“Up Scope!”
July 2013 - Issue # 3
Happy summer everyone! I hope you are all staying cool! Now that summer has finally made its way to the lakeshore, we’ve been able to get outside to work on the exterior. May was still a cool month here in Wisconsin, plus we were busy with school field trip season!
On Memorial Day weekend we hosted our annual 28 Manitowoc-built Boat Reunion and USS Lagarto Memorial on Cobia’s deck. There was still a chill in the air, but the sun was shining and so was Cobia, with her red, white, and blue bunting. The ceremony also included a dedication of our new Gerald R. Pilger Memorial Quarterdeck on the Riverwalk adjacent to the sub. Following the ceremony, engine #2 was fired up, the horn blew the Great Lakes master salute, and former Navy band member Joe Maehl played Anchors Away, just as he did at all the submarine launchings back in the 40s.
Engine update and other projects
Volunteers Pat and Russ continue to work on engine #1 and troubleshoot the hard spot. Pat and Russ, along with our new volunteer Ron Takacs, are trying to uncouple the engine from the generator to determine what is causing the problem (engine or generator). Engine #2 appears to be running fine, but Pat will be adjusting the linkage on the governor.
A knob for the Motor Order Telegraph in the maneuvering room was missing, so Pat ordered replacements. Ron drilled out and installed the new knob during his first visit to Cobia. He also got a bell for the Motor Order Telegraph in the maneuvering room working.
Ron (with help from Pat) has also started working on restoring power to the emergency lighting and sound powered phones. He started cleaning up the phones and is tracking down spares and parts. The system is a bit of a mess from past “work” - they found cut wires without any phones, phones hooked into a box, but going nowhere, complete lines missing, and they are having a hard time finding all the jacks for the sound powered phones. Once the connection is restored the volunteers will be able to communicate better during engine start ups, especially during scheduled start ups for ceremonies.
Exterior Painting
In June the weather was finally nice enough to get outdoors and start painting the deck and pressure hull. Our first small project was paint the ugly pink bow.
After the bow was finished our trusty raft from McMullen and Pitz was dropped off and we received new marine paint from Sherwin Williams who donated 5 gallons and gave us a great discount on another 5! Paul and Karen attempted to prep the pressure hull where they had left off last fall, but the heat got the better of them! With a little cooperation from Mother Nature, they plan to finish prepping the hull and painting the remaining ¾ of the hull before snow flies! If time allows they also hope to finish painting the rest of the deck.
Deck Guns
Paul finally got around to painting the .50 cal that was removed in December 2011. The gun was put back aboard in June. This fall he plans to remove the 20 mm for restoration over the winter. The 3 inch deck gun is also in need of a good coat of paint and we are hoping to get some volunteer help with that in August.
Cobia’s Birthday Party
On August 17th we are throwing a birthday party for Cobia! This year marks the 70th anniversary for Cobia’s keel laying (March 17th) and launch (November 28th) and August 17th also marks the 43rd anniversary of Cobia’s arrival in Manitowoc. The party is open to museum members and volunteers and will feature pizza, birthday cake, live music, and party games! We are currently trying to figure out how to make and attach a giant party hat on Cobia… ?
