one of his visits in the very early 1900s he did one of the Codling (I think) with another LV on the CIL West Pier moorings. I have it somewhere ..................

DavidGD

Thank you Pedroeibar1. That gives me a new line of enquiry. But for the moment I must get my blog up to date!
David

Judgement Day

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Walter Hayward Young the artist (probably best known for his work for Tuck & Sons, the postcard publishers) painted a few lightships as 'Jotter' - when he toured Ireland on one of his visits in the very early 1900s he did one of the Codling (I think) with another LV on the CIL West Pier moorings. I have it somewhere ..................

This is the Dun Laoghaire one by 'Jotter' - I haven't come across any others but given that he got everywhere I shouldn't be surprised if he painted more lightships.

DavidGD

I have had a close look at the photograph of the Belfast Pilot Station vessel and compared its dimensions etc to those of Cormorant/Lady Dixon.
In addition to the shape of the bow and that of the stern being very different, the measurements of bow to superstructure; superstructure; superstructure to stern; and distance between masts is significantly different to Cormorant. This is in addition to the length (measured using the 6ft man) is 15ft shorter than Cormorant.
I therefore surmise that this is not Cormorant, in spite of all the reports claiming it is - plus the opinion of the chap who took the photo!
So more investigation needed and I can see a trip the the Public Records Office in Belfast coming up!
David

DavidGD

Meanwhile, in the National Archives, I have found reference to a request by the Belfast Harbour Commissioners in 1943, for a registration survey and tonnage measurement to be made in Dublin. I have requested a copy.
David

DavidGD

Meanwhile, come on all you naval types, the keel on Simon's ship has a bracket on it which is rather hinge-like. (see photo). Would these engine-less vessels have needed a rudder? Would the mechanism have penetrated the hull through a gland? There is no obvious trace of mechanism inside but there is a large plate in just the right area..... (photo)
David

HeidiHeidi

I have no idea of the answer to your question, I'm afraid, but had to come on here to say.....

That looks like the absoulute mother and father of a project your son has taken on :eek:

More power to him, and I wish him the best with it - I look forward to reading the updates!

DavidGD

Hi Heidi
You are absolutely right, it is one hell of a project. At least he is able to live aboard in 'relative' comfort, which improves as the work proceeds.
I will be reporting major advances here, but if you want the nitty gritty, I have been persuaded to start a blog (not even knowing what a blog was) and you can read it at http://cormorantlightship.blogspot.co.uk
David

DavidGD

STOP PRESS: The National Archives also has a document from the Belfast Harbour Commissioners referring to the Lady Dixon being used as a Pilot Station complete with accommodation, and the document has apparently got plans attached! I have asked for a copy…….
David

pedroeibar1

David,
Have you been in contact with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) in Dublin? They have an annual magazine ‘Beam’ that always has a ‘history’ article or two and the readership is mainly CIL/ex-CIL employees, along with those in the other lighthouse authorities. Past issues of 'Beam' are downloadable (free) on the CIL site.
I’d bet that a letter to Beam's editor on what is being done to the Cormorant would be published and would produce a positive result, as many of the CIL people had parents/grandparents in the lighthouse service.
P.
PS - on the 'Jotter' series I have not located the cards, I think one is the same as that posted by J Day but there certainly is another of Dunlaoghaire I think from the East Pier....

DavidGD

Thanks Pedro, I will contact CIL - can't think why I haven't tried it before.
I don't understand your PS. Never heard of the 'Jotter' series......
David

pedroeibar1

DavidGD wrote: »

Thanks Pedro, I will contact CIL - can't think why I haven't tried it before.
I don't understand your PS. Never heard of the 'Jotter' series......
David

They have a few mentions of Cormorant on their site -

Cormorant Built 1876/78 by Victoria Shipbuilding Co, Passage West, Cork; length 91 feet, breadth 21 feet depth 11 feet; construction composite: iron frame, two thicknesses of 3 inch teak, sheathed with yellow metal; steel mast and fixed lantern; mizzen mast carrying day mark; cost £7,500; sold in 1942 to Belfast Harbour Commissioners, re named Lady Dixon. Established as Belfast pilot station, moored south of Carrickfergus from 1943 to 1959 with light & fog signal. Subsequently owned by Peter Horlock and moored at Mistley on the River Orwell in England. Subsequently sold to Graham Reeve and moored at Milton Creek near Sittingbourne. Bought c. 1990 by Terry Middleton who renamed her The Lady Dixonand moored at Hoo Marina, near Chatham on the River Medway in Kent. Sold to Gary and Christina Burton in 2008 and renamed Lady December and still moored at Hoo, Nr Rochester in Kent.

