In this Issue
Nantucket/LV-112 in
dry-dock
for next phase of restoration and preservation
Nantucket/LV-112
in Hawaii
Time capsule: 1940 lighthouse calendar found on Nantucket/LV-112
Become a USLM member today
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All electronic donations will be processed by PayPal |
Nantucket/LV-112
Proudly made in USA
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Attention
lighthouse lovers!
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If you love lighthouses and want to learn about these guiding lights and navigational aids all over the world, then The Lighthouse Directory is the website for you. It provides an astounding amount of information, linking to more than 17,200 of the world's lighthouses. Russ Rowlett, Adjunct Professor of Mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, compiled the directory with the assistance of hundreds of lighthouse fans around the world who have enriched this site with their own information and suggestions. For a long time, Rowlett tried to maintain a list of lighthouses from his many friends and contacts, but it had grown too long (and too out of date) to display on the comprehensive site. Rowlett offers special thanks to Michel Forand for his suggestions and editing, touching essentially every page of the directory, and Jeremy D'Entremont, Ted Sarah and Klaus Huelse, each contributing in vital ways.
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The Maine Lighthouse Museum |
Another unique educational resource for U.S. Lighthouse history, Lifesaving and Lightship Services is the Maine Lighthouse Museum (MLM), located in Rockland, Maine, the heart of the Midcoast. Last October, the U.S. Lightship Museum presented a PowerPoint presentation at the MLM about U.S. lightships and Nantucket/LV-112. The mission of the Maine Lighthouse Museum is to educate the public regarding the longstanding traditions, heroism and progress of America's Lighthouse and Lifesaving Services and the U.S. Coast Guard through the conservation and interpretation of the nation's most significant collection of lighthouse and lifesaving artifacts. From sparkling lenses to heartwarming stories of the keepers and their families, the Maine Lighthouse Museum is truly America's lighthouse museum. For more information, log on to the Maine Lighthouse Museum or call 207.594.3301.
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American Express
Amex Industrial Services, Inc.
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials - Atlantic Chapter
BAE Systems
Bluefin Robotics
Boston Forge & Welding Corp.
Boston Harbor
Shipyard & Marina
The Boston Foundation
ThreeBees Fund
Burnham Associates, Inc.
Burnham Marine
California Public Safety Radio Association
Cameron International Corporation
Charitable Adult Rides and
Services, Inc.
City of Boston
Community Preservation Act
C/J Towing & Recovery
Claflin & Son
Nautical Antiques
Crandall Dry Dock Engineers
Capt. Robertson P. Dinsmore Fund
Donahue, Tucker &
Ciandella, PLLC
East Boston Foundation
Eastern Bank Charitable
Foundation
Egan Maritime Institute,
Nantucket Shipwreck &
Lifesaving Museum
Fitzgerald Shipyard
Foss Maritime
Friends of the
Boston Harbor Islands
H&H Propeller, Inc.
J. Hewitt Marine
Electrical Services
SR Johnson Fund
Kelly Automotive Group
H.F. Lenfest Fund
The Lightship Group, LLC
McAllister Towing &
Transportation Co.
Mediterranean Shipping Company
(MSC)
Joe and Pepette Mongrain
Fund
National Park Service
Save America's Treasures
National Trust for
Historic Preservation
New England
Lighthouse Lovers
New London Maritime Society and Custom House Maritime Museum
Patriot Marine, LLC
The Sail Loft, LLC, Nantucket
Sherwin-Williams
Industrial Marine Coatings Division
State Street Corporation
T & M Services
Town of Oyster Bay,
Long Island, NY
U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association
West Marine
U.S. Lighthouse Society
Westerbeke Company
USLM Members
Verizon Foundation
Zuni Maritime Foundation
USS Zuni / USCG Tamaroa
Individual Donors
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USLM is a member
of the following organizations
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The flag of the United States Lighthouse Service |
Teach children about lightships with the book Lightship
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Editorial From School
Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2: Lightships were anchored where lighthouses could not be built. They protected our ocean harbors as well as points along the Great Lakes. The last one (Nantucket/LV-613) was decommissioned in 1983, so this fascinating picture book is a piece of nautical history. Brian Floca's watercolor drawings depict daily life aboard one of these vessels, cooking, sleeping, working, all the while rolling with the rhythm of the waves. Many hazards were involved. Big ships came too close, anchors lost their mooring, and weather caused many problems. But when the fog rolled in, the lightship sprang into action. Lights flashed and horns sounded, allowing ship traffic to make it "through fog and night, past rocks and shoals, past reefs and wrecks, past danger." The drawings are very detailed. Some pages are collages of small scenes. Many are full spreads. The sailors' facial expressions are amusing to watch, and the resident cat appears on almost every page. The front and back endpapers show a cutaway view of one of the vessels. This fascinating, little-known slice of history should prove interesting to every child who loves big boats.
-- Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI (review originally published by Reed Business Information, Inc.)
The book Lightship, by Brian Floca, can be purchased on Amazon.com. For more information about lightships, click on Brian Floca's blog.
