Monday, August 30, 2010

Odds and Ends, Part II 23-27 August 2010

Two milestones this period. The tow knees and the paddle wheel were completed on Wednesday. They both look very good. Work is ongoing with the punch list. Work was started Friday on the gangway stage.

Dwain advises that they will start painting on Monday.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Odds and Ends 16-20 August 2010

The major component welding is completed. Work this week was attacking the Punch List and crawling the compartments for odds and ends. Removing an eye here and there. Grinding weld scabs etc.Welding up pinholes in different areas. Putting on cover passes on the bilge knuckles and facing of the false bow.

The interior color of the compartmernts can be matched to the paint preservationist color chip and the paint so orderd.

The tow knee reconstruction is still progressing slowly but should be accomplsihed by the middle of next week.

Scot Lepi and his crew had 50 per cent of the paddle wheel completely done and all the spokes and buckets on the other half  installed by the time they left Thursday. Scot took the two brass sea chests back to his shop to sand blast the primer off of them. They will then go to Marietta to the museum.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Starting a Count Down 2-6, 9-13 August 2010

As of the end of this period, the internal welding in all compartments is completed. The bottom bracing on the tow knees is yet to be finished. It has been a long struggle utilizing the original faceplate and lower bracing pieces. They are getting there. An informal internal survey completed Friday, the 13th, revealed few additional punch list items. The vessel was floated on Friday afternoon and three minor leaks were found. Considering the several thousand feet of weld, that is pretty good for the first test. Activity on the punch list will now accelerate.

Scott Lepi and crew have completed restoring half of the paddle wheel. The wheel was successfully turned a third of a revolution on Thursday, the 12th afternoon. Some video was taken for Cheri Russso at WOUB.

A decision on the color of the internal structure will be forthcoming on Monday, the 17th.

The tow knees and punch list items should be completed by the 20th and the coating and painting started the following Monday.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Hot Work is slowly coming to an end 26-30 July 2010

Internal welding on compartments 2 and 3 was completed. A punch list of small items was developed and work is on-going for these. The starboard outboard tow knee was hung on Friday afternoon. There is a considerable amount of fitting including freeing up the vertical support gussets on the bow as the old tow knee structures were severely bent after 37 years of service. The vertical knee portion is bolted to the gusset as well as to an angular strong arm above. The holes for the bolts are dictated by the holes in the original facing that was retained. It was a quite a job getting the bolt holes aligned properly but we are getting there.

The remaining wood for the paddle wheel will be delivered on Tuesday, 4 August and work will resume.

Mike James from the Ashland Daily Independent did a very nice article on the SNYDER which was published on Wednesday. He is also planning a follow-up article upon completion.