CIL has (had?? -huge cutbacks there) an archivist , a man named Pelly; in addition to contacting the 'Beam' editor it probably be best to talk to him first. I obtained info from CIL ages ago and found them very helpful.

Ignore the 'Jotter' comment, it was aimed more at Judgement Day on postcards in which lightships were included..

DavidGD

Thanks again Pedro. I have sent an e-mail to Frank Pelly today, but the Beam newsletter is no longer published - economy measures apparently. Hopefully Frank will have some gems to offer.....
David

DavidGD

While I have convinced myself that Simon's vessel is not the same one as depicted in the Belfast Pilot Station photograph (see Chapter 6), I am now very confident that it is the same vessel as depicted in the 1960s photograph of Lady Dixon taken I believe in Pitsea. (If I knew how to insert a photo from my PC, I would do so here!)

With the aid of my trusty computer, I traced the main features of this ship and transferred them onto a photograph of the Beast, which I took on a recent visit. The angle of the two vessels is not quite the same - had I planned ahead I would have stood a couple of feet further along - so some of the features do not quite match up. However I think that with an adjustment in camera angle, they will. (I cannot insert a photo without a URL - whatever that is).

The bulwark has long since disappeared, but otherwise it is a very good match. Incidentally, a number of the original stanchions/ribs that supported the bulwark are still there and Simon has bought over 50ft of suitable timber to replace the missing/unusable ones. The timber - reclaimed roof joists - he got at a real knock-down price (good old eBay!). He does not plan to fill in with planks as original, but will have a ship's rail on top and a safety rail at the half height level for most of the ship, with a built in curve at the stern, with built in seating. Something like this ..... no, sorry, cannot fathom how to do this!

Meanwhile, if Lady Dixon and the Beast are the same ship and the Pilot Station and the Beast are not, then the red Lady Dixon and the Pilot Station are also not the same ship. So what has gone on between the lightship called Cormorant and the Pilot Station called Lady Dixon; and the Pilot Station called Lady Dixon and the red ship called Lady Dixon?? I am hoping the two documents from the National Archives might throw some light on the matter.
David

DavidGD

The helpful Susi has told me how to include photos, so here are the photos for my previous post ... hope it works!
David

DavidGD

I am still waiting for those documents from the National Archives. :mad:

Meanwhile Simon has not been idle. When the day job is not interfering he is getting on with the renovation. The starboard side needed scraping and painting with de-ruster. It certainly looks a lot better, but his new kitchen window is looking rather crowded! :P
David

DavidGD

Curiouser and curiouser! We have discovered another 'feature' on the main mast. It is difficult to photograph, being so close to the wall ... sorry bulkhead ... (Photo 1). It is directly adjacent to that bolted panel in the bulkhead ... (Photo 2) ......which from the other side of the bulkhead looks like this ... (Photo 3)

Now that is what I call a permanent job. With 14 bolts holding it, nobody is going to get access to the mast through there in a hurry. So what is/was it for? And what is that relatively small plate on the mast covering? There are only about four bolts holding that on.

I need to get down there and examine the mast in great detail. There must be a man-sized entrance somewhere on it. Meanwhile, my theory about this small panel is as follows:

That small plate covers an emergency access point to the mast - in case the door (which I have yet to find) became stuck. Why it is next to a bulkhead I have no idea, except that perhaps that was the only place it could be due to the main access door taking up the rest of the mast area. There would then have to be an access point through the bulkhead and this may well have been a watertight door - part of a watertight bulkhead right across the ship. Now then, if the Belfast Harbour Commissioners got rid of the old moveable oil lamp .... (Photo Lamp 1) ... and replaced it with one of the new, fixed electric lamps when they bought the Cormorant (lightship) and converted it to a Pilot Station in 1943....(Photo Lamp 2) ...all access to the inside of the mast would have been redundant and all holes sealed up to add to the strength of the mast. That bulkhead access panel would also be redundant and was permanently sealed.

