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.