Morning Workout

No drama or any weird things today.

The morning was spent uncoiling lines on the pier, with the help of another board member, in order to measure them and then recoiling them back on their pallets.

The lines had been measured a few years ago. The measurements were written on duct tape wrapped around the lines. Unfortunately, the duct tape broke down over time due to exposure to the elements and most of the numbers were lost.

I decided to try something new. I used thin, throw-away sections of PVC from the pumping system project as labels:

I hope they will work better than the duct tape or a tag. I took photos of the labels and lines so we have a rough visual record of the numbers.

Lines recoiled:

We tidied up the area while we were at it. I decided it was time to scrape up the remains of the cat.

Ew…gross…

Despite being dried out, it still smelled funky. 😦

Scraped up and ready for disposal:

Back on the ship, I saw that more work was done by Paul on the pumping system:

Kicking aside bits of rust reveals more holes in the deck:

Fooling around:

Two tugs (Eleu and Pi‘ilani). I guess UH’s Kaimikai-o-Kanaloa was having problems?

Tug of the day, Eleu, in Foss livery:

Peaceful Solitude

After doing my usual walk around the ship, I spent the rest of yesterday working on organizing the information and photos I compiled for the mooring line project. I was the only one on the ship, so I was able to get work done without any disruptions.

It was helpful being on the ship, as I was able to step out on deck to look at things to clarify my notes.

My brain not being as sharp as it used to be due to age, I find spreadsheets very useful these days.

Google Maps gives a fairly decent view of the overall pier and how the lines are set up:

Due to everything that’s happened over the past few months, it has been quite a while since I’ve felt so much at peace on the ship. No drama…just happy contentment.

It was a quiet day in the harbor as well. Mostly tug/barge traffic.

Line being passed from Kokua to Mauna Loa:

Mooring Line Meeting

I returned to the ship today for a meeting regarding the mooring lines. It was quite productive. I was happy to find out that my thoughts regarding the needs of the ship weren’t terribly out of line.

After securing the ship, I went for a walk. There were two cruise ships in the harbor. One was Carnival Miracle.

Different color rat guards:

Stack detail:

The fuel barge was alongside of the ship.

Crew on board Nakue attaching a float (marker) to the boom around the ship:

Tug of the day, Malulani:

Of Mooring Lines

I went to the ship yesterday to do some work for the mooring line project I’ve been tasked with.

Due to the recent drama, a lot of the basic maintenance on deck has been neglected. It’s really starting to show. I need to make it a point to get back on it.

Anyway, mooring lines…

I did a quick survey of the current situation. I examined the lines, the bollards on the pier, and the bitts on the ship. I took notes and photos which I’ll compile in a spreadsheet.

I don’t feel as apprehensive about dealing with the lines as I did the first time. I guess I can chalk that up to “experience.” LOL

I was happy to see my old friend, the crocodile needlefish, by the ship:

Matson’s R.J. Pfeiffer arrived:

Tira Lani assisting:

Déjà Vu

Exactly a year ago, I posted this: An Adventure

How cool that the same ships were in port today!

Queen Elizabeth arrived as I was walking to the harbor from the bus stop.

It was interesting to watch what was going on on the pier and on the ship.

Heaving line:

And again…

Traditional monkey’s fist:

(The funky green color is a fence that was in the way. See photo just below.)

Bow line dropping into the water:

Rats have been on my mind, as I had one invade my house the other day. Thanks to a trap, it is now an ex-rat.

Rat guard on Kaiyo Maru. What’s the point if it’s not deployed properly?

However, very nice detail. Hitching on the weights:

Fish (appropriate) on hull of Kaiyo Maru:

Kaiyo Maru fender:

Kaiyu Maru (not a typo) fender:

Lots of barge traffic today. I thought this was the most interesting one. Assorted cargo on Pacific Trader:

I like the portables on top.

Recently, I’ve seen a brown booby diving for fish in the harbor. I tried getting photos of it, but due to the camera issue, the booby was more of a blurry.

Was a bit more lucky with the manual focus today. Still not the greatest, due to the distance.

Work on FOC goes on in the hot sun…

Bitts looking nice (if I say so myself):

I’ve posted photos of the Mossend mark before. I like this one I took today:

Sanding More Stuff

More about last Saturday’s work on the ship…

I felt energized, so I decided to do some sanding:

Goodbye old, yellow, flakey varnish and dirt!

