Camera capturing Medway Queen restoration

The society, which was formed 25 years ago, eventually plans to operate the steamer as a working museum to encourage a better understanding of the history of the vessel and the role of maritime shipping across the last century.

The Medway Queen, which in 1987 was refloated after 14 years under water, was deemed worthy of Heritage Lottery Funding which has enabled the Society to instruct the Albion Dockyard in Bristol to build a new fully riveted hull and restore the ship using traditional methods. A riveted hull of this kind is the first to be constructed in the UK for over 50 years.

The complex and lengthy process is of significant historic interest and to ensure the supporters of the Society and historians could maintain an accurate record, the society decided to invest a small sum on a time lapse system to record the rebuild. Tim Corthorn, webmaster for the society explained, ‘We had looked at a number of systems but the quality was poor. It was only until we saw an example of a high resolution Mobotix system that we were convinced that we could create a record that would do the ship justice..

Mr Corthorn contacted NW Systems Group Ltd, a local partner of Mobotix AG, which installed a single high resolution Megapixel quality Mobotix camera at the boat yard. ‘We decided to move the position a little later to get a better view, and the chaps from NW Systems were helpful and professional’, said Mr Corthorn.

The system connects to a local web hosting provider which stores monthly footage and makes a video feed available to the Medway Queen Preservation Society website for real-time observation. The Mobotix camera also takes pictures at set intervals which are stored securely, building up an archive showing the extent of the reconstruction. At the end of the rebuild, NW Systems will use the images to create a DVD quality, time lapse movie. A second camera is also due to be installed to cover the stern of the ship as well.