5th Update from Captain Jornlin

It was a busy day, sort of like the last week or so. CG was aboard at 9:30 and looked at the work that is being done and has been finished -- liked in general what they saw. Had two men in the CG investigating division come aboard, they wanted to take Ad's and my picture. (They said they could add the numbers under our pictures later!) I gave them one of my best tours and they said my picture would be put in the "dead file" -- not so for AD! 

Steel to rebuild the doors arriving tomorrow. One propeller off -Port one. Hope they get the second one tomorrow and all 4 will go to the propeller shop. Tank deck repairs pretty well done. Scullery well underway part of the bump on stbd side, but also deterioration in the passage and scullery. It will look nice when done. Sandblaster here tonight at 1630 to sandblast under ramp -- never done before. We shut the ramp up and they went at it. Also sandblasted the Beak as I call it. They will remove the top tomorrow and replace as necessary in the bow. Also sandblasted hinges on stbd side -- the metal has deteriorated along the bottom several hinges, very good on port side. Metal there will be replaced soon. Notch (dent) in port side at the knuckle insert has been put in, Sections of Ice deflector (port) have been cut out where there were holes. Paint specs in, paint ordered. High pressure wash, Sandblast sweep 25% to shinny metal where last dry docking supports were, air blast to remove all dust and dirt from blasting. one coat of epoxy, second coat haze gray primer. Third coat Black epoxy. We are told their is no need for anti-following in fresh water -- saves $9,000. Entire sides of ship to be painted, new numbers. Repairs to the hull will be sandblasted, primed first. Holes in bottom, one stbd shaft alley cut out and insert going in, port side escape trunk cement cut out. Work to start in emergency fire pump room tomorrow. All above has been fixed in overhead there. EVAC rep was here looked at our system -- needs a couple of parts.

Harry Zillion had a birthday yesterday! Capt. Bob

4th Update from Captain Jornlin

We picked up Jim Voelker tonight. He had a rough flight. Took off from Evansville late. Engine problems in Atlanta. However, things got better. Greg Cain, a former Evansville native, picked him up and brought Jim half way to Port Arthur, from Houston and Harry Zillion and I picked him up at at McDonald's in Winnie, TX. He is snug in his bed and planning breakfast as he sleeps. The guys will like eating a prepared meal for a change. (3 and 1/2 days without.) 

Shipyard came aboard today and went to work. Repaired tie downs on the tank deck, as some had holes in the bottoms into the ballast tank below. Worked on other holes in tank deck under the tank edge on the sides of the tank deck. Cut a big piece out of the port side which was right at the turn of the side and bottom. Believe it or not, the port door is off and in the yard. Work building a new bottom for the door will start immediately. Stbd door will come off tomorrow. The Engine room is clean and stbd fuel tank under the crew's head is clean. Holes in bottom should be started on tomorrow also. CG inspected and past our sea valves in the Aux. engine room, so they can be put back! Screws, called wheels in the merchant marine, come off tomorrow and all four go to the shop, but only for a day, maybe two. Readings will be taken on shafts and bearings. Wed. the Orca (our septic system) will be on board to completely overhaul system -- all free. We have friends there. Weather has been great but will drop back into the 60's for the next couple of days! How is the weather up there? Captain Bob

Update 3 from Captain Jornlin

Things have picked up some. They have cut off one ice deflector on the port door. To make it somewhat easier they just cut the bottom one third of the door off, since we were going to have them rebuild the bottoms anyway as both doors have deteriorated. They left part of the door by the hinges so to keep the alignment. They almost have the deflector cut off the stbd door. Stern tubes, Cutlass and Stbd bearing in great condition, no reason to pull the shaft or replace it. Port bearing, bottom half shows some wear and will be replaced, top half of bearing does not need replaced. This is a surprise to me as we replaced the port bearing in benders in 2004. We did not replace the stbd bearing? 

The yard was aboard Saturday morning and looked at our work list and located most of what the CG has recommended we fix. The Emergency Fire Room needs work and we will replace the bottom of some bulkheads there. The 4 holes we have in the bottom in the ship will also be worked on Today as will the Rudder Guards (the pipes that stick out around the stern) and keep tugs or whatever from getting to close to the propellers and rudders. The engine room was thought to be done Saturday, but the boss of the cleaners was down and said it was not good enough! So they will continue work there. This had to be done to fix the one hole in stbd shaft alley escape trunk as the metal cut out ( a minimum of 18" or until you get to good metal (1/4 inch at least) runs into the engine room about 6 inches - estimated that is. So gas freeing was mandatory to get the hole fixed! 

