Here is a summarized/edited report I put together for our Cobia Committee on the work we've done aboard Cobia this year. in 2011,we spent about $150,000 on restoration work, inlcuding an underwater hull cleaning and ultrasonic test on the presure hull. Since we spent all our money in 2011, this year was failry "laid back", but there is always something that needs fixing...
Engines: The old fuel was removed last year by Veolia Environmental Services. A Cobia volunteer cleaned out the clean fuel oil tank and new fuel was put aboard in May. The volunteers are starting to go through the fuel oil system. A local bike shop might clean the fuel injectors for us in exchange for a free rental and tour. New filters were donated and will be installed after the engines are cleaned.
Bow Planes: The volunteers spent a lot of time on the motors. They were lowered in May for a ceremony, but the gear box overheated so more work is needed. They are researching what needs to be done with the gear box, but this is a low priority.
Painting: Volunteers from the Crash Dive Base spent two days prepping and painting the periscope shears. Sea cadets did some painting in the interior of the bridge area (beneath the shears). We were working on the pressure hull, but Mother Nature didn’t cooperate. We only managed to sand about 2/3 of the pressure hull and paint about 1/3 of the hull. We will finish it in the spring.
HVAC: We’ve had a lot of work done on the custom HVAC that was installed in 2003 (I think!). Our local HVAC company (Schaus) has been working on it and learning the system. It appears that some components of the system may not have been completely operational; Schaus is of the opinion that the system may have been “over-engineered.” The boiler is also at the end of its life and will need replacing soon