I am hoping the documents from the National Archives will reveal all. Mind you, this still does not explain the differences in proportions and hull shape that I pointed out in an earlier post.

If anyone has another theory or any comments on mine, feel free!
David

DavidGD

With Winter approaching, young men’s fancy turns to – dryness and warmth‼ Because most of the teak decking has long gone, there is only rusty metal plate between the cold night air and the (future) living space below deck. Condensation is also quite a problem and because the drain holes are above the plate level, there are all sorts of leaking opportunities when it rains. Hopefully we have a cunning plan which will solve both problems. The sides of the ship are a separate project!
I related earlier how the plan was to fill in the space left by the absent decking with a thick layer of all-weather ‘tennis court’ surfacing. This was going to be very difficult (the deck has a slight curve to facilitate drainage and following that curve with a fluid whilst maintaining a constant thickness …. need I say more?).
So now Simon is being advised by a professional roofer and a more complicated, but more feasible plan is emerging. Looking at the more difficult part of the deck – the curved walkways down each side, which have light-boxes built in ….. (Photo)



First the deck will be given a coat of primer. Then short lengths of timber, about the thickness of scaffolding-type planking, will be wedged across the walkways, at 5ft intervals, between the superstructure and the wide baulks of timber which edge the ship. The intervening spaces will be filled, to the same height, with roof insulation panels.... (Photo)


Then bitumen is poured into all the gaps


Sheets of marine ply are now laid over and secured to the planks. The surface is then treated like a roof – with bitumen and that gravelly bitumen sheeting you see on flat roofs.... (Photo)


The green colour of the bitumen sheeting is merely to differentiate it from the ply.

Then Simon can have a thin coat of tennis court material if he chooses. The light boxes will be double-glazed and the deck will then be insulated and leak-proof.


That's the plan anyway!
David

Drummerboy08

That's a really cool, yet daunting project to take on. Fair play.

DavidGD

The long-awaited documents finally arrived from the National Archives – well the first batch anyway. We did not expect these to be helpful in resolving the puzzle of whether Cormorant was the same vessel as the one in the Belfast Pilot Station photo, however they were fascinating in their own right.

Firstly, the origin of the paperwork was a request from the Belfast Harbour Commissioners to have the Cormorant registered as a British ship and to have her surveyed and measured. The Cormorant was obviously still in Dublin at this point in time. I assume the nationality distinction arose because the body responsible for ‘lights’ (lighthouses and lightships) around Ireland has always been combined north and south (and still is). Now that Belfast Harbour was going to use the ship for purely Belfast purposes, they wanted it ‘properly’ registered. On the face of it there was no problem, but a question arose as to whether the term ‘ship’ was appropriate! The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 stated that if a vessel is not used in navigation, it is not a ship within the meaning of the Act and, if solely employed as a lightship, would fall under the definition of a lighthouse!

However, it was accepted for registration on the grounds that a Ministry of War Transport 21 (a derrick pontoon) has been accepted, so why not this lightship? This was in no way to settle the question of whether it could be called a ship – “… this being a matter for the courts”.

There was also a question of fees for the Belfast surveyors visiting Dublin. In the end ‘normal’ fees and expenses were charged (but not listed) as Dublin could be considered as not being ‘abroad’ ‼
Although many records state that Cormorant was 91 ft long, these documents have her at 98ft 6in, with a beam of 20ft. Her Gross Tonnage was 182.98 and Register Tonnage 136.33, although I have not yet determined the reason for the difference. Her Official Number was 168531. She had no means of propulsion, but did have a rudder.

Finally, the alterations to the vessel were to be carried out in Dublin. She was to become a combined lightship and pilot station, with a crew of 10 and accommodation for 9 pilots.

