With so many exciting things going on, we thought we'd take the time to share what the first phase of 'painting' looks like. Just as a reminder, this is an ongoing, 3 part job that will take some time to complete in full. Part one raised $100,000 (YAY) to strip the years of old paint and rust, treat, prime and paint the house. Those that contributed should have received (or will be receiving soon, for those more recent donations) the contribution letter and chart. Remember that donations to the ship are tax deductible. If you need to get in some 'end of the year' donations for tax purposes, and you have not done so, consider this worthy cause. Now for some pictures and less reading...
This gallery of shots was taken on October 20th, and as you can see, they have finished much of the Flying bridge and the stacks and are working their way down. In the first shot you can see the containment tank (the paint/rust/water slurry is collected and drained into that large tank).
Here you can see the things that have changed since October. This gallery of shots was taken on November 3rd. Ocean Painting, LLC is doing a great job with the removal. Keith, the foreman of the crew (typically in his purple Ravens Sweatshirt) is treating our 70+ year old gal, like she is made of gold and is doing a great job keeping this large job going in the right direction. From this group of pictures you can see how much of the house has had the paint and paint (and more paint) and rust removed to bare steel. But nature waits for NO ONE, so you can see some lovely rust blooms, which will be treated before painting begins. It might not be 'Politically (whats the maritime equivalent?) correct' but some of the photographers on the ship and those that have visited, actually LOVE the colors of the rust rainbow. But they need to go, so we understand.
These shots were taken on November 9th and 11th. Scaffolding and removal of paint and rust, oh my...
November 14th....Saturday work day. Lots of work getting done by Ocean Painting AND our own volunteers. They are just about ready to start the treatment and priming phase of this operation. So many cool things to see.
A very COOL find.... this writing was found under all the layers of paint. We are trying to determine when it was done...It says "WAY 5 Port" and then underneath is some ghost writing, that appears to be graduating years like '67. We think those years were when students on the ship had to work on that section of the ship as their Senior Project. We can't wait to find out more details about this 'archaeological' mystery.
We hope you've enjoyed these 'behind the scenes' shots of the SS JOHN W BROWN. It's been awhile since we've done this type of work -usually we are painting small sections at a time (the type of thing that 4-8 deck hands can do in a few hours at a time). Enjoy our 'rust rainbow' now along with us, because it will all be removed, and treated and we can better protect the ship this way. We are also finding small holes in the steel that are being repaired. This is huge, ongoing process, so thanks for sharing this part of the ship with us!
Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.