In progress:

Left: Long-term neglect. Middle: Sanded but not yet cleaned. Right: Sanded, cleaned, and varnished.

A long, but good day.

As I was leaving the ship, it was pointed out to me that there were two young boys climbing and standing on the mooring lines that lead from the port side of the ship to the street. Great, just great.

I walked over and asked the gentleman who was standing nearby if they were his children. He said that they were and that he was watching them. I asked him (nicely) to have them get off the lines. His reply: “They are just having some fun.” Uh, yeah. How much fun would it be if they fell off and cracked their heads on the sidewalk? There are sturdy, yellow barricades on both sides of the lines. Doesn’t that tell you something?

A few additional harbor scenes…

Someone lost a snack on the lower part of the wall facing the bow of the ship:

Tanker Hai Soon 39:

Walking to West Marine to meet up with a friend, I came across this section of missing fence:

Wonder how that happened?

Winter Weather

Got a taste of winter weather…rainy and slightly chilly.

The rain meant that tasks like painting and varnishing stuff on deck couldn’t be done. Oh well. Lots of other things to work on!

I checked for leaks and placed buckets, as I usually do when it rains. They inevitably get used or moved around when they are dry and empty. To try to stop this from happening, I started writing “Rain Bucket – Do Not Move” on them as I set them out this morning. That got old really fast, so I decided to do something else.

Since I’ve been studying the condition of other ships’ chafing gear, I thought that it was important to see to FOC’s.

The bollards are in awkward places, so FOC’s mooring lines aren’t ideally placed. For example these rub against the rail along the edge of the pier:

I can’t remember when we put this set of chafing gear on, but they needed replacing as they were worn through.

Old gear and twine removed:

New gear in place:

I was visited by a male sparrow, who thought standing on one of the lines was a good thing:

While taking a short break, I spotted a spotted porcupine fish (the pale blob). Unfortunately, the camera focused on the rusty ladder instead of the fish:

Here’s a slightly better shot:

I watched Mokihana pull away from Pier 1. She was facing the wrong direction, so she had to turn around in order to leave the harbor.

Mikioi assisting Mokihana:

Finally, the decommissioned Coast Guard cutter Jarvis leaving the harbor:

Déjà Vu

When I arrive at the ship in the morning, I usually do a visual inspection. Given what happened last week, I paid special attention to the mooring lines yesterday.

While it’s a backup line, it’s still disturbing to see. Reported to Harbor Police.

There was some ship activity in the harbor!

I missed out on getting good photos of Thunder/Lightning, an integrated tug and barge. 😦 The shipping schedule said it/they were supposed to leave on Friday night. I should know by now that the schedule isn’t always right.

Thunder/Lightning just leaving the harbor:

HR Recommendation turning in the basin:

Tiger 11 assisting HR Recommendation:

Screen shot from MarineTraffic.com showing HR Recommendation offshore after leaving the harbor:

Sause Bros. Natoma:

Fender on Satsumaseiun Maru:

On my way home, I passed by the mooring line where my morning started.

What next?

Hands Off That Line!

About a month ago, I ran across this article about the schooner Silva:

Tall Ship Silva set adrift by pranksters

Some miscreants cast off all but one of Silva’s lines. The remaining one eventually parted and the ship drifted in Halifax Harbor until she was towed back to her pier.

We have some dumbasses here as well. If they’re not trying to cut through our lines, it seems they think tossing them in the water is great fun. Grr.

I spotted this when I arrived at the ship this morning:

When I called the Tower to report the incident, they told me that they had been notified about it yesterday and that a Harbor Police unit had been dispatched.

Thank you, but please let us know next time! Fortunately, no harm done.

Line back on bollard:

The steering gear on the poop deck is currently exposed to the weather, so the unpainted parts of it rusted. I went to work with a wire brush. After washing and letting the areas dry, I applied rust converter.

Detail:

Ready for a coat of paint to protect it for the time being. Hope to see the entire assembly functioning again one day.

I guess I should have worn gloves while applying the converter:

My hands are still mucky despite multiple washes.

Not a lot going on in the harbor today, shipwise. The usual inter-island barges arriving and Pride of America at Pier 2.

Another familiar visitor, Shinkai Maru at Pier 8:

I documented her chafing gear and rat guards in a previous post:

Learning New Things

On to the Next Project…

I’ve been wondering how my creation is performing. I’ll find out on Saturday. If it is holding up okay, I’ll start on another one.