Raising the roof on a new floating church Towpath mooring
BOAT designer and surveyor Tony Tucker was called in to help turn an innovative design for a floating church into reality.
Denizen Works, two young but successful architects, had produced a proposal for the London Diocese featuring the unique idea of having a lifting roof.
This was originally planned to go over both the fore and aft sections of the vessel with a main public entrance between, the idea being based on organ bellows and a Dormobile!
Tony of Tucker Designs was approached to properly design and engineer the vessel to be built at Turks Shipyard at Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent.
The hull design and construction was relatively simple; being a widebeam barge, the only major differences were to insert a double chine to reduce her overall displacement and a Schilling rudder for steering to give better overall manoeuvrability.
But the superstructure was a different matter. Having two sections of roof opening was quickly kicked into touch as the aft section opened over kitchen and toilet areas.
An 8.4m length of aluminium alloy roof forward, weighing some 1700kg, opens on a hinge using simple hydraulic cylinders. The gap left is filled with a fabric bellows arrangement.
Tony explained: “This sounds simple until one realises that it has to be fireproof, must maintain its shape even in a strong wind and more especially when the roof is being closed so it is not guillotined. The interstitial spaces created must be vermin proof and keep out insects who decide it’s a nice place to set up home.
“It must be capable of being fitted (it weighs over 1000kg) and is U-shaped. Individual sections need to be ‘removable’ in case of serious damage. Last, but not least, space is necessary for it to be stowed in readiness but be invisible both internally and externally.”
Tony worked with Chris Jeckells of Jeckells sailmakers in creating and engineering the bellows.
When this started the local churches were using an interim vessel, Elsdale II, or ‘the floating classroom’.
An innovative boat in her own right, Elsdale II was a 70ft x 14ft (22m x 4.26m) all-electric inland boat built in 2004 to take school parties during the day and operate as a function boat by night (up to 14 hours of use) capable of recharging overnight. “Unbeknown to them I designed the boat they were already using,” added Tony.
The church is now located on a towpath mooring in Hackney Wick, North East London. It is moored on the River Lee Navigation alongside Here East Technology Campus at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where it will stay for the next 3-5 years as a base for St Columba East, before it sails off to support other canalside communities.
Hackney is known for its creative regenerations dotted around the borough and now has a new addition where passers-by are offered a place of learning and well-being.
Genesis will help serve growing communities who live around the east London canal and welcomes people of all faiths and none.
As much as it will provide a venue for Christian worship, the boat will provide a place of learning and wellbeing and it will also be available for a host of community-led development programmes, children’s theatre, art exhibitions, business functions and inter-faith celebrations.
St Columba East London, a new worshipping community led by the Rev Dave Pilkington, has a permanent home following the delivery of Genesis. He has already organised five-a-side matches with his congregation and he is even hoping to conduct baptisms in the water, in a stretch known locally as the Hackney Riviera.
“After all,” he said, “Jesus was baptised in the Jordan, which probably wasn’t too sanitised either.”
The Diocese of London’s vision for this creation was in partnership with the two other churches, St Paul Old Ford and St Mary of Eton, supported with the help of £10,000 in funding from Allchurches Trust as well as from others – The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The John and Diana Kemp-Welch Charitable Trust, The Wates Family Enterprise Trust and The Jerusalem Trust – in addition to those who gave anonymously to support the project.