The big ship the "Charleston" left Saturday afternoon. The Captain and Chief Engineer and another Mate came aboard and toured the "T", as they were initially held up by fog in the Gulf. So a few of our guys went over and had a tour on their ship. Just to put it in perspective they have an elevator to go up to the bridge! With no cook, the crew went out Friday night to a place called Crazy Larry's -- Larry's French Fish House. A big place, waited for almost an hour to get seated, but great food. Everyone paid their own way. Saturday night we ordered out Pizza and Harry Zillon went and picked it up -- found his way there and back! The crew is tired as we are working  everyday cleaning tanks, de-watering some tanks; getting ready for the yard workers. No wake-up call in the morning -- a big deal for them, but they will be up early anyway. Today the yard comes at 0600. I pick up Jim the cook in Houston at 1730. Weather is great.   Capt. Bob

Update from Captain Jornlin

The only money spent so far has been on food for crew.  We will have to pay our dry-dock representative we hired this Friday. Gulf Copper has a few jobs they have started. They have put a scaffolding up by the port rudder. They have cut off the shaft or bearing shields around and ahead of propellers. They started cutting the port ice deflector off the door. They checked for lead, evidently did not find any. Started to Cut on steel again -- have top off and about 80% of steel on door. They found 4"X 12" bridge planks held on by 12 bolts countersunk with plugs on top of bolts. They did not know if or how to get at the bolts which are badly rusted. The ice deflector has cement on top which shapes the slope on top of the deflector. It was put on to stay.

Coast Guard left today and Steve had to go back to Duluth, MN. which was a cool -14 last night! I imagine he might take his time. They have done most of the work identifying week spots in the ballast tanks and voids see work list. They also studied the gauging.  The Coral Marine company started cleaning the main engine room to gas free it so we can repair the port shaft alley hole in the escape trunk. 

WE NEED A COOK! WE WILL PROVIDE FLIGHT TO PORT ARTHUR (HOUSTON) PAID, 3 MEALS A DAY LUXURIOUS STATEROOM ON BOARD. A BUS BACK WITH BEANY SMITH! OR A RIDE ON A 1942 LST UP THE MIGHTY MISS. R. IT WILL BE 70 DEGREES ALL NEXT WEEK, GET OUT OF THAT COLD AND SNOW  JOB WILL BE OVER ABOUT FEB. 19. or at the close of our dry dock period    CAPT BOB

Captain Jornlin Update

Hi all you frozen northern board members and office staff, etc.: Another warm day, but not much actual work done here. Ship next to us still here. They got the screens off the sea chests. Promise to get the yard workers here Thursday. Our ORCA (ship's septic system) people to be here next week. All of the gauging got done -- went over with CG, Mark Cruder and all was good! The only bottom work is the 4 holes, and the two dents at the knuckle of the ship-- where bottom meets the side about midship. Starboard (Stbd) one at frame 26,(fuel tank must gas free to fix) port at frame 16. (Frames are the ribs perpendicular to the hull.) Not sure how we got them but we did. We have to remove an replace the top of the "beak". (That area under the ramp that sticks out at the very bow of the ship.) Pretty thin on top because I believe it was missed in sanding and painting in 2004 and maybe before. They were going to let us do some of the repairs on the way home and work week, but changed their mind and they want it all done here in the ship yard and checked off by the local CG -- MSO. They checked out the doublers (patches) drawing done by Benders as to where the doublers were located by frame on the bottom. Guess what? The local gauger's did a map also, a lot of work, and they had to take readings around, everyone's readings were good. To make it short, the Benders drawing must have been done at "Buddha's" (a place like Chris goes to!); because none of the doublers on their drawing matched the local gauger's, and the CG checked both! Needless to say we do not have to replace the 4 doublers on the list on the first page of the work list. Bad news is we have to gas free the main engine room, because the hole in the port shaft alley (escape trunk where we put the cement) is too close and we have to replace some of the metal in the main engine room; $28,000.  Good news, we may not have to pull the propeller shafts as we have 10 new cutler bearings. So just stick in one of our spares, put in new packing and we are ready to go. Saves lots of money. Crew good -- food is too good. No one is loosing weight. Men are working, pumping out water, cleaning up rust in stbd muffler room (half deck out of shaft alley). Ad is transferring fuel to gas free stbd fuel tank. Gary Garcia is grinding a pipe off the deck in first big fuel tank.  CG really liked the welding in Port settling tank, so pass on to Tom Price and J. Coker. Dan Cinowalt knows. They all climbed in and had to see it. I took their word!  Water is high on Mississippi River.    Capt. Bob

Click on the picture below for a larger view of an abbreviated schematic of the ship.

