Top: under way Above: Main aft deck looking forward into the saloon and along the port side deck
Opposite:
A detail from
one of the
original two
engines
26
CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2019
HAIDA
to allow easier access to the bilge for effective corrosion
management plus the lead ballast was smelted down
and poured back into the bilges and tanks to replace
the ingots.
Remarkably, Haida still has her original diesel engines,
also produced by her builder, Krupp Germaniawerft.
There would have been several compelling reasons to
replace them with modern diesels – not least the
availability of technical expertise and spare parts, and
the freeing up of a significant amount of space, as the old
engines are of considerable size – but the new owner was
determined they should be retained. A great deal of work
was needed to return them to full working order. One
example was the cylinder heads: three of the four, which
weigh about 400kg each, had to be replaced with new
ones. These were cast using one of the old cylinder heads
as a pattern, and by slicing another into sections then
scanning it to get a detailed picture of exactly how the
new ones should be machined.
Gear wheels were also replaced by casting new ones,
and all 12 pistons (each about a metre long and weighing
200kg) were removed, inspected and crack-tested, as a
result of which two were replaced with spares from the
yacht’s container. Many other parts were removed,
tested, inspected and replaced as necessary.
This work was overseen by Andy Platt, Pendennis’s
engineering manager, with very limited information.
He did have a manual in French, written when some
servicing work was carried out in Marseilles 15 years
earlier, but at that time the generators were also by
Krupp and it was by no means clear which sections
were about which engines. Andy had some of it
translated but “realised very quickly that was
just a very expensive waste of time”. He benefitted
a lot from the different experiences of other members
of the Pendennis engineering team but, other than that,
he had to “determine the specifications, the materials,
the design, and the tolerances” himself throughout the
project. It was a “once in a lifetime opportunity” in
his marine engineering career.
It is thought that Haida’s engines are the oldest diesels
still working in their original installation anywhere in the
world and they clearly drew affection from various
people at Pendennis, with phrases such as “the life and
soul of the boat” and “a big part of what makes her so
special” among the heartfelt comments.
The biggest changes to the interior include the
creation of a hammam spa, massage room and
hairdressing parlour where there was previously a linen
and wine store on the lower deck aft, and the conversion
of the study forward of the library into a wine store to
partly compensate for the storage space lost to the
hammam area. Elsewhere, the owner’s bathroom suite
has a new bath, and another new hammam spa where
there used to be a shower area; there is a new bar
in the lobby area that opens onto the main deck aft;
most of the air-conditioning units have been replaced
and reinstalled more effectively, necessitating many
joinery alterations; the AV/IT systems have been
comprehensively upgraded including the provision of
an iPad in every cabin with access to music from Haida’s
central supply; there are three new projectors in the sky
lounge, library and starboard crew mess; there have been
lighting upgrades throughout; and three new fireplaces
- fuelled by alcohol gel cartridges – have been installed,
in the saloon, sky lounge and dining room.
During the course of Haida’s life, the tenders and
lifeboats have been stored in various places on the bridge
deck, most recently aft immediately outside the sky
lounge, severely restricting the views and the
opportunities to enjoy the deck areas there. So it was
decided to return these vessels to their original positions
amidships each side of the funnel. This involved cutting
recesses into the sun deck each side and the fabrication
of goalpost-shaped davits – made by the same company
that made the davits for the RMS Titanic and for the
1997 blockbuster film of the same name – which not
only look traditional, but comply with modern SOLAS
requirements to be able to launch a rescue boat within a
period of five minutes. These necessitated considerable