Author Topic: Navy inspection/work day  (Read 22694 times)

Offline Travis McLain

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Navy inspection/work day
« on: March 04, 2008, 05:30:06 PM »
Hey Mark Allen (used last name because there is another Mark on here that is also Batfish volunteer) how did the Navy inspection/ work day go? From the newspaper it sounded great, but they did not list specifically how the inspection went, were we up to par?
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Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2008, 10:08:31 PM »
Quote
Hey Mark Allen (used last name because there is another Mark on here that is also Batfish volunteer) how did the Navy inspection/ work day go? From the newspaper it sounded great, but they did not list specifically how the inspection went, were we up to par?

Travis, I have not heard from Rick.  I know Rick's plan was to have the Spring workday the same day to show the Navy that we are working out there...and it paid off.  Volunteers, JROTC kids and some subvets were all in attendance and the Navy, from what I could see, seemed impressed.  I'll ask Rick via email how it went, what we (always) got dinged on and let you know.
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Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2008, 09:33:55 PM »
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how did the Navy inspection/ work day go?

Travis - Rick sent out his scuttlebut email and has the breakdown for what the Navy found.  Looks like a busy year.

Hurry on down!!
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Offline Travis McLain

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2008, 10:46:43 PM »
Yep, when I talked to him a couple days ago I got the scuttlebutt alot more in depth. lol. So I am full of info now.
"Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" Adm. Nimitz on the Marines at Iwo Jima.

"USS Batfish relentlessly tracked down the enemy and in three separate, brilliantly executed attacks, launched her torpedoes with devastating speed and skill and demolished three Japanese submarines."

Offline Mark Sarsfield

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2008, 09:50:55 AM »
What did he say?

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Mark Sarsfield
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Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2008, 01:21:33 PM »
Lance & Mark: here is the list I got from Rick's Scuttlebutt email...like I said, looks like a busy 2008!!

Deck – This is now a safety issue.  The deck needs to be replaced.  The team also noted that some of the plywood path way was beginning to wear.  They continue to recommend that we leave the pathway off once the deck is replaced.  Once the new deck is placed visitors will be able to wander the deck as they want. 

Superstructure Supports – some of the supports in the superstructure are in need of replacement. This is mainly in the bow area.

Stair wells -  access to the underside of the superstructure needs to be blocked at the stairwells.

Ballast Tank Access Covers – some of the access covers to the ballast tanks are open and need to be replaces and or secured

Rust on the hull – several areas around the torpedo tubes need to be cleaned up.  There are jagged edges developing that pose a potential hazard.

Bilges – this is a minor issue,  but the bilges are in need of cleaning. 

After deck -  the after deck tends to be slippery when wet.  The team recommended that we place non skid material in these areas to prevent injury

Conning Tower – the conning tower has some exposed wiring that needs to be secured.  Also the fire extinguisher will need to be depressurized and labeled “For Exhibit Only”

Motor Room – Ladder needs to be secured ( low priority)

Paint -  nothing new here

Open panels – we are due for another sweep of the boat to secure all open panels and loose equipment.  I challenge all of the groups working on the boat to clean out their lockers and try to limit yourselves to one locker.  I would also like to remove all unnecessary fans light and equipment that is not vintage or usable from the boat.  We are going to convert the after battery room into a work area. And storage area.  This area also needs excess unusable items removed from it.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke

Offline Mark Sarsfield

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2008, 01:29:40 PM »
A lot of the issues will be addressed if and when Rick is able to get a hold of the funding that he recently found out about.

The wires on the bridge are mainly for the reproducer and the TBT (Target Bearing Transmitter).  Short term we can cap them and then maybe long term we can hook the bridge reproducer back up.  The switch box on the bridge needs some TLC, first.

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Mark Sarsfield
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"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2008, 01:42:38 PM »
Mark S. - any chance of you coming out on the 22nd?  I know it's Easter weekend...but my wife and I along with Vaughn (and hopefully Mary) will be there.  I'll be spending 1/2 the day on the SHARK memorial, but then I'm going to start looking into some of these items.

Mark A.
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Offline Lance Dean

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2008, 02:43:57 PM »
Does the Navy do this type of inspection with all submarine museums?

Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2008, 03:29:50 PM »
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Does the Navy do this type of inspection with all submarine museums?

I'm not sure, maybe one of the other's can answer that.  I know we have one every Spring and they ALWAYS find stuff that wasn't there the previous year   :o
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Offline Mark Sarsfield

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2008, 03:47:22 PM »
I'll be down on the 15th.  Easter weekend I'll be in Pittsburgh, PA.

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Mark Sarsfield
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"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy

Offline Tom Bowser

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #11 on: March 11, 2008, 07:07:35 PM »
The Navy inspects all ships and boats (museum types) each year. The Drums is scheduled for 19 April this year. The Batfish inspection reads about like Drums. on a museum boat you can always find a cut wire, rust bilges that need cleaned, loose items, open lockers, etc. You would have to lock up the boat for a week and open it for the navy only, if one visitor gets on board before the navy they will screw with something.
Tom Bowser

Offline Travis McLain

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2008, 07:45:55 PM »
You are correct there. While giving tours at the Batfish, every one had to touch something and move it/ open it.
"Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" Adm. Nimitz on the Marines at Iwo Jima.

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Offline MWALLEN

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #13 on: March 16, 2008, 10:57:45 PM »
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I'll be down on the 15th.

Mark S. - were you able to go?  How are things?
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Offline Mark Sarsfield

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Re: Navy inspection/work day
« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2008, 12:03:25 PM »
I made it down there.  Rick tried opening the escape hatch in the forward torpedo room with poor results.  The inside hatch is unlatched, but something is blocking it from opening - the outer hatch is chained shut.  We need to get a flexible borescope in there to see what is happening.

I replaced a bunch of light bulbs and hid the flourescent ones from view.  Pump room and forward torpedo room are now much brighter.

I inspected the bridge lights and wiring and they need a lot of TLC.  Port and starboard running lights should work if the sockets get replaced and the light housings get repaired.  All wiring to the forward TBT and reproducer have been cut and removed - rear TBT stand is long gone.

Glass vacuum tubes in the 1MC are in bad shape.  I broke a bulb from the base on one tube trying to remove it from its socket.  Most of them will have to be surgically removed (i.e needle-nose pliers).  The good news is that one of the volunteers brought in his dad's old RCA tube kit with tons of vacuum tubes in it - he used to repair TVs and such.  We also have a tube tester that can test most smaller tubes, which works out to our favor, since I'm considering all large glass tubes to be dead and they will be disposed of.

Looking around in the pump room we located the two IMO pumps for the hydraulic system.  The hydraulics in that room appear to be in very good shape, but we did notice an oil or fluid of some kind laying under the deck plates at the base of the periscope housings.  Rick was thinking of using a high pressure sprayer to clean out the entire pump room and then pump the water out of the bilge.  We joked around about bringing Mike Rowe on board from the "Dirty Jobs" TV show to clean out the lower deck areas.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2008, 01:37:28 PM by Mark Sarsfield »

Regards,
Mark Sarsfield
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"If you have one bucket that can hold 5 gallons and one bucket that can hold 2 gallons, how many buckets do you have?" - IQ test from Idiocracy