Author Topic: Cobia "Up Scope!" - April 2016  (Read 5355 times)

Offline Karen D.

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Cobia "Up Scope!" - April 2016
« on: May 04, 2016, 10:50:17 AM »
“Up Scope!”

April 2016 – Volume 4, Issue 2

USS Cobia (SS 245) * Wisconsin Maritime Museum
75 Maritime Dr.   Manitowoc, WI 54220   866-724-2356
www.wisconsinmaritime.org * www.facebook.com/WIMaritimeMuseum

The Saga of the Aerators
Not long after I sent the last issue a winter storm rolled in and damaged two out of three aerators. The propeller blade broke on one of them and the housing cracked on a second unit leaving it hanging on by the power cord on the shore side. Our Maintenance Supervisor, Paul Rutherford, removed the blade from the unit with the cracked housing and used it to replace the broken blade. We were then able to put two of them back in the water, but that only lasted a couple of weeks and we ended up pulling them out for the season. Thankfully they weren’t needed for the rest of the season. This summer we will fabricate dock mounts for the units so that we can secure them to the riverwalk. This will also allow us to angle them for wider coverage area.

Sub Vet Working Parties
Our sub vet friends from the Chicago area were here twice this winter helping with some special maintenance projects. One group spent two days in the aft torpedo room where they pulled out both torpedoes so that they could get behind them to clean and scrape up some deck rust. After the deck was cleaned and prepped they finished it with a fresh coat of paint and replaced the torpedoes. This was done on our closed days so that made the project much easier to tackle! Another group continued the work in the crew’s showers. Don Schlegel chipped the flaking paint and Jeff Trimborn followed up with two coats of primer. Ed Dowling came up a few closed days between the working parties to get the passageway outside the showers painted while we still had the extra drying time. He’ll continue to paint the washroom and showers, but that can be done when we’re open for tours. When the painting is complete we plan to clean the tile and that area will have a complete facelift.

The second working party was here the last week of our winter hours to take advantage of our last two closed days. Jeff Trimborn and Greg Miller spent two days hanging out in the maneuvering room bilge scraping and vacuuming the loose rust. They made great progress in the area and with a little luck it might get painted this summer! The other two vets, Tom Ramsey and Ed Dowling, worked on freshening up the paint in the forward torpedo room and officers country.

Volunteer Report
•   Paul Kraynek had been working on restoring the lights on various switchboards. He took apart the hull induction board and replaced over fifty broken screws, fuses, and lights. Now when the tour guides demonstrate the levers for one of the hydraulic manifold the corresponding lights on the board will turn red or green! When this board is finished he plans to move on to the torpedo ready lights in both torpedo rooms. Tom Aschenbrenner and Phil Walters provided assistance and tech support on the switchboards.
Paul was also the recipient of the 2015 Cobia Volunteer of the Year award. Congratulations Paul and thanks for all your hard work!
•   Pat Habel and Steve Lutzke spent several hours on the alignment for the radio motor generator set on the pump room. Pat also spent several days doing general maintenance in the pump room on the motor generator set and #1 air compressor.
•   Phil Walters has been keeping an eye on the HVAC system and met with the designer to discuss maintenance and upgrades to the system since it is now 10 years old.
•   And a special thank you to Ed Dowling, Jud Bly, and Gary Walters for pitching in and helping out with tours and school groups this spring!

New Cobia Tours!
This summer we’ll be offering two new Cobia tours:   
•   Cobia “Life at Sea” Tour: This tour will take place every day at 2:45 in the afternoon during our summer season (July & August). It will focus on what life was like for the crew and feature stories from Cobia’s war patrols. Not a “gear-head?” Then this tour is for you! Learn more about the living conditions, food and downtime, accidents on board, battle stories, and prisoners of war. This tour is perfect for those who want to hear more stories and less of the tech aspects of submarines. Space is limited so reservations are required and are only allowed the day of the tour, by calling ahead or visiting our admissions desk. There is no additional cost for this tour.
•   Cobia “After Hours” Tour: These "adults only" tours will take place on select Thursday evenings in summer, starting at 7:00 p.m. The groups are limited to 15 people and you must be 21 or older. The tour will be led by the Submarine Curator and will focus on detailed events, the loss of Ralph Huston, Jr, and comical moments aboard Cobia. Due to time and content, many of these stories are not shared on the regular daytime tours, so this is your chance to learn the juicy details! Following the tour, participants can relax on the tour deck and enjoy a free Torpedo Juice cocktail, with an option to purchase more from a limited cash bar. The tour guide will also have an opportunity to share other stories of interest from other submarines. Reservations are required. The cost is $25 for non-members and $20 for museum members (includes a free drink at the end of the tour)

Cobia Clarion
The only crew member I’ve heard from recently is Charlie Stewart. “We are still kicking, but not very high.”

If anyone would like to be added to the email list (or removed), please email me at kduvalle@wisconsinmaritime.org.


“Cobette” Karen Duvalle
Submarine Curator