waimarie paddle steamer side slipped

sunhuntin · sunhuntin 09-17-2016, 07:31 AM out of the game

after what seems like months of cancelled dates for various reasons, local paddle steamer the waimarie was slipped from the local river for 5-year checks and repainting. it was pulled from the river by two steam traction engines from a nearby town... approx 40min by car, 7 hours by traction engine.

it has taken much preperation to level the riverbank enough to lay railway tracks that would take the cradle on which the boat now sits. the checks were meant to be done last year, but the massive floods put paid to that, so they were able to get it delayed a year.

good history here: http://waimarie.co.nz/about/waimarie-paddle-steamer/ i dont know much about her. as is the way with many local attractions, its just "there" until something like this comes along to pique interest.

more pics here, as always. http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/w...-2016.html

some piccys from last saturday, where they measured the winch cables and tested the cradle by winching up and down a few times.

a smaller steam boat in the background, called the wairua.

the lower limit of the track length

and the upper limit, above the normal high tide level

and some of todays photos.

a third engine was used to pack the silt and dirt firmly behind the stop blocks the engines were backed up against.

the jig is well under water

she was towed upriver by the coast guard, along with an entourage of other watercraft. the wairua was out again, filled with steam enthusiasts.

being nudged into position

high and dry for at least 3 weeks

ground level view.

**Super** · **Super** 09-19-2016, 07:38 AM Track Engineer

Those steam tractors are awesome. So neat to see that they would go through all the trouble of re-creating what would have been done instead of using the easier way with modern equipment. That steam river boat is in fabulous condition. Do they have to level off the banks every five years and lay down the track or might they be planning on making this site a more permanent area for removal? Will the repainting take place right there on the banks? Glad to see so much interest in something like this as it looks to have drawn a big crowd.

sunhuntin · sunhuntin 09-19-2016, 07:53 AM out of the game

this is the first time its ever been done. according to their agreement with council and other groups, the bank must be returned to how it was before all this happened, which was nothing spectaular. just a muddy bank, lol.

i think the core group are going to argue for keeping something there, they say for kayakers etc, though theres a perfectly suitable a slip not far up river, and one or two proper rowing docks/sheds across the other side, it was just too narrow and steep for this boat. theres also not much parking there for a car and trailer. the grassy patch has a tall kerb and the "driveway" is gated off.

all maintainence will take place where it sits. i think craning would be too risky, and you would be hard pressed to get two decent sized cranes into that area. the road down there is basically single vehicle width, and inaccessible to tall vehicles due to both the bridge in one direction, and trees in the other.

yes, the bridge and the opposite bank were packed, and cars crossing the bridge slowed down to a crawl, even though they wouldnt have seen much at all.

sunhuntin · sunhuntin 11-06-2016, 12:58 AM out of the game

the waimarie was successfully refloated yesterday afternoon, after almost 2 months high and dry.
the refloat took about 10mins, after which she was faced towards town by the coast guard, but did two sail-bys of the slip area, exchanging celebratory toots with the traction engines.

some of the photos are an odd shape as they were stills lifted out of videos i took. be nice if my camera could do both at once like some phones can, but never mind. could be worse! Big Grin