Mr. Morris and an update from Captain Jornlin

More information on Gulf Copper's Mr. Morris.  A fitting place for repairs if you ask me.  

---

AFDM-1 Class Medium Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock:

Laid down in January 1943 at Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Co. as Yard Floating Dock YFD-4

Delivered and placed in commissioned in October 1943

Redesignated Auxiliary Floating Dock Medium AFDM-2 in 1945

Decommissioned and inactivated, date unknown

Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX., 16 May 1995

Reactivated and transferred to the Government of the Dominican Republic in 1999

Sold to Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corp. at Port Arthur, TX., renamed Mr. Morris

Current Disposition, active in commercial service at Port Arthur, TX.

---

Specifications: 
Displacement 6,400 t.(lt)
Length 616'
Beam 116'
Draft 6 ft. 

Information from www.navsource.org.

From Captain Jornlin:

"Hi LST Fans -- We are high and dry in an old Navy dry-dock. We are now 11 crew strong! The CG has been aboard and did a great job locating some places of thin metal. They had to look hard as the old grey lady is still solid. On getting first readings back on side metal behind the "ice deflector Hull" it is good! First readings from underneath -- look good. We have a few dents we are planning to fix, We will take off the bow doors, fix the bottoms of the doors, and hinges and the metal that the hinges hook too -- take off the ice deflector cover that may be causing our problems as it has added a lot of weight out on the ends as we open wide the doors -- causing the hinges to start to fail and separate from the ship. New water tight gasket for the ramp will be installed. The paint job underneath is in surprisingly good condition, especially the two primer coats applied in 2004. We have a dilemma -- do we apply anti-fowling paint as before at a larger cost of $9,000 or just use black epoxy paint. They - yard men and painters say that we do not need anti fowling in fresh water. The propellers may come off tomorrow and the ones on the main deck installed after readings on the shafts and new bearings put in. Original propellers have shown some nicks and wear from the river banks and debris they can be fixed but would be expensive. They will be put on main deck for all to see and can be fixed later when our fortune is made. Chris HELP -- They may pull the stbd SHAFT! Captain Bob"

Last Thursday this was the view at the office in Evansville.  High water and no ship.

As of today, the office is floating.  Here we have pictures showing the water very close to our volunteers' vehicles.  

We also have some debris accumulating at our gangway.  A whole tree was hit and became stuck for a few minutes while the pictures were being taken.  

Remember that we have full albums of pictures taken in Port Arthur on Facebook page and on our Forums page.  We also have a YouTube account with 15 videos now uploaded.  

To better see multiple pictures.

For those of you who may not enjoy the layout of the pictures can change how they are viewed on the Progress page.  In the upper left hand corner of the page is a drop down menu with display choices. 

By changing this setting you can see that the pictures are now grouped together instead of a column type view.  Play with the different choices until you find one you like.  

Tip:  all of the pictures are clickable for a closer look.

We're in it to win it!

Our volunteers made it back safely this morning and are either home or headed home.  Thank you gentlemen for your time and efforts.  A large Thank You again to the men staying on board ship in Port Arthur while the ship is in dry dock at Gulf Copper.  

The ship's camera was brought in this morning with lots of pictures.  We have one of Ken, Larry and John before the ship left last Monday shown below.  

Here are pictures of the tug Apache helping us into the dry dock's lock.  

Success!  We're in now let's get out!

The pictures below show the ship's propeller and how flat she really is.

Mr. Morris?

We are in Mr. Morris's hands now.  That is the name of the floating dry dock rig that will house the USS LST 325 for the next 6 weeks or so.  Our volunteers that will not be staying on-board for the duration will be headed back to Evansville today.  A big Thank You to everyone involved with this cruise and staying in Port Arthur.  We wouldn't be able to do this without such a dedicated crew.  To have just come off our annual cruise then volunteer for this cruise and most will probably return in September for our next annual cruise. Thank You!

 "The Mr. Morris was originally built for the U.S. Navy as the AFDM-2. It has been fully restored.  The Mr. Morris dry dock measures 384 ft. long, 116 ft. wide with 90 ft. between the wing walls. The dock is capable of lifting vessels up to 9000 long tons with drafts up to 20 ft." - 2013 Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

Today finds the ship in Port Arthur Texas.  Chip Lanham has been busy taking pictures of our favorite ship.  His original posts can be seen on our Forum page.  Susie Bloom has been posting his pictures on our Facebook page as well.   We now also have several videos on our YouTube account.