It’s All a Blur…

One of my favorite pics from the past two and a half weeks: Chris at work in one of the tanks.

Fun on a Friday

Some images from yesterday.

Measuring ullage:

Not just one, but two sections of pipe fell to the bottom of this tank.

This leads to the hottest new shipboard craze…

Forget planking! We’ve gone beyond that to…tanking!

Suction line with check valve and strainer in situ in tank:

Second section of pipe recovered and passed up to the weather deck through the tank hatch:

Examining patching (and repatching) done in Tank 5 (starboard):

Oops. It seems the patching has failed.

Looking up again. The only way in and out of the tank:

Finally, a manufacturer’s mark spotted on a steel frame in the tank.:

The steel was added when the ship was converted into a tank ship.

In the Tanks

When I arrived at the ship on Monday the 23rd, the ship was visibly listing to starboard. This was not a surprise considering that we were pumping ballast water between the cargo tanks in order to access their lower levels and that the tank bulkheads have holes in them. No cause for alarm, but strange to walk on a slightly tilting deck.

Over the past week, I’ve had the opportunity to climb down into just over half of the tanks. It’s one thing to look at photos and videos (Brush’s 2009 survey), but quite another to see things for myself…a sobering, but fascinating experience.

Here is the upper part of Tank 2 on the starboard side. Not so bad.

A different world waits at the bottom of the ladder.

Brush taking photos with Esmon and Tony from Leeward Marine assisting:

Interesting detail…bottom of the main mast, which was incorporated into the centerline bulkhead.

And, yes, that’s water leaking through a hole in the bulkhead. The tank on the other side has a higher level of water in it.

A view looking up to the access hatch, giving some idea of the depth of the tank:

How Time Flies…

It’s hard to believe that a week has gone by since the start of the photographic hull survey. The work has been hot and tiring, but fun and quite interesting. I’ve learned quite a bit as well.

Anyway, here are some photos of what’s been happening on board the ship!

We were fortunate to have welding and riveting expert Vern Mesler stop by.

Vern and Chris Jannini looking at rivets at the stern of the ship:

Vern and his wife Nan Jackson examine the aftpeak area:

Chris was right! The lower part of the jigger mast is wood. Curious!

Numbers and letters (big mahalo to Alvin) for labeling frames and strakes:

Strainer design:

Volunteers in safety gear in lazarette:

Mossend stamp:

Robert Jamieson and volunteers dealing with a hose connected to one of the submersible pumps:

Geologic features in a ship! Ripple marks in the sediment in the aftpeak:

Dr. Lloyd Hihara from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa/Hawaii Corrosion Lab visited the ship. Chris, Dr. Hihara, and Vern looking at the hull:

Some of Robert Jamieson’s wonderful drawings of the ship:

More work on the pumping system:

Chris in the forepeak:

Hole in the collision bulkhead leading to the chain locker:

The lower set of bow ports:

I was very glad that I had the opportunity to climb down into the forepeak to have a closer look at the condition of the hull there.

Hole in the bulkhead between the pump room and port tank #1:

Chris labeling the frames and strakes in the pump room:

Finally, a couple of photos taken this morning to remind me that there is a bright world beyond the rusty hull…

I was surprised and delighted to see dolphins in the harbor! Unfortunately, the photo isn’t very good because they had gone past the ship by the time I got my camera. You can just make them out in the area between the coconut tree trunks and the building.

Perched on one of the lines on the ship, a young sparrow begging for food from its mother:

Golden Gate Bridge honors 75th year and rivets technique used | abc7news.com

Here is a San Francisco TV news video featuring Vern Mesler (see Rivet Revival?):

Golden Gate Bridge honors 75th year and rivets technique used | abc7news.com.

Thanks to Matthew James for the link.

San Francisco

An early, but nice flight from San Diego to San Francisco yesterday morning. We headed to San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park to meet up with Brush and have a look at the ships there. More on this later.

“The Falls of Clyde: Past, Present and Future” Talk to be Presented on May 18, 2011

“The Falls of Clyde: Past, Present and Future” Talk to be Presented on May 18, 2011 | Brisbane – Yahoo! Local.

This talk is being given by Chris Jannini.

A Big Mahalo…

…to Chris Jannini and Micah Allnutt for their hard work and aloha for the Falls of Clyde.

They patiently answered all of the questions that I had, for which I am very grateful.

Yesterday, Falls of Clyde was a living ship again as Friends of Falls of Clyde volunteers did work under the direction of Chris J.

Go $JC! Thanks to Sabina for taking the great photos.

Falls of Clyde Survey

Micah Allnutt (left) and Chris Jannini examine the fo’c’sle.

Preparations on Board Falls of Clyde

The Friends of Falls of Clyde made preparations for the arrival of Ship Preservation Specialist Chris Jannini of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Micah Allnutt of the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority.

All of the ship’s tanks were opened to allow fresh air into them. Additional lighting was also put in place.

Last, but not least…

Thanks to the generosity of one of the FoFOC’s board members, there is now a proper sign on the fence.