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October 20, 2008
Hello 83Footer Sailors and Friends of
the 83527: |
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Where did this year go? It's way past due time for an update on the CG-83527. You may have seen some of the events highlighted on the website. If not, here are our accomplishments this year.. |
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In late spring we got the winter cover off and started on the prep for the new coats of marine enamel. Steve Archer and his crew from Port Townsend worked weekends to make great progress on the preparation, puddy, final sanding and final paint. Then we added the numbers. | ||
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Your shipmate, John Siderick (83391) came out from Dallas, PA and spent 3 weeks helping with electrical projects aboard. These included pulling out a lot of unused circuits, replacing some crappy wiring and adding some new circuits for modern outlets. We replaced the entire breaker system |
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in the pilot house with modern hardware. All wiring was stripped from the mast, the mast was sanded and painted, then John replaced all circuits for mast lighting and fore and aft deck spotlights were added. |
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We also had a great time with the kids from the Liberty High School Jr. ROTC (Issaquah, WA School District) group that came and assisted with moving "stuff" around, painting, cleaning and even having some |
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water fights. We had several great hot dog feeds too. They assisted with the painting and preparation of the 8 bunk rails that were added to the forward berthing area to outfit the crew quarters for group sleeping. We now have the galley sink working with hot water. Here are a couple of future CG men. |
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There was preparation for the 2008 4th of July Tall Ships Tacoma extravaganza that included hosting the USCG Eagle. We were designated the semi official escort boat for the Eagle arrival at Tacoma. |
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We actually had a pre-event parade called the CG Heritage Fleet composed of the Seattle Fireboat Alki, the ex bouy tender Blueberry, owned by Mark Freemen from Fremont Tug. Then there was the '527, followed by the ex CG Point Divide, 82337, owned by the Seattle Maritime Academy. Behind them was a whole bevy of modern CG vessels providing press coverage and security for the Eagle. |
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After that event we were guests of the Port of Seattle and moored the night at the Bell Harbor Marina, located at the foot of downtown Seattle. It is a beautiful marina. | ||
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The next day we moved to Gig Harbor for the night to be ready for the Parade of Sail on Thursday. We were tied up at the Seattle Yacht Club outstation facility for the night. | ||
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The next morning was the Parade of Sail, and we escorted the Eagle into the Thea Foss Waterway for final tie up. We held open ship for 4 days and a number of 83 Footer guys came to visit. | ||
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The most far away visitor was Alban K. Chinn from Monterey Park, CA. He was a former '527 shipmate that met up with Ed Young (Puyallup, WA), Tike Hillman (Port Ludlow, WA) and Chief Walt Annis (in Sequim, WA). He later sent some great photos of the old girl in Tacoma. This is one of them. | ||
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Finally the show was over and we headed for Everett. This is one of my favorite photos. I love watching the wake behind the boat, but with Mt Rainier and the 20mm in the picture it was really special. | ||
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My late summer was very busy so we started early wrapping her up for the winter. This year we put white tarp the full length, so we should be able to get some deck work completed this winter. | ||
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Our winter project list includes changing out the starboard generator with this used Westerbeak 8KW and replacing the plywood bulkheads that will re-create the chief quarters. This is a tricky process since nothing is a right angle and everything is a curve. | ||
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If any of the 83Foot Sailors or friends of the 83527 are interested in helping us this winter and have an interest in our work parties, please let me know by email or call 206-947-2303. We are not only restoring an historic Coast Guard boat, but we are restoring and building public awareness and appreciation for the service of thousands of “sea service” veterans, civilian support workers and today’s active duty men and women serving stateside and around the world. |
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Thank you for your past and hopefully continuing support for this historical restoration effort. We can always use more help in the form of time, money or skills to get her further along in the restoration. Our annual minimum operating costs are $16,500 just to sit at the dock. Our insurance premium went up $3000 this year. Every $100 bill helps a lot.. |
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Sincerely,  Dan and Roxane Withers 83527@warboats.org |
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