Stories From The Ship

NOTE: This page is for stories of De Wadden I have been told by the Kennedy family and the Merseyside Maritime Museum. Since there are no publicly available 'sources' for these (meaning they haven't been written down), they get their own page. All of these events still happened.

Playing In Sand

- One day, during Kenneth Kennedy's tenure of ownership, his son, Stevie, seemingly went missing aboard the ship. Kenneth worried that Stevie may have fallen overboard, a possibility for someone who was four years old, but after searching they found him in the hold, playing in the load of sand they had collected. Due to the hatches being closed, there was no way to tell if he was in the hold or not.

Told by Kenneth, Kerry, and Stevie Kennedy. 

Off to Lairds

- At some point in her museum life, there were plans to have her sent to Merseyside's local shipyard, Cammell Laird, for a complete restoration. This would entail replacing virtually the entire hull, and using any parts from the ship they still had and putting them onboard. This would have meant a large majority of the ship was no longer original but definitely would have enabled her to sail again. The plan never came to fruition for several reasons, including financial, logistical, and the concern for a 'Ship of Theseus' scenario.

Told by an employee at the maritime museum.

A New Home for the Ship's Bow

- The ship's bow is being preserved and moved to Arklow as a museum piece during the scrapping process, reconnecting the ship to Arklow for the first time since 1961.

Told by an employee at the maritime museum, enforced by the bow being taken away by a truck owned by Arklow-based Dean Chambers Transport Ltd.

Lost Gasket

- Kenneth had hidden a gasket amongst De Wadden's cabins and it seemingly slipped out of reach. Kenneth intended to keep the gasket but could never retrieve it before selling the ship to the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Told by Kenneth Kennedy.

Engine Thermometer

- When Kenneth decided to re-engine the ship, he scrapped the six-cylinder 150 hp Crossley DR diesel that she had when he bought her. He only kept the thermometer from the engine. 

Told by Kenneth Kennedy

Ruined Paint

- Kenneth was painting the ship once when a random boy came by and threw sand at the still-wet paint.

Told by Kenneth Kennedy.

'When does she leave?'

- A man came aboard one day and was pacing up and down her deck for a good amount of time until Kenneth approached the man and asked him what was up. The man asked when the ship would be leaving, presumably believing he could take passage on her.

Told by Kenneth Kennedy.

Storage

- Everything that has been removed from the ship remains in storage in Bootle, Merseyside, north of the ship. This includes the old masts, bowsprit box and bowsprit, deckhouses, fittings, fixtures, the Caterpillar diesel engine, and anything else removed from the ship since 1984.

Told by the Head of the Maritime Museum, Ian Murphy, as well as two other museum employees.

A Frowned Upon Venture

- When Kenneth made the decision to purchase De Wadden, it was frowned upon by locals due to many considering the ship as nothing more than a wreck.

Told by Kenneth and Kerry Kennedy.

Changes

- Many of the changes made by Kenneth to the ship were not seen as nice or seaworthy by a lot of people. In my opinion, the changes were welcome!

Told by Kerry Kennedy.

Short Term Investment

- Kenneth believed that the ship wasn't built with a long lifespan in mind. I believe this scenario is likely as the design of De Wadden and her sister ships was a small, cheap template that was used to take advantage of very temporary trading conditions caused by Dutch neutrality in WW1. This is supported by her being sold off after just 5 years of service under her original owners, the Netherlands Steamship Company.

Told by Kerry Kennedy.

Concrete Keel

- When Kenneth Kennedy had De Wadden, he installed a six-inch thick layer of concrete in the keel, in level with the top of the frames. In the past, the same frames were covered in wood, but it wasn't fixed and could be lifted, meaning sand could get through, so if there was a leak the floorboards would float. Concrete was used instead of wood, as it was far less prone to leaks. The downside to this was that it impaired the keel's ability to flex under force, contributing to the already damaged keel, which was made up of five individual pieces (joints). The inside of the hold was painted saffron, as opposed to white as it had been.

Told by Kenneth and Kerry Kennedy.

A Paddle Steamer?

- When the ship was filming for Mendelssohn Scotland or The Lost Tribe, fake paddle wheels were built and installed on the ship at the desire of the film crew. A photo exists of such configuration. There were also plans to remove her mainmast and replace it with a fake funnel for filming.

Told by Kenneth Kennedy.

Layout Details

- Up forward at the bow were two small toilets that emptied over the sides, which were removed by Kenneth. A ballast tank at the stern was used for toilet water, the output pipe running across the engine room.

The saloon deckhouse utilised the aft main hatch as part of it's wall, with a cut-out being made in the hatch for a doorway. Behind the hatch was the galley, installed after the old one up forward had been removed. There was a pass-through hole in the wall of the galley that led to the saloon.

Kenneth had a toilet in a space in the aft deckhouse that used to be taken up by the captain. The space had two small portholes, that looked into the galley.

Told by the Kennedy family.