2003 has been the start of a new era for Kanangra, For the first time in many years it gives me great pleasure to report some real progress towards the conservation & restoration of our historic Sydney Harbour ferry. Her future is really looking up.

This change of fortune has not come from any major financial injection, rather a volunteer lead push from a group of AHF members old & new. Various teams have begun work throughout the vessel, & the progress to date has been fantastic.

Thanks to some funding received late last year, we were able to have a full in water hull survey carried out. This revealed some very thin plating in sections, but thankfully quite a large section of the vessel was in better condition than first thought. This survey allowed us to formulate & implement a conservation plan, designed to keep the vessel afloat for the next 5 to 10 years. Automatic Bilge pumps have been installed in each void, and extensive cement boxing has been carried out on the worst areas of plating. At the time of writing about 6 tonnes of cement have been put into the vessel, with another 3 or so still to complete. A new mooring system has been designed & will be installed shortly to reduce the risk to the John Oxley & Sea Heritage Dock in the unlikely event that Kanangra was to founder. Waratah will be moving to Pyrmont in September as a further part of this risk minimisation program.

Major work has commenced on the upper deck, with all interior paint being stripped and prepared for restoration. The initial intention is to fully restore the aft end of the cabin & aft wheelhouse as a showpiece of what we can achieve with the vessel. The outside deck in front of the aft wheelhouse has also been stripped of all fittings. This section will require extensive timber replacement. We hope to start this during the next year. Rainwater ingress still is a major problem in sections. We currently have a large tarpaulin covering the aft end of the vessel. Other work has been carried out to further make the vessel weather tight and stop all the damage being caused to the timberwork from rainwater.

Our Engine Room restoration is currently being planned. We now have a dedicated Engineer who has come on board & he has been getting things together down below. Our electricians have also been doing sterling work, illuminating parts of the ship we have needed to work in, installing our bilge pumps & new switchboard for 240V power.

Momentum is building on Kanangra. I would like to thank our dedicated band of volunteers who have assisted in leading the charge this year: Col Tooher, Andrew Collier, Michael Brock, Graeme Regan, Ian McNichol, John Marsden, Andy Munns, & Mitch Spooner, Alan Stannard, Peter Hodder, Geoff Eastwood, Mal Finnan, Jan Reinhold, Peter Duffy, Nicholas Baker, Andrew Gowanlock, Brian Hill, Bob Carroll, Dave Logie, Bob Harkess, Hugh Cross, Paul Hansen, Kate Belfield, & Mike Belfield. There is no doubt that Kanangra’s future is looking far more secure because of the achievements of 2003.

If you would like to join the Kanangra Restoration Team, please contact Col Tooher, Andrew Collier, or myself. We would love to have you aboard. Brett Smith Ship's Executive ~ MV Kanangra Progress Update May 03 Progress Update Jan 03

Brett Smith and Andy Munns in the aft tank space Photo - Brett Smith