The second batch of documents should be here next week. I can hardly wait!

DavidGD

CHAPTER 13 - 2 Nov 2013
34 years in the Army did teach me a few lessons, which I would be quite happy to pass on to the younger generation – not with any confidence that they would take heed. The one that applies to this saga of the Cormorant’s restoration/preservation is to let your boss know what you are doing and what you are going to do and never let him have to chase you to find that out. Unfortunately Simon is still experiencing the very opposite – workmen who do not turn up, do not give warning of their absence and do not respond to telephone calls, answer machine messages, texts or e-mails. “All they have to do is tell me, so I know what is going on”, says Simon quite reasonably, but they don’t. One has even (apparently) left the planet, leaving all his tools on board. Simon is tempted to throw them into the Medway!
So things are going very slowly at the moment and although the new kitchen is lit, plumbed and looking a lot better, the port side picture window is not yet fitted. (Photo)



That small Aga is not part of the kitchen equipment and Simon is trying to work out how to remove it from the ship and what to do with it when it is ashore.
This kitchen and the living room are insulated with rigid foam panels behind plasterboard, but the shapes of the ‘walls’ below deck do not lend themselves to this method . (Photo)



There is also a need to prevent condensation forming. Simon’s plan is to spray foam insulation down there, then cover with boarding which follows the contours. But, the ship is over 400ft from shore, near the end of a long, narrow catwalk. The only firms he has found so far have their equipment mounted in vehicles, with a maximum hose length of 150ft. A problem yet to be solved!
While Simon is sorting this out and finding more, reliable, tradesmen, and I am waiting for the arrival of those 1943 plans from the National Archives, I can get back to the mystery of the main mast and its access point. The mast has several badly defined panels, so where exactly is the door and how tall is it ….? Which of the four options? (Photo)
Never mind the insulation and the other things Simon, get below and take some close-up photos of that mast!
David

DavidGD

I wonder if someone out there can help us with one aspect of the project. I have been wondering why the stanchions at the bow are much taller than those elsewhere and what the two massive beams were for at the bow. (Photo) That rail is a definite afterthought and originally the whole of the bow was covered in and built up to the top of those two pillars, rather like on the Gull (Photo).

Our plan is to reduce the height of those stanchions, to make them about the same as those in the rest of the ship. They will be boarded in, to match the stern – or the stern as it will be when the seating is in place. (Photo) This will leave about a foot or two of the beams still projecting and we think this lends itself to some sort of figure head(s). (Photo)


So, if anyone out there knows of a wood sculptor (no chain saws please) who would like to leave his mark (and not too big a bill), please get in touch.

DavidGD

Great excitement today – the Postman arrived with a large envelope from the National Archives. At last! But I did not find the plans I was expecting. There was a written description of the intended layout and much discussion about whether the officers and engineers could use the lavatories amidships, but no plans.
Leaping onto my computer I began to write an e-mail to the National Archives, but was interrupted by another ring on the door bell. The Postman had returned with a parcel he had overlooked – a large postal tube from the National Archives. Yes, inside were two blueprints, plan and side elevation of the Cormorant (now called Lady Dixon). So cancel the e-mail. (Photo)


These plans will take some time to study of course. First impressions –
The plans are annotated in pen and ink and rubber stamped. These annotations are very clear, almost as if they had been added yesterday, not 70 years ago.
There is an Aga stove indicated in the galley. Is that the one I mentioned in an earlier post? In which case Simon cannot dispose of this historic artifact! (Photo)



The Captain seems to have as much living space as the rest of the crew put together!
The light is definitely fixed, with an exterior ladder for access. As there is no mention of alterations to this mast, I must assume that the Cormorant was updated sometime earlier from the original 'hoistable' lamp to a fixed lamp as seen here.

There is a ‘Diaphone Turret’ next to the main mast.
I may have solved the question of the difference in the shape of the stern between the Belfast Pilot Station photo and Simon’s ship – a ‘boat platform’ has been added.(Photo)

There is much to discover, but I will have to leave the rest for another day!
David

who the fug

Great news

A brief bit on Clarke Chapman from Wiki , least one UK company still going