Darrin has certainly told you all a lot about the crew of Torsk. I wish I could say that the amount of work is something that skilled management has accomplished. Mainly it is just lucking out and finding people who want to keep the lady going. Paul, letting volunteers do what they want is not a bad thing. You know, every little accomplishment contributes to the overall condition of the boat. We don't expect anyone to do anything on Torsk. Folks pick a job and run with it. Each small job completed makes Torsk look better, work better, and contribute to her preservation and her appeal to the visitors. I've heard a lot of bad things said about sub vets, but on Torsk they provide leadership and guidance that has made unbelievable improvement in the boats condition, appearance, and visitor experience. The civilian management with two exceptions (Torsk's director and Torsk's curator) know nothing about the submarine, the way it should look, how to maintain it, or for that matter, even how to turn the lights on. Volunteers do all the routine maintenance, all of the restoration and preservation below decks, and much of the preservation and restoration topside (at least much of what gets done). I don't know how we keep such a fantastic crew together, but I sure am glad we do. Without the volunteer crew, Torsk would still be a submarine that is a disgrace to the submarine service.
What Darrin didn't tell you is that besides the 16 or so local crewmembers that show up most Saturdays, we have well over 100 remote volunteers, like Darrin, that come aboard and work 1, 2 and many times a year. These folks come from all over the country, as far away as California, Maine, North Carolina, Virginia (like Darrin), New Jersey, Connecticut, and on and on. They contribute their time, donate money, parts, and materials and are an invaluable part of the Torsk crew. What's more is they come year after year after year, and help us out in many other ways any time we ask.
So, bottom line is, if you can get yourself a volunteer crew like Torsk, consider yourselves blessed. You may not agree with everything they want to accomplish, but your boats will be much better off because of them.
Like Darrin, I'm proud to be part of the Torsk crew!