Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Rainbow Navy ...


Calm down URR - not THAT rainbow Navy (not that there is anything wrong with that).

No, let's play around some more with the USS EMORY S. LAND's (AS-39) dry docking. The pic to the right brings up all sorts of questions and talking points.

I'll get the discussion starting with the low hanging fruit; the bright green line is algae. That leaves six to seven other distinct color bands to yabber about.

Over to you!

39 comments:

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Whew.  For a second there.....

kmadams85 said...

OK, I'll start -- based on the change from black to grey to black again, looks like someone painted a new waterline.  About 5-feet deeper than the design waterline.

Navig8r said...

The second waterline was painted at low tide. (At least that's what one of my non rates told me when I caught him sleeping in the punt.  Waiting for low tide so he could paint the boot topping a little lower).

Or maybe the higher waterline takes into account the female USNA officers' Severn River Hip Disease?

sid said...

Not related but...

I thought you get fired these days for tacking on a crow...

So....what about tacking on a rainbow?

DeltaBravo said...

Tacking on a crow?  (Huh?  Explain to the ignorant, please)

*  ooohing and aaahhhing at the pretty boat stripes....  haze grey is so yesterday...

Anonymous said...

One could read that in context of the sinking of Pequod in the last scene of Moby Dick, but sid is probably referring to "tacking on" sleeve insignia after enlisted promotions. 

Sean said...

DB

Tacking On a crow refers to punching the newly promoted enlisted person in the arm on the Crow of their insignia.

Similar to tacking on dolphins/water wings or other warfare insignia.

Somewhat frowned upon in this day and age...probably construed as hazing or something else.

sid said...

Here yah go DB

(although not the visual provided yesterday...i would opine the import is just as odious...)

Navy officials are drumming out six sailors from the mine countermeasures ship Patriot for “tacking on” new petty officer rate insignia with punches to the arm.
The six included at least one sailor who was tacked but didn’t report it to the command.

So tacking on a rainbow....with knuckle to arm contact, however slight....appears to be ok, judging from that pic above.

Global Force For Good

Anonymous said...

But sid, this is DIFFERENT.  Can't you see them giggling? 

Anonymous said...

NAVSHIPS Technical Manual S9086-VD-STM-010/020/030/CH-631, Preservation of Ships in Service (Yes we still have those) states how the paint is to be applied to the hulls of Navy warships.  The bottom paint (first two coats on the bottom from the keel up to the waterline is to be red or gray MIL-PRF-24647 followed by two more coats of the same in black or red) So far, so good.  Then the black boot top goes from the minimum load water line to 12" above the maximul load water line.  And you don't paint the antifouling paint over the haze gray, you paint the haze grat slightly over the boot topping.  Still good.  The green color is a reaction of the copper sulfate in the anti-fouling paint reacting with the saltwater and oxygen.  The green alge is just where the hull has become warm enough at the waterline to support life.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

Damned JS-kit.  That's me, of course. 

sid said...

guest, I was just about to remark about that red over black...

All in all, that hull looks way better than I would've expected given the condition of the screw....But there is some pretty good pitting on the stem under and around those barnacle patches.

And you can see the red paint is  erodeing off the stem and showing hte black under too.

But anyway...how come the red paint stopped ~6 feet below the algae line?

Did they run out?

SJBill said...

The thickest band at the bottom must be stains from coffee grounds thrown overboard.
Looks like a very long time since she's been out of the water.

DeltaBravo said...

Thank you gentlemen.  And I'm speechless.  Cmdr. Suzie just got rid of how many man years of training and experience over an arm punch?

>:o

One of my close and continuing relatives...  got a very bloody chest for having stuff tacked onto him a few years back.  I think he lived.  Or he says he survived it.  I'll take his word for it. 

If a punch to the arm is too much, where will we find the men to keep the LCS afloat when the time comes to bail water from close spaces?

(I wonder what her goat locker had to say about that and what recommendations she overrode when she kicked them out.)

sid said...

In fairness to those two gents...

It does look like the one on the right is going for a mutual knuckle bump.

Sense of accomplishment and all I guess.

Vigilis said...

Guest's NAVSHIPS background is impressive.

Could an independent agency of our federal government (NEA) be coveretly involved in those pastels? 

Perhaps the rainbow is an artful, if unintended, consequence of clawing for money.
 

sid said...

(some may sneer...)

But I hauled the plastic toy boat back in March...

First time for me as owner, except for the quick haul during the survey.

Found a fair amount of trouble (which I suspected from that quick haul, but procrastinated as long as I could) too.

Prop that's pretty far gone zinc-wise (programmed to be replaced when I move her to Points North next year-watch out LCS's...I will be lurking about "the Door")

And blisters....

Lots and lots of 'em.

Fun was had by all.

But I got a killer deal on Ultra-Kote from Defender's for 50 bucks a gallon (retail for good copper bottom paint is 100+)

Byron said...

Gosh, I thought you couldn't use copper sulphate for underwater hull?.

Also, one of the many joys idle sailors enjoy is moving around the waterline in a john boat and painting the boot top...and of course, since the load varies from one time to the next, you get different shades of black, depending on the time in the water...and this tub appears to have spent a LOT of time in the water!

Last, are those rivets I see in the Stem, down near what looks like the B strake? Good Lord, that ship is old!

Salty Gator said...

