Noodling around and came across this …
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2015/01/05/3572171/kalakala-to-be-scrapped-end-of.html
Any of you guys have stories about Kalakala? Any interesting pics?
Thanks.
I wouldn’t think there are too many alive still who rode the Silver Slug but I hear she vibrated like nobody’s business
I am very glad she is finally going to be scrapped…it was a horrible idea to bring her back to Seattle without a corporate sponsor already onboard. Sadly, Seattle for all its vast maritime heritage has a terrible reputation for being able to preserve historic vessels.
I myself am trying to save the ex Bureau of Fisheries research vessel JOHN N COBB to be a museum and believe me, finding sponsors is hell on earth.
[QUOTE=c.captain;151121]I myself am trying to save the ex Bureau of Fisheries research vessel JOHN N COBB to be a museum and believe me, finding sponsors is hell on earth.[/QUOTE]
Sent you a PM. Sweet vessel.
[QUOTE=smoker;151122]Sent you a PM. Sweet vessel.[/QUOTE]
thanks…I still have hope she’ll be preserved
[QUOTE=c.captain;151124]thanks…I still have hope she’ll be preserved[/QUOTE]
Back in the '70s, the local community college had a vessel used in their nautical science and marine biology segments. Many 100 ton licenses were earned. I guess the operational costs were too high and it was shut down. It would be great to use something on the same model and include the DDE also.
[QUOTE=injunear;151126]Back in the '70s, the local community college had a vessel used in their nautical science and marine biology segments. Many 100 ton licenses were earned. I guess the operational costs were too high and it was shut down. It would be great to use something on the same model and include the DDE also.[/QUOTE]
my plan has her repowered (her original FM 31-8 1/2 main is disabled due to a busted crank which cannot be replaced economically) and underway from time to time including possibly training and some research. The biggest role though as a museum vessel is to represent all the many hundreds of wooden fishing vessels built on the West Coast in the 20th century and the many dozens of wooden shipbuilders especially in Tacoma which was an epicenter for the business and where she was originally built. On the board for out 501C3 are two of the grandchildren of the man who built the COBB at Western Boat in 1950, M.A. Petrich. One of which is a maritime historian like myself and the other is a commissioner of the Port of Tacoma.
You have a tough row to hoe with the cost of up keep. It’s a shame because the deck gear and tackle, hydraulic systems and the electrical systems are all basic and a good teaching platform.
up to the time NOAA got rid of her she was a solid vessel… except for that engine! I’d believed someone bought her who had valid plans and many years work planned. Hard to believe someone hasn’t snapped her up. solid boat.
[QUOTE=jimrr;151129]up to the time NOAA got rid of her she was a solid vessel… except for that engine! I’d believed someone bought her who had valid plans and many years work planned. Hard to believe someone hasn’t snapped her up. solid boat.[/QUOTE]
even though she has been idle with zero maintenance the COBB is still very sound and with a repower can be underway again with little work. The problem is that the cost to even repower with an older engine is still quite high compared to the vessel’s earning ability commercially and then there is the issue of insurance! But as a museum vessel with hopefully a donated engine and perhaps donated labor to install it, the project is very doable.
I already have a Cat 398 to put in her as a donation (but needs rebuilding) and am looking for a 3:1 gearbox in case anyone has one lying around? Her FM was a 300rpm direct drive engine so whatever engine is put in her needs to be reduced down to that. I have also heard of an old Enterprise available for free as well and then she could stay direct reversible like she was built as.
btw, there is a ton of pics I took of her a month agohere on Flickr if you’re interested
[QUOTE=smoker;151120]
Any of you guys have stories about Kalakala? Any interesting pics?[/QUOTE]
Like these? Look at my avatar carefully, I’ll post more photos and a sea story tomorrow.
All I know is that it is frozen in time on a mural in downtown Port Angeles.
[QUOTE=c.captain;151127]my plan has her repowered (her original FM 31-8 1/2 main is disabled due to a busted crank which cannot be replaced economically) and underway from time to time including possibly training and some research. The biggest role though as a museum vessel is to represent all the many hundreds of wooden fishing vessels built on the West Coast in the 20th century and the many dozens of wooden shipbuilders especially in Tacoma which was an epicenter for the business and where she was originally built. On the board for out 501C3 are two of the grandchildren of the man who built the COBB at Western Boat in 1950, M.A. Petrich. One of which is a maritime historian like myself and the other is a commissioner of the Port of Tacoma.[/QUOTE]
I assume someone has contacted W.W. Williams since they deal with that model engine. http://www.wwwilliams.com/distribution_fairbanks.cfm
[QUOTE=Chief Seadog;151176]I assume someone has contacted W.W. Williams since they deal with that model engine. http://www.wwwilliams.com/distribution_fairbanks.cfm[/QUOTE]
I cannot say for certain what NOAA did after the crankshaft broke to find another although I have heard that replacement cranks could be machined for the engine but the cost to do that was prohibitive. I have also heard that when the COBB went to the Seattle Maritime Academy, that Fairbanks Morse offered to produce one for the vessel without cost to the school but not provide support to install it. They wanted the publicity value of the donation but the school balked without getting money from FM to get the new crank in. This is only hearsay though so I do not the veracity of this but if it is true then perhaps FM would offer it again with a new 501C(3) owning the COBB and willing to take the crank at FM’s terms? If it is me, I’d jump on it and then worry about how to get the old one out and new one in.
