Starting the process of cutting out some steel

One major part of the project at this early stage is the cutting out of the two large bulkheads that separate the bow and stern from the cargo area. The living accommodation will pass beyond these at both ends so their removal was always on the cards, not to mention the need to open the entire barge up ready for de-rusting and the ongoing engineer’s calculations, based on the existing structure.

Despite the bulkheads being rusted through in a number of places, this turned out to be very localised with the steel returning to it’s full thickness of around 10mm within a couple of inches of the rust-holes meaning we’d have to get serious with the cutting gear.

First-up was a cheap-o Ebay special generic plasma cutter from China which managed a dismal 20 minutes before exploding in a cloud of smoke and electrical sparks! Biting the bullet we then opted for a second-hand slightly better branded unit and this seems to be standing the test of time and slicing its way through the steel at a good, steady pace.

Despite their bulk (see what I’ve done there?!?) these sections are not structural with all of the supporting steel to the backs stopping short of a full top-to-bottom span. We cut them out section by section but the moment they came away from the fixed steel they revealed themselves to be as heavy as they looked, developing a will of their own and trying to wander off in all sorts of directions. Laying them down and dragging them along the floor (bit like a vampire and his coffin?) seemed to stop this willful disobedience…

Breaking through into these dirt-filled forgotten spaces has had an air of looking into Tutankhamen’s tomb but so far all we’ve found is an old kettle, some cat bones and a 20p piece. Along with this is the usual ton of old Thames mud between all of the ribs that needs digging out – this is pretty grim as the space gets quite restricted in there and it turns out skulls are softer that steel beams (who knew?).