Back to the Old Grind

Brought the sander (my other tool purchase) to the ship yesterday to test it out. It’s a pain to lug the tools around, but at least I can look after them.

So…I did some sanding.

Indeed.

To tell you the truth, due to the general situation with the ship, I’ve lost heart in things. I had to prod myself to get to work.

I started with an area on the port side of the salon. It was a bit of a kapulu job, as we locals say. Thinking about it now, I wish I had taken the time to do better.

The base of the pillar at the left looked like the one on the right. I guess it’s a slight improvement.

On to the big job…the poop deck rail.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that the rail was one of my first projects. It had been sanded and varnished by volunteers shortly after the ship changed hands in 2008. It went downhill from there and looked terrible after a while.

I hand sanded (ship had no power then), scrubbed, and varnished it over a period of six months. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked pretty good.

What happened?

I feel bad about letting it get so crappy, after working so hard on it.

Back to work with the sander:

Some parts are worse than others and will probably have to be taken back down to bare wood.

I was able to get a small section looking pretty again.

I’m glad I used le Tonkinois. Worth the expense, I think. Time to order more.

This will keep me out of trouble for a while.

Stepped on this while walking around on the poop deck:

Not much going on, ship-wise.

Water taxi, Hikino:

Unexpected Work Day

I had intended to do work around the house today, but I wound up at the ship instead.

As I mentioned in my last post, I got a package in the mail yesterday:

It contained a much-needed can of le Tonkinois*:

I usually apply new coats of varnish before the previous work becomes too worn. Due to lack of time, I let things go a bit too long. Thus, I had to do more work on the rail than usual.

Yay for electricity and a random-orbit sander:

After a few hours of work, it looked much better:

Speaking of looking better, here is part of a yard that was coated with primer yesterday by volunteers:

Interesting ship of the day, Condock IV (a dockship):

I wanted to get more/better photos of her. However, she departed earlier than expected (while I was busy varnishing). So, no luck there. 😦

Maersk Matsuyama…something’s not quite right:

On the ship again tomorrow to apply another coat of varnish, then later on in the evening for the New Year’s fireworks.

*I noticed a slight change to the design on the can. It used to say “Homologué par la Marine Nationale” on the hull of the ship at the bottom right.

Cosmetic Stuff and Fo’c’sle Details

I was tired of looking at the old flaking varnish on the coaming of the small hatch on the weather deck, so I decided to sand, clean, and varnish part of it. I worked on the port- and starboard-facing sides today. It was nice to be able to use the random orbit sander. I did the side facing forward when we had no power on the ship. Hand sanding was not fun.

After scrubbing the wood with water, applying oxalic acid, and rinsing, I let it dry out. That’s one nice thing about a sunny day on an iron ship. Things dry quickly.

While I was waiting, I decided to poke around in the fo’c’sle.

I found more rivet head samples to send to Vern:

The rivet has failed here:

The pieces of metal it once held together are being pushed apart by pack rust.

Holes in the plates are definitely scary. Fortunately, these are far above the waterline.

The back of the port trailboard is visible through this hole:

There’s a circular opening (I don’t know the correct term) in the bulkhead, which I stuck my head (and camera) through.

The area forward of the bulkhead is a perfect space for critters (rats, cockroaches…) to hide out in. I’m glad there weren’t any. There was this odd attempt at a patch and a roll of duct tape:

I helped do some painting, then put the first coat of le Tonkinois on the areas I had prepared.

Port side with a view of the aft side that still needs to be worked on:

Starboard side:

Much better! I will probably head down to the ship tomorrow to put another coat on.

Disney Arrives

I had hoped to make it down to the harbor in time to get pics of Disney Wonder arriving. Too late. I did get to hear the “When You Wish Upon a Star” horn, which amused me.

Rainbow:

Rain on rail:

Will let it dry off a bit before I put another coat of le Tonkinois on it.

Morning sun on hull:

Watch Out for Squalls

Sunny, brisk breeze…lovely day for adding another coat of le Tonkinois on the rail. Until a squall rolled in from the west, that is.

