Monday, September 20, 2010

15-17 September 2010 The trip home

The SNYDER was made up in a tow from South Point rigged on the hip of a crane barge with two tugs pushing the crane barge. The flotilla got underway about 2300 on the 15th. Aboard were Fred Smith from OHS, Bill Reynolds, John Cochrane and my self. The first night was uneventful.

Thursday morning, the 16th, was spent cleaning the accomodation area and the pilothouse. Bill and John prepared the engines for free wheeling of the paddlewheel upon arriving in Parkersburg prior to the trip up the Muskingum to the Museum.

 That afternoon, one of the deck hands from the tugs came aboard and said that there was something funny about the paddlewheel. Examination showed that a 6 inch diameter pipe which ran from a socket on the sponson aft of the paddlewheel bearing to a socket at the top of the house tied into the hogging chain post, had come out of the lower socket. The lower shoe was resting on the crank of the paddlewheel.  The shoe at the upper was wedged in a clevis at the top of the house. Had it not wedged, it would have gone into the river. The tugs were stopped and the crew lashed the pipe to everything available. The upper shoe was not welded to the post but held the post on by rust.

A call went out to Dwain Harper, the repair supervisor to advised him of our situation. Dwain advised that he would be there as soon as possible. This did not come at a good time for Dwain as he had to coordinate the crew for the turning of the railroad bridge as well as prepare for the mooring of the SNYDER at the Museum. The tugs tied up next to a partially sunken barge at a gravel pit in Ravenswood, West Virginia. Dwain arrived about 2230 and after dragging about 200 feet of welding ground and hot wire from a portable welder in the back of his truck, welded an eye on the pipe and attached a come-along to hold the pipe in place. Unfortunately, because of the pipe resting on the crank, the paddlewheel could not be free wheeled on the trip up the Muskingum.

Prior to his arrival, we observed a severe thunderstorm passing by us.

We got back under way and made a rendezvous with Kathy Wyatt and her entourage of donors who were going to ride the boat up the Muskingum. We learned that the storm we had observed had caused considerable damage in Bellvilleby particularly high winds.. Had we not stopped, we would have been in that area when the storm hit. Because of then high superstructure of the SNYDER, it is doubtful that the two small tugs would have been able to control the SNYDER due to the sail effect of the superstructure.

The trip up the Muskingum was uneventful and the SNYDER was moored at the Museum by early afternnon.

After the mooring, the crane barge with the welding machine on it was tied along side the SNYDER. Using two come-alongs, the pipe was put back into position. A bolt that went through the lower shoe and tied into the socket had deterirated after 92 years and this allowed the pipe to come out of the socket. A new bolt was put into place and a keeper welded on the side of the socket. There is a second pipe of 4 inch diameter that performs the same function which had slightly buckled. It was decided that it would be replaced at a later date.

I do not know (shame on me) what the technical name for these posts are. However, their function is to stiffen the sponson. The paddlewheel when the vesel is being propelled or if the paddlewheel is locked and is being towed, exert an upward force on the sponson. These pipes resist this force. The 4 inch pipe apparently buckled after the 6 inch pipe came loose and it had to withstand the load by itself. The situation was not a result of anything that was done by the shipyard. It was most probably the result of 92 years of service.
In any regard, The SNYDER is back home, safe and a lot sounder than when she left.

For you who have followed my blog, this obviously will be the last blog. I thank you for your interest. It has been a great experience for me. God Bless. Jack Deck

30 August-15 Sept Finishing the work

The hull during this period got a light sandblast. A first coat of DevTar5A was applied. More weld scabs were ground off and other areas touched up. The boat was shifted and a second coat applied. Painting in the interior spaces was started with DevRan224A. The interior color is that of red lead as determined by the Paint Preservationist. More brown that red. Aside from the few odds and ends, most activity was priming and painting.

Odds and ends accomplished were the raised coamings, installation of rubber seals and a dogging clamp on compartment 1 hatches. Dams were installed around the main deck penetrations of the hogging chain posts which were then filled with Black Jack tar sealant. Four paddlewheel locks which allow the paddlewheel to be shifted for maintenance were installed A set of retractable diagonals from the paddlewheel sponson to a horizontal beam at the end of the sponson were installed. This stiffens the sponson to avoid transverse movement and thus avoid racking the paddlewheel. Retracting the diagonals allows the paddlewheel to be shifted. Bare metal on the main deck and deck house was primed and painted. Work continued right up to departure at 2200 on Wednesday the 15th