Batfish Deck

[Darrin]

Thanks Doc,
Now what he didn't tell you about his "feeble" mind at age 53 is that he has forgotten more about a diesel boat then I have ever learned and I qualified submarines on a 688 and he was qualified 423 because of some unnamed ahole TM    Honestly Doc is a TRUE EXPERT when it comes to these boats and I wouldn't trade him for any amount of money not to mention that he has done more to make Torsk look good then most will ever know and I wouldn't know what to do without him being onboard.

So with that please take the hard earned lessons learned and please us them so you don't make the same mistakes that we have made

Darrin

[Rick]

thank you Doc. 

Here is our plan (as much for everyone else as for you).   

We are going to open up the deck.  I hate that walk way.  It is ugly and takes away from the real look of the boat.  Not to mention the maintenace involved in keeping plywood clean and neat.   Walking shoes are required for our park.   We are working towards a nature preserve not to mention that the boat ins not well  suited for nightclub ataire.   I already talked to several people about the fenceing on the side.  Even though it is ugly I plan to keep it up for the very same reasons that you mentioned on your post.   A maintenance schedule is already in the works.  These numbers are all good for me they give me some time frames to shoot for. 

As for the teeth,   HELL NO....   This is a submarine,  not a damn airplane........

No offence to the Torsk boys.   

Rick

[Travis McLain]

what has been done of the ne decking looks good, I got to see it this weekend. I reall wish I could be there to help next saturday, but since I was there this weekend I cant make it out this coming one.

I do have to say, there was a sub that actually did have teeth painted on it during the war.

[Darrin]

then there was the USS Baya who painted her's on after the war was over and her's in the drydock are scary lookin.

[Rick]

Very cool. 

But I am still not painting teeth on my boat.

[Darrin]

Please don't because I may have to disown you if you do

[MWALLEN]

I don't want to rain on anyone's scientific testing of our new deck...but I had a piece at home as I'm rebuilding one of the little hatches.  I had a can of rustoleum and thought "what the heck" and gave it two coats of flat black paint.

Well, contrary to what I was told, the wood DOES hold paint and it looks pretty good compared to other non-painted wood I have.  Of course I'm not suggesting we spray paint the deck, but I just wanted to let you guys who plan on testing this that at least it will hold paint.

Rick - I'll bring the piece I painted on Saturday so you can see it.

The rest of you, please carry on because we need to know how best to paint the deck.  And at this point, I'd say painting is our best bet unless you can come up with a better, more economical and longer lasting idea...Lord knows I'm all for easy at this point.

Mark A.

[Mark Sarsfield]

Spraying is feasible, but I'd like to see weathering tests.  I think that was the real kicker with the other boats, but you never know. 

Black engine spray paint would stick to just about anything, in my mind.  If it can withstand engine heat, it can take the sun and rain.  It won't be cheap, though.

[JohnG]

But how long would spray paint last being walked on?

If we decided to paint the boat, I say grab the air compressor and a spray gun. Wouldn't take long at all doing that.

[Rick]

Wear and tear is going to occur on the deck.  I am already looking at a maintenence schedule for this.  Perhaps an annual or bi annual inspection of the deck and painting as necessary.   

Rick

[MWALLEN]

Stephen, my wife and I endured the 30 degree start and a brisk north wind and got more deck put down.  But after we got working, we really didn't notice the cold (except for my wife).  Just dress warm and in layers.

My wife spent most of the time retrieving stuff we dropped over the side  which makes me happy we are on land.

First pic is Stephen (left) and me (right). The second pic is of what we've put down over two weekends.

Yeah, it's not much, but when you only have 2-3 people, it takes on average 45 minutes to get one board down.  To make matters worse, the wood is warping and twisting which requires us to bolt one side down, then move everything to the other end and using spacers, work our way back to the other end.

However slow it's going, I can say that it's being done correctly and the boards are as straight as they are going to get (fighting the aforementioned warping/twisting and we found out yesterday that the supports aren't level) and they are evenly spaced.

Next workday is Saturday, Dec. 13th @ 9 AM.  Hope to see a few more bodies.

Mark

[Ctwilley]

Mark,

We were discussing this this weekend. How were the decks layed above the chain and rope lockers? We intend using these in the future but I honestly have no idea what was different about the deck...but then how would you get the lines and chains in and out?

[Mark Sarsfield]

I think Rick said that we have deck plans showing hatch locations.  This will help us to put the hatches back to where they were pulled.  In some cases when the deck was re-laid last time, certain hatch covers were not installed.

[MWALLEN]

Deck plans will be used when we get to that point.

First order of business is to get the starboard side done around the the bridge so traffic can be re-routed and the rest of the deck pulled.

[Darrin]

Batfish crew,
STAY on the track that you are doing because you are going it right!!! please make sure that you are priming the steel before you lay the wood down, that alone will save you trouble down the line and that includes the extra holes in your deck stringers. Remember the old addage, rust NEVER sleeps.
Keep up the great work!