Yuck it up now, URR.  I am just waiting for the boy on boy couples to start walking into the Marine Corps Birthday Ball together, and just wait for the dancing.  I'm sure it will be fabulous!

chief torpedoman said...

Bryon, the ship is about 34 years from its commisioning. I say she looks pretty damn good for that age. The coffe grounds joke is pretty standard for tenders. The Land and her sister ship, the Frank Cable in my view are valuable national assest as they are the only two tenders left. They provide the ability to forward delploy and support subs and some surface ships with food, weapons, parts, and nuclear support without sending the shisp out of theater.

I think the CO of the Land got raw deal in this case. I would love to hear from some sailors that were there.

xbradtc said...

Question from a landlubber. 

When a ship is in port for a goodly amount of time, and the bosun has crews over the side painting, does the Oil King ever shift liquids to heel the ship to give better access to the waterline?

UltimaRatioRegis said...

They may have a propensity for falling down stairs.  Just a guess.

sid said...

Never saw it personally, because on large ships, you  have no trouble at all reaching the boot strip from a "paint punt"...

Then there was the time we were nested up outboard at the Delta piers in Mayport . But we needed to be warped pierside and turned around so we could take aboard something...

As the ship was turned around...scrawled along the water line in nice pretty orange-ish red lead 4 foot high letters was..."FTN" at several points along the hull at the boot stripe...

Things got ugly.

Real. Ugly.

sid said...

Oh...BTW

Thats called "careening"....

sid said...

boot STRIPE...

pk said...

yes and when the skipper walks down the pier to the ship in the morning if it isn't dead level he steps to the quarter deck phone and calls the oil king. the ship will be dead level in a few minutes.

just one of those things.

C

pk said...

very few dings in the cutwater.

C

pk said...

thats another classic.

"golden anchors" on a ship that had just been aground.

does that say anything.

C

pk said...

:) ))))))))))) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)

pk said...

the times that i got crows my arm was sore for a week.

1965&66.

c

Byron said...

What year was that, Sid? Were you here the time a young En-swine fired a volley ball out the torpedo tubes towards the Forrestal?

leesea said...

ships such as auxiliaries with disposable loads could, BUT MSC uses a different painting scheme than the regular Navy I believe?

sid said...

<span>What year was that</span>
<span></span>
<span>1978? maybe '77...</span>
<span></span>
<span>The BM's were busy painting that side so it was all splotched up with primer.</span>
<span></span>
<span>Some fool thought he was gonna be funny...</span>
<span></span>
<span>And didn't get the word his art work was going to go on display.</span>
<span></span>
<span>I have no idea how bad the 1st Lt. got hammered...Or the BMC (the 1st Div LPO was later a tugmaster there in Mayport, so he survived...but he may have been on leave, as we had just gotten back from a deployment)</span>
<span></span>
<span>But I know the guys on paint party all got 45/45 out of the whole escapade.</span>
<span></span>
<span>The Carter Navy...</span>
<span></span>
<span>Seems we are headed for a redux.</span>
<span></span>
<span></span>

Old Farter said...

I don't think you are allowed to transfer fuel/lube oil in port... Or maybe it's just stripping you can't do. Not sure. Any current Cheng's out there?

Sean said...

Worked at one company where we were treated to a "FTN" painting experience across the road at the local steam plant that had just told some painters that their services were no longer needed after the job was finished. The painters then proceeded to paint large derogatory comments on the smokestack that they were just finishing painting...only on the side facing us, away from the view from the parking lot of the steam plant parking lot!

After a bunch of us stopped laughing when we realized what was going on, we let our facility director know so he could give a heads up call to his counterpart at the steam plant!

James said...

I still like when they brought the no more DADT stuff about 5 or so yrs ago out.

Army brass: Um might not be a good idea....um.....mumble mumble PC BS.

Airforce: I think its a fabulous idea why not! However we should have a study done.

Navy: Has flash backs of Tailgate and embraces its inner tool.

Then they all got that horrified look in their eye as they remember the Marines.

Marines: Why would we want those *&%&^#$#()&*)&&%^%#^$%I*&^)&*^^&%$^%$)&^_*&^&*^%(^&$*%^#*(&^)&*_+&&^%%##$@$#@&%$&^)*&+()+)(&(&%^^$^%%^@@#@@#@$%">*&%^^$^%%^@@#@@#@$%&(&*^)*&_*&*&(!!!

Marines, when no one else will stand up agaisnt the PC police.

Anonymous said...

Not very classy, URR.  Those are your fellow Marines you're talking about.

Byron said...

@Old Farter: they do it all the time, especially while we're in a repair avaialibility and shutting down hotwork and royally screwing up the schedule.

UltimaRatioRegis said...

James,

I am afraid this particular brand of "guest" is nothing but a troll who believes, like Mike Mullen, that his morals and values should be EVERYONE's morals and values, and that he and his ilk are the only ones who are allowed to find anything offensive or objectionable. 

Like Mullen, he believes that, by providing a half-day of training, DoD can declare just what we think and feel and what our innermost beliefs should be, and isn't afraid to dictate those beliefs to us.  And couch any objections in terms of hatred and lack of integrity.

And like Mullen, he is likely well-insulated from any and all repercussions of such intellectual and moral dilletantism, and have absolutely no skin in the game short of making political capital.