It was a nice warm day in Massachusetts, so I played hookey from work for the afternoon and visited the boat. I think she misses me when I don't visit. Or maybe I have that backwards.
Added to all the tanks, on the outside, are maintenance plates. I can see the work raft near one of the plates, it has been removed (by the Battleship Cove maintenance staff), and the tank is completely filled with water to the access plate. This is a couple of feet above the water line. The maintenance guys told me some of the pipes (I guess vent pipes?) are rusted out, and rain water can enter the tank through the holes in the pipe. Eventually the tank fills. I think they noticed a little list.
For some reason the Battleship Cove people raise the bow planes in winter. I think they believe they are fragile. Hard for me to believe, i have seen pictures with the planes filled with people standing on them. Plus the planes have to be strong enough to raise/lower the boat. One of the staff thought someone told him the planes were made out of balsa wood. That can't be true, can it?
I got the tutorial on how to lower the planes as I watched one of the staff lower them. In the down direction, gravity is our friend, and it took about 5 minutes. Unfortunately the planes are angled to about 35 degrees. The hydraulics aren't functional, and over the years the planes have drifted from 0 degrees, to full rise. When the planes are lowered in this tilted condition, the connecting rods (probably wrong term) scrape against the superstructure making quite a racket.
I think I will try using a small hydraulic car jack and some 2x4 pieces to force the planes back to level, from inside the FTR. I can put the jack above the planes ram, and drive it down. Worth a try.