Regarding existing cranks that may be out there, I have heard that an exhaustive search was made without success but that still doesn’t mean there is not one out there somewhere? Not too many of that model engine even out there in the world anymore. There is a vessel for sale in British Columbia with one and it could be a scrap candidate but that is a very longshot to say the least.
I can’t help either way, but it would be shameful to re-power her. Especially if you are going from direct-drive reversible medium speed engine to single-rotation reduced high speed engine. When you walk on to an old vessel like this, I bet your first destination is the bridge. Mine (and I am sure many others) is the engine room. I love to see the old iron and picture myself as a fly on the wall while she is underway or maneuvering back in her hayday. To re-power her would completely alter the feel of that vintage engine room.
[QUOTE=txwooley;151254]I can’t help either way, but it would be shameful to re-power her. Especially if you are going from direct-drive reversible medium speed engine to single-rotation reduced high speed engine. When you walk on to an old vessel like this, I bet your first destination is the bridge. Mine (and I am sure many others) is the engine room. I love to see the old iron and picture myself as a fly on the wall while she is underway or maneuvering back in her hayday. To re-power her would completely alter the feel of that vintage engine room.[/QUOTE]
Don’t get me wrong, I love antique slow speed diesels and pray that the engine in the COBB might be saved yet but if the original Fairbanks Morse can’t be returned to service then if she is to continue life as a commercial vessel I say go with a medium speed engine like a Cat 398 but as a museum she really does need to have a low speed direct reversible which at least matches the vintage of the vessel. either way there is a steep installation bill to pay.
anyone have a Union or Atlas or Superior or Hamilton or Busch Sulzer or Enterprise or Hendy or Cooper Bessemer or Winton or Nordberg (I could go on all day about old slow speed American made iron here) diesel lying in their backyard they ain’t needing?
.
Nice photos of both vessels.
The problems with turning a vessel into a museum exhibit are many. Not only are the costs of upkeep prohibitive, but you have to find a location for it that is easy for the public to access and not in the middle of bumfuckistan. Or they won’t come- and there goes your funds.
The ex-Ranger, ex-Forestal, and ex-Saratoga all just met (or are about to meet) the breaker’s torch and I read a lot of posts from veterans on another site who were pissing and moaning about same but the fact is, sometimes the money just isn’t there to save them. ex-Ranger was held for many years in Alameda on museum hold but the project never got off the ground. Tax payer money in the meantime keeps them afloat as inactive ships have to be monitored.
ex-United States will sadly meet the same end, after decades of rotting in Philadelphia. Supposedly, some developer wants to move her to New York but I will believe that when I actually see it. One estimate for restoration- as a museum, not a working vessel mind you- is a billion dollars.
C.C, good luck with the Cobb. She seems a worthy project. I did tour some of the historic vessels in Seattle and seeing her all spiffed up would be really nice.
Like I said I think you would be surprised what you can get a crankshaft for. Think 35-65k, not the 150k you mentioned prior. But… you will not get class approval. A crankshaft from Cat for a 3512 HD is 25k. I don’t imagine a crankshaft from an aftermarket supplier could cost much more, even if its a bit bigger.
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[QUOTE=c.captain;151271]Don’t get me wrong, I love antique slow speed diesels and pray that the engine in the COBB might be saved yet but if the original Fairbanks Morse can’t be returned to service then if she is to continue life as a commercial vessel I say go with a medium speed engine like a Cat 398 but as a museum she really does need to have a low speed direct reversible which at least matches the vintage of the vessel. either way there is a steep installation bill to pay.
anyone have a Union or Atlas or Superior or Hamilton or Busch Sulzer or Enterprise or Hendy or Cooper Bessemer or Winton or Nordberg (I could go on all day about old slow speed American made iron here) diesel lying in their backyard they ain’t needing?
.[/QUOTE]
Cal Maritime has a Hamilton engine from their tug Black Bear. I personally rebuilt that engine in 2004. I hear they have since removed it from the boat and installed it in their power lab as an exhibit. I’m sorry they paid me $8 an hour to rebuild it so I had no money for a digital camera but I have some good stories about the process and the design of that engine.
Thanks for the pic c.captain. Love seeing the old stuff like that. Today’s modern electronic high speed engines lack the ‘sexiness’ of those bygone machines.