Rain on rail:

Ship Day After All

Due to issues related to a leaky water pipe at my house, I didn’t know if I would be able to make it to the ship today. Fortunately, things worked out.

Desk on ship with my personal log book and pink dino guy among other things:

The task of the day was to touch up the varnish on the poop deck rail.

I may return to the ship tomorrow to apply another coat.

We replaced the loose, worn chafing gear that had been placed (temporary) on one of our newer lines:

While looking at the new chafing gear from the pier, I noticed that we need chafing gear between the hull and the starboard spring lines. Always something…

No interesting ships in the harbor today, so I went to see if I could find the cowries again. No luck. I did see various fishes, including a school of good-sized ‘ama‘ama or striped mullets (Mugil cephalus).

Hard to see because of the ripples:

Detail in calmer water:

Bamboo Needle Case Progress

Section of bamboo with six coats of le Tonkinois next to another section that has not been sanded or coated.

If I have time this weekend, I’ll probably finish it off with a couple of Turk’s heads.

So Much for Taking it Easy

I hadn’t planned on doing anything strenuous on the ship today, because I told myself I should take a mental and physical break. I wanted to apply another coat of le Tonkinois to my piece of bamboo and work on a few more whippings. Pretty easy.

I got the coat of le Tonkinois done first.

You can’t see the shine in the photo, but there are two coats on there.

I deviated from my plan after that.

Dirt has built up along the waterway/scupper areas, which is not a good thing. I was sweeping on the port side of the ship until, for some reason, I got it in my head to do some rust busting.

Chipping hammer and wire brush in hand, I went to work.* It was satisfying knocking the rust off the hull. (It’s a good way to release anger and frustration.) However, cleaning up after creating a mess of rust and paint chips is tedious. 😦

I tried out a rust conversion product sample that was given to us by a very kind local distributor of the product. I had read about it on the manufacturer’s website and thought it would be good for use on the ship by volunteers. It is easy to apply and washes up with soap and water.

The hull from a different angle showing the effects of the rust converter (treated area turns black).

*ETA. It did occur to me that it was like a crude form of surgery…much like removing diseased/dead flesh off a patient.

Pallada – Honolulu Harbor

Here is a sampling of some of the photos I took this morning.

Entering the harbor:

Pallada approaching Pier 9:

Pi‘ilani pushing Pallada closer to the pier:

Heaving line with a very nice monkey’s fist:

Mat to prevent chafing:

Rat guard!

On the bowsprit:

Aloft!

Returning to the deck:

The cadets are able to smoke at the stern of the ship. Here is the pot for the ashes/butts:

More examples of chafing gear:

***

Since I was down at the pier, I applied one more coat of le Tonkinois on FOC’s rail for good measure.

Fish, Photography, and History

Dealing with an upset stomach, which is keeping me awake. 😦 Since I’m up, might as well write a bit!

***

I arrived at the harbor a little late, but stopped to have a look at the fish near the ship as usual. One of the HECO security guards was making his rounds in the area and I had a nice chat with him about the fish, photography, and a bit of history.

I’ve written about the fish in a previous post.

One of my favorites is the spotted boxfish or moa (Ostracion meleagris). Here is a female:

It was back to the poop deck on the Falls.

I noticed that the Tonkinois on the rail was getting worn, so I did some light sanding and applied a new coat. I also applied more of the elastomeric coating on the deck.

After I was done with work for the day, I took some time to take some photos in the fo’c’sle…mainly of my newly completed canvas bag. 😀

Napier windlass detail (again):

The shipping schedule for the weekend wasn’t posted on the DOT Harbors site, so I had no idea if there were any interesting ships arriving. I wasn’t in a hurry to get home, so I decided to sit and relax in the shade at Pier 9 for a little while.

Namahoe went by, stern first. The captain added a 360° turn (weee!) before continuing on to retrieve the fuel barge that was alongside Pride of America.

I was amused by this male sparrow that landed at my feet. He practically demanded I take his picture:

***

Stomach’s feeling better now. I’m off to the harbor again in a few hours to watch Pallada arrive!