14-18 June, 21-25 June Roundin Third

Starting forward, the side plate and bottom plate on compartment 1 has been fitted up. The side plate has been faired into the original head log plate which still had decent thickness. The original bow rake plate was less than a quarter inch thick so the new plate is lapped over it forward. Plug welds will help secure the new plate to the original. Work continues with the internal structure as there are several frames which are made up of angles with greater than 90 degree angles. These have to be specially bent as standard angle are 90 degrees.

The internal repairs in compartment number 3 are completed. The two hogging chain posts which rest in compartment 3 were cut off above the foundation shoe as the fixture at the top of the post was quite complicated and would have involved some dismantling of the stacks. The reason for taking out the lower section of the hogging chain post was for the replacement of the Z-bar which forms the base for the shoe and is also the lower chord of the girder in the outboard compartments. There was extensive Z-bar replacement. The lower cutout section of the posts were replaced with the residual material left from the hogging chain replacment in compartment 4. The bottom plate for number 3 was slid under the compartment last Friday, the 25th.

The internal repairs of compartment 5 are by far the most numerous and complicated. In typical welded ship construction, longitudinal bulkheads are welded to longitudinal stringers. In the SNYDER, the bulkheads are attached to the transverse frames and the bottom shell plating with an intercostal gusset. The intercostal (not coastal) gusset looks like a Kleenex box with the top and one side removed. The side is riveted to the bulkhead, the bottom to the shell plate, and the ends to the leg of the frames. The gusset depth is higher that the frame leg so that the gusset ends are also riveted to the adjacent gusset ends. These were badly deteriorated in compartment 5 and at last count 42 of them are to be installed. Another structure which is more complicated than most is a rolled knuckle frame. This is an angle frame which is bent into the radius of the bilge knuckle. Obviously this take a pretty husky machine to make these bends. Compartment 5 will require the replacement of 16 of these. Still further, there was a large number of frames that were set up and could not be drawn down. These have to be cut out and replaced. There is also extensive channel replacement to be done in the outboard compartments.

The deteriorated thresholds into the side doors of the engineroom room which were the source of so much deterioration in the outboard compartments below have been cut out. The deterioration of the deck has extended back under the high pressure cylinder of each each engine. The port side is mostly completed.

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