Each year, Operations Manager Bill puts together a detailed plan for the team. There are over a hundred separate tasks to be completed on this winter's plan. Some of the work is challenging, some mundane (sanding and varnishing) and some, quite frankly, sounds a little bizarre to those unfamiliar with the world of steam boats e.g. ‘remove blowdown pipe’, ‘service seacocks’, ‘clean strum boxes’.
This year’s major jobs are the servicing of the engine and hull, followed by rebuild projects for the saloon skylight window frames and the aft wing sections adjacent to the Purser’s office and Bear Pit steps which have suffered from extensive rot and now require complete refurbishment.