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How many wooden boats still in government service?
While inspecting the progress on my boat yesterday, I noticed a large
vessel being completed in the same shed.It's about a 50-footer, wooden hull, and appropriately enough it
belongs to the US Forest Service. I was told the yard was contracted to
put a new stem on her, and some other work as well. I've requested a
complete synopsis of the work that was done and some photos of the job
in progress as it might make an interesting story for the magazine. Got me thinking- How many wooden boats are still in use by any branch
of the federal government? Anybody know of additional examples? I
suspect this 50-year old wooden patrol boat must be pretty unique- and
would have been replaced by a boat of some other material if not for
the association with the Forest Service. |
chuckgould.chu...
Mar 9
2006
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| Chuck,
Not sure this qualifies, but over at NUWC Keyport they still have a few
wood 72' TR ( Torpedo Retriever) boats, and the Old Man IV a wooden
1950's 50' Admiral's Barge they keep in the boat shed, and always on
hand at Seafair. Not sure where the AB was built, but I'd swear its a
Monk design. UD |
capuglydan
Mar 10
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| Ah, yes! I have seen that Admiral's barge around. One year the USN sent
the AB and a crew over to compete in Bremerton YC's Heavy Weather
predited log race. The navy got its butt kicked, finishing in the lower
third of the pack. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear that there
were a few comments endured by the AB's crew when they got back to
base. :-) |
chuckgould.chu...
Mar 10
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| The latest thing to replace wood is called
FIBERGLASS. (bad sarcasm there sorry) Last I knew, fiberglass wasnt magnetic.
Why not use that with a nice kevlar hull and
you got something MUCH stronger than
wood. Tom |
BocesLib
Mar 9
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| While I hate to argue with somebody with that stellar and outstanding
first name - Tom - kevlar laminates are much to hard without some
mediation from the use of other materials - thus, the "strength" is a
considerable compromise between wood or fiberglass. Ain't no substutute for wood for that kind of work. Unless you use dolphins instead. |
Shortwave
Mar 9
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| I'm pretty sure that all the old wooden minesweeps have been
decommissioned. http://federalvoice.dscc.dla.mil/federalvoice/030618/minesweeper.html http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/1997/b10171997_bt549-97.html The Navy started acquiring fiberglass minesweepers approx 20
years ago (and that's not new). Most minesweeping nowadays
appears to be done by helicopter, assisted by SEAL teams
(who in turn are assisted by specially trained real seals &
porpoises) I don't know if this will work, but here is a link to a
MS-Powerpoint article about minesweeps & minesweeping that I
thought was excellent navsci.berkeley.edu/ns401/NS401%20Fall%2005/Lecture18-Mine%20Warfare%20mjh.ppt DSK |
DSK
Mar 9
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| Here's the John Cobb, operated by NOAA.
Displacement: 250 tons
Dimensions: 93 x 26 x 11 feet/28.3 x 7.9 x 3.3 meters
Propulsion: 1 diesel, 325 bhp, 1 shaft, 9.3 knots
Crew: 7 + 4 scientists/mission crew
Notes: An aged, wood-hulled fisheries research ship. In need of
replacement. May be retired when Oscar Dyson enters service. Builders: Western Boatbuilding, Tacoma, WA. Number Name Year FLT Homeport Notes
R552 John N. Cobb 1950 PAC Juneau, AK |
snave
Mar 9
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| I believe they have all been decommissioned. http://www.indwes.edu/Faculty/bcupp/Story/combflt.htm Interestingly, since WWII, 14 U.S. ships have been sunk or damaged by
mines, and only two have been sunk by enemy fire. Yet, our mine sweeping
capabilities are quite limited. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=943641 http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/mso-422.htm |
thunder
Mar 9
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| Here's the scoop on the wooden minesweepers- 14 Avenger class in
service:
Displacement: 1,360-1,440 tons full load
Dimensions: 224.25 x 39 x 11.25 feet/68.35 x 11.9 x 3.4 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesels, 2 shafts, 2,600 bhp, 13.5 knots
Crew: 81
Sonar: SQQ-32 mine detection
Armament: 2 12.7mm MG
Concept/Program: Large, highly capable multirole minesweepers/hunters,
