For a period of 66 years PT-305 went without the hands of enlisted US Navy men working on her, but that all changed this Saturday. Throughout the morning, above the normal laughter of the crew and whir of the table saw was the constant buzzing of random orbit sanders coming from PT-305. The engine room was alive, not with three Packard 4M-2500 engines, but with the hard work of 5 US Navy volunteers with the ships of New Orleans Navy week.
The PT-305 restoration
crew is grateful to the US Navy and the eight volunteers who showed up to work,
and work they did. Our normal finish paint crew consists of two people, George
and Kali. George and Kali have a large task ahead of them, painting the
interior of a 78-foot boat with three inch paint brushes. This task is not out
of their capabilities, however, the Navy crew that came in was a tremendous
help. The engine room has been a constant focus during the restoration, there
are multiple crews coming in and out. The wood butchers were rebuilding
bulkheads and stringers, the engine crew was checking for alignment of engine
beds with the shaft holes, the structural crew was replacing stiffeners and the
electricians were planning routes for conduit. With all this activity, painting
has been a complicated task- until the Navy showed up. The Navy crew, working
with George and Kali, had the entire engine room sanded and painted shortly
after lunch. The compartment is now clear for the rest of the crews to return
to work. What should have taken weeks
was done in a day.
While five of the Navy volunteers sanded and painted, two more helped in the wood shop, working with the ban saw to cut out hull ribs. Each rib is made as a blank, and then the exact curve and length get drawn onto the blank with the use of a pattern. The cutting must be precise so that the rib will fit perfectly into place. After cutting out some hull ribs, they helped Josh with some deck rib work.
Civilian
operations continued in the 20mm ammunition locker and at the bow of the boat.
Frank and Conrad spent the day working on cheek blocks. Cheek blocks are
attached to the side of the keel between hull ribs. These blocks provide
support to the planking where it joins to the keel. The majority of these
blocks are a similar shape, making them easy to mass-produce, however, the
cheek blocks on the stem are all sorts of shapes. This complicated task has
really forced Frank and Conrad to think. At this point the keel curves up to
form the stem and the hull planking comes in at a sharp angle. They have to
make blocks that are curved with multiple angles, a task that leaves them
frustrated but enjoying every second of it.
Our
intrepid trio of Harold, Jim and Ed were busy perfecting work place sarcasm and
finishing the ammunition locker. The 20mm ammunition locker sits in the middle
of the officer’s quarters and underneath the chart house. The last few weeks
have been spent putting in the walls, which run from the deck to the keel: this
assembly looks like an elevator shaft. This Saturday, the boys framed and
finished the top deck of the ammunition locker, forming the chart house floor.
This was done by cutting large strips of mahogany and bolting them to the sides
of the ammunition locker. After that was completed, strips of mahogany were
placed across the box forming the floor. After a ¾ piece of marine plywood was
cut to fit the top, the floor
was complete.
was complete.
Ed leans into the access hatch for the 20mm
ammunition locker, which is located in the middle of the officer’s
quarters.
The radio operator’s position in the charthouse is above the
20mm ammunition storage. His equipment
sits on the deck, while the operator stands on top of the 20mm storage, putting
him at waist height with the deck.. Harold
(wearing a cap) is standing on a ladder finishing the installation of the
charthouse floor. The radio operator
would stand just a few feet higher than Harold does here. The gap to Harold’s right will have a ladder
leading into the crews quarters, while Ed, at the bottom right, is in the
officers’ quarters.
The
compartment immediately aft of the officer’s quarters is a fuel compartment.
The fuel compartment contains two 800-gallon fuel tanks with the officer’s head
between them. Steering, bilge plumbing, forced air ducts and electricity all
pass through this compartment. Because fuel tends to be combustible, each
system is run through watertight fittings and kept away from the fuel tanks.
The electric lines run through steel piping that keep the lines out of any
direct contact with fuel tanks and fuel fumes. There are three of these tubes
for each side, making a total of six. Jim
Rivers spent the day working on fitting the pipe conduit to the foreword and
aft bulkheads in the foreword fuel compartment.
The exciting day for the
restoration crew continued when Rear Admiral Ann Claire Phillips visited the
Kushner Restoration Pavilion to see PT-305.
Rear Admiral Phillips served as the operational commander for Navy Week
NOLA. Phillips also serves as the
Commander of Expeditionary Strike Group Two out of Norfolk, Virginia, which
includes the USS Wasp, one of the ships in New Orleans for Navy Week. After touring the restoration pavilion and
going aboard the 305, Rear Admiral Phillips, as well as all of the Navy
volunteers signed the underside of the bull nose that is to go on the 305. It was a great honor to have Rear Admiral
Philips visit and take interest in the restoration project.
Rear Admiral Ann Phillips stands on deck with volunteers
Harold and George, and the Museum’s President, Dr. Nick Mueller.
Rear Admiral Phillips signs the 305’s bull nose.
The PT-305
restoration crew would like to greatly thank Rear Admiral Phillips, the Navy
volunteers, and all of the service men and women of different nations who came
to see the 305. We would like to extend
a special thank you to the eight sailors who came and spent the day working
with us: Ensign Kenneth Pennington and
Petty Officers Michael Wagner, Ken Besso, Russell Poyner, Chris Huddleston,
Brian Schuler, Robert Hoffman and Leary.
Bravo Zulu to you all!
