Every year in January there is a work weekend for the long Martin Luther King weekend. Crew members will come from far and wide; Ohio, Virginia and New York to name a few. It's a chance to spend some time on the ship with your fellow volunteer crewmates and to get a lot of work done. We have an exciting and busy year coming up in 2016 with trips to Norfolk and New York. There's lots of preparation to be done to make sure the ship is ready for the busy sailing season ahead.
There is always a long list of things to do. These are a few of the things that were checked off the list this weekend: two fire hydrant valves that had been leaking were overhauled, the engine relief valves were overhauled and checked for regular inspection, the deck on the generator level in the engine room was scrubbed, ground smooth and primed, two water tight doors were chalked tested, the steam trap in the Modine heater in the engine room was overhauled, the refurbishment of the Engine Room head was completed and the work on the shower started, and one of the life boats was moved to the shed to have some work done. As I said, these are just a few of the things that got done.
There was a General Meeting on Saturday morning. It's always nice to have lots of crew members present that aren't normally there. Members came in from New York, Virginia and Ohio to work hard all weekend.
One of the steam traps for the heat in the engine room needs replacing. The replacement is getting the once over before it goes in.
We were thrilled to host students, alumni and faculty from the New York Harbor School. They don't do glamorous jobs but it's great to have lots of energetic people on board. They are always willing to step up and tackle any task that asked of them. Here they are getting the generator level of the engine room clean so it can be prepped for painting. Yes, there is ALWAYS something that needs painting.
Twenty four hours later the deck has been cleaned, old oil has been scrubbed off, it has been ground smooth, and painted with primer. A dirty job made faster and easier with lots of willing hands.
This is the steam engine for the circulating pump. It's having some regular maintenance and an oil change.
The Pipe Room was bustling, well not bustling, it was pretty quiet actually. Everyone was concentrating on what they were doing.
The team was working on the relief valves for the main engine. Springs hold the valve closed. If too much pressure builds the spring springs and the valves open. Pretty simple. These valves, like all working parts of the ship, undergo routine inspections to make sure everything is in good working order.
This is part of the valve that forms of the seal.
It is coated with lapping compound, which is a fluid abrasive. It is very important that these surfaces are flush.
I had never heard of fluid abrasives, but then I know very little about the actual workings of the ship. I will have to ask what some of those 1001 uses are.
It is a multistep process to make sure everything is just so.
Things were happening outside on deck as well. One of the lifeboats was lowered and moved into the shed for some work.
Duff shared his experience and knowledge about with some of the Harbor School students in the machine shop. It's a nice opportunity to ask questions of people who know the ropes.
The Harbor School students took part in some practical lessons as well. Learning how to coil and throw the heaving line is a skill that takes lots of practice.
It was fun to watch everyone practice, and fun to photograph too.
We have to mention the crew members in the galley. They make sure everybody on board is fed three times a day. No small task! On Saturday the smells of roasting lamb and pork loin had everybody anticipating supper time.
There are always some crew members on board on regular Wednesday and Saturday workdays. The work weekends are bit more special because we have more crew members and tackle some bigger jobs. There is always something to do. If you don’t know how to do it, there someone to show you how to it. It's also good to spend some time with good friends after a hard days work. If you think you might be interested in coming down to Canton to be a part of this wonderful living history Museum just send us an email at john.w.brown@usa.net.
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.