capable of overseas deployment. They have suffered numerous technical
problems, some of which remain unresolved, and it is reported that
maintenance is being badly underfunded. Four are based overseas, the
others in Texas. Builders: Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, WI; Marinette Marine, WI
(MCM 2, 4, 7). Design: Wooden-hulled minesweepers of relatively conventional design,
equipped with modern hunting/sweeping systems. Carry the SQQ-32
minehunting sonar, Mk116 mine neutralization system with 2 SLQ-48
minehunting devices, SLQ-37(V)3 magnetic/acoustic sweep array, SLQ-38
mechanical sweep, and mine disposal divers. Number Name Year FLT Homeport Group
Notes
MCM 1 Avenger 1987 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2 NRF
MCM 2 Defender 1989 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2 NRF
MCM 3 Sentry 1990 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2
NRF
MCM 4 Champion1991 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2 NRF
MCM 5 Guardian 1989 PAC Sasebo MCMRon1/PhibRon11
MCM 6 Devastator 1990 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2
MCM 7 Patriot 1991 PAC Sasebo MCMRon1/PhibRon11
MCM 8 Scout 1990 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2
MCM 9 Pioneer 1992 ATL Ingleside MCMRon1 NRF
MCM 10 Warrior 1992 ATL Ingleside MCMRon3 NRF
MCM 11 Gladiator 1993 ATL Ingleside MCMRon3 NRF
MCM 12 Ardent 1993 PG Bahrain MCMRon3
MCM 13 Dextrous 1994 PG Bahrain MCMRon3
MCM 14 Chief 1994 ATL Ingleside MCMRon2 Also, it's not federal but the state of New Jersey operates an old
wooden buoy tender, about 75-80 ft. There are a lot of state marked
channels in the coastal rivers and bays and off the ICW. |
snave
Mar 9
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| Who describes those ships as "wood"? They were entering
service when I was in the Navy (and that was a long time
ago, although it doesn't seem like it to me) and there was a
lot of hoopla about them being fiberglass. I have also seen them described as "fiberglass reinforced
wood" construction. And Navy ships maintenance is always underfunded. DSK |
DSK
Mar 9
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| Info from http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/ |
snave
Mar 9
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| "Fiberglass sheathed wood"
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq46-6.htm From what I recall of the articles about these ships when
they were being built, they were mostly fiberglass. In fact
the Navy dislikes wood construction because of the risk of
fire (although they have learned a harsh lesson about
aluminum too). Several articles made a point about how
fiberglass has been used for 40 years prior to the Navy
building ships out of it, implying that the Navy was sadly
behind the times. This last point was really hyperbole, since the Navy
commissioned a lot of small craft from fiberglass in the
1950s and 1960s and also paid for engineering research on he
material in those days. Oh well. DSK |
DSK
Mar 9
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| How about the obvious? USS Constitution
Homeport, Boston, MA RCE |
RCE
Mar 9
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| Official US Navy website on the USS Constitution ... interesting read for
those not fortunate to have visited her: http://www.ussconstitution.navy.mil/ RCE |
RCE
Mar 9
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| Good one. |
Shortwave
Mar 9
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| Chuck,
I know why the USS Constitution is being maintained, but why is the US
Forest Service maintaining an old wooden boat. I am glad they are,
because I love the look of a wooden boat, but it doesn't seem like the
best use of their money.
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Reggie
Mar 9
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| I believe that our navy continues to employ minesweepers with wood hulls and
bronze and stainless steel metallic parts to minimize their magnetic
signature for obvious reasons. See, for example,
http://www.navsource.org/archives/11/02idx.htm Fred |
Fred
Mar 9
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| Interesting. I know that wooden hulls were used for minesweepers for a
very long time. My cousin served aboard a wooden minesweeper when he
joined the navy in the early 60's. John Wayne's yacht. Wild Goose, was
a converted wooden minesweeper. I thought that modern mines, along with
advanced detection and hull technologies would have made the wooden
minesweeper obsolete by now.. |
chuckgould.chu...
Mar 9
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