The Trust had agreed that Alder could be based at Over Basin; there was room to work on the tug on dry land and as the basin is owned by the Trust there would be no need for a licence or mooring fees.
Having finalised the paperwork for the tug, we then needed to find crane and transport operators who could move the boat. Quotes were obtained and the operators finally chosen were Ellis Crane Hire and Ellis Transport, both local companies who offered competitive prices for the job.
A date was set for 15 October 2007 and by 8.00am that morning, BW had moved the tug to Devizes Wharf where there was room for the crane and the lorry to lift it out. The lift went very smoothly and by 11.00am Alder was on its way to Gloucester.
Lorry, crane and tug arrived safely at Over Basin, and after a bit of juggling with building materials on site, Alder was offloaded onto waiting baulks of wood alongside the basin.
Work undertaken so far on Alder has included the cleaning, patching and repainting of the hull with 5 coats of blacking. The propeller was cracked so was removed and repaired, at the same time the stern tube was checked and re-greased and a new stern tube collar was made. The engine has been serviced and had new filters and a number of oil changes. The last major job done before the winter set in was to rub down and repaint the roof of the cabin.
The following year two round porthole windows were added to the cabin.
In 2010 the volunteer team at Over completed the red oxide undercoats to the superstructure of Alder and progressed to top coats when the weather permited. The colour scheme of black and yellow, as per the Trust’s colours, styled like the British Waterways blue and yellow that the boats were painted in the past.
Alder was given a full deck, and has been fitted with a bilge pump.
