on 22/3/2023, 10:13:40, in reply to "Re: The Mi Amigo's end. March 20th 1980"
https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/comment/102543735#Comment_102543735 
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Must have resembled a metal and wooden hedgehog beneath the waves. Nice to see my first tender skipper here Terry! Previous Message
Yes, mixing certain metals on a ship is really problematic especially over the long term.
During the summer and autumn of 1979 I made various tender trips to the Old Lady carrying amongst other things wood, sand and cement.
She was leaking quite a bit then, especially during the summer period until the concrete patches were applied.
It was never a permanent solution though, how long she would have lasted had she not lost the anchor that day we'll never know. Previous Message
The modifications happened when she was still a ‘working girl’. When making bi-metal extensions, some steels and iron do not mix together and react badly, then corrode at an accelerated rate. This happened on the Mi-Amigo over an extended length of time. Previous Message
In a previous life, the Mi Amigo was lengthened in the engine room area, Albert & myself think they used lesser quality or thickness metal for it. The leaks were always in that area. I think this modification happened way back in the early 1960s, when she was converted to become Radio Nord.
She did pretty well to last as long as she did really. Previous Message
Nigel Harris and I were on her the day before the sinking, little did we know then what was to happen. On reflection the hull was rotted badly underneath and I think that when she grounded all of the wood and concrete repairs made over time must have been dislodged and that was that. Previous Message