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For more information about the U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association and the U.S. Lightship Service, click on logo |
Lead, Kindly Light
By John Henry Newman
(1801-1890)
"Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life."
Note: "Lead Kindly Light" was a poem originally written by John Henry Newman (1801-1890), who was 33 years old when he found himself on a boat from the Sicilian city of Palermo to Marseille, France. Newman, who was recovering after being dangerously ill with a fever, was on the boat to return to his native England when he penned the lyrics to "Lead, Kindly Light." The context that Newman was recovering from a frightening illness in the middle of the sea gives insight to the lyrics.
Photo above: Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California, by Darvin Atkeson
Poem posted on
LV-112 while in service on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station
"When a sailor gets to thinking
He is one of the best
Let him ship out on a lightship
And take the acid test.
And if he feels like bragging
I don't think that all of his tales
Will be of deep sea sailing
But of the ship that never
Sails!"
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Poem provided by Peter Brunk, USCG-Ret., Commanding Officer, Nantucket/LV-112, 1970-71, who serves on the USLM Board of Directors.
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This comprehensive New England shipwreck website is a helpful resource for SCUBA divers, maritime history researchers and enthusiasts. The site includes many photographs, charts, reference documents and history about many shipwrecks located in New England waters. For more information, click here.
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The Sinking of the
U-853
by Capt. William Palmer
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When the German enemy submarine U-853 entered U.S. waters off Portland, Maine in 1945, it torpedoed and sank the USS Eagle-56. Nantucket/LV-112, converted to an examination vessel, USS Nantucket (1942-45) during WWII, helped save the crew of the USS Eagle-56. This is a book about the U-853 story, researched and written by Capt. Bill Palmer, a long-time shipwreck researcher, diver and preservationist.
Description of book: "Out in the cold Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rhode Island, lies the remains of what was once a feared and mighty hunter. It's not a fish or shark, for that matter it is not even a marine creature. It's what men feared the most when they went to sea aboard their vessel back during the World War II years. It's a German submarine called a U-Boat. The U-853 was the last German submarine sunk in World War II. She was sunk with all hands just minutes before World War II ended. The once mighty hunter feared by all who put to sea, now lies in 130 feet of water off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, her grave marked only by a circle on the nautical charts, DANGER Unexploded Depth Charges, May 1945."
Capt. Palmer has been running a charter boat for wreck-diving, shark-fishing and shark-cage-diving off the coast of Rhode Island and Connecticut for 40 years.
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German U-boat attack off Portland, Maine, during WWII, involving
LV-112 (USS Nantucket)
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This book is the story of a small U.S. sub-chaser, the Eagle 56, caught in the crosshairs of a German U-boat, the U-853, whose brazen commander doomed his own crew in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to record final kills before his country's imminent defeat a few weeks later in May. And it is the account of how one man, Paul M. Lawton, embarked on an unrelenting quest for the truth and changed naval history.
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"In February of 1952, one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast struck New England, damaging an oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod and literally ripping it in half. On a small lifeboat faced with frigid temperatures and 70-foot high waves, four members of the U.S. Coast Guard (Bernie Webber and three other crewmen) set out to rescue the more than 30 stranded sailors trapped aboard the rapidly sinking vessel. 'The Finest Hours' is the story of their heroic mission, which is still considered the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history."
(Michelle McCue, 9/9/14)
Bernie Webber (later served on Nantucket/LV-112, 1958-60) and the three other crewmen were awarded the coveted USCG Gold Lifesaving Medal for their heroism in what is considered by maritime historians to be "the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history." Mr. Webber, who was a member of the USCG Lightship Sailors Association, was extremely helpful in assisting the USLM-Nantucket/LV-112 compile research information and historic documents about LV-112. He was a pleasure and honor to work with. Bernie passed away in January 2009. He was considered "A Real American Hero" and is dearly missed.
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The full length movie "The Finest Hours' is available on DVD. |
To learn more about lighthouse news, click on
Lighthouse Digest
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Explore the oceans in depth and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with
Oceanus magazine
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Oceanus explores the oceans in depth, highlighting the research and researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in news, features and interviews written by magazine staff, with full-color photographs and illustrations. Each issue covers a wide spectrum of oceanography, spanning coastal research, marine life, deep-ocean exploration and the ocean's role in climate, as well as ocean technology and policy. To learn more, click on magazine cover above.
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Lightships, Lighthouses & Lifeboat Stations:
A Memoir and History
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Lightships, Lighthouses & Lifeboat Stations is part history book, part memoir, written by Bernie Webber, recipient of the Coast Guard's highest award, the Gold Life-saving Medal, and hero of the Disney movie The Finest Hours. While the public will recognize Webber's name from the movie and the bestselling book by the same name, few people know that during his lengthy Coast Guard career he served on lightships (ships anchored in dangerous areas to warn other vessels of hazards) in addition to lifeboat stations (small boat rescue stations) and lighthouses. Webber poses the following question: "How did the lightship men cope with the isolation, constant loneliness, boredom, fear, or just sheer terror? All were part of life on board a lightship. Rough seas tossed the ship about, rearing up and down on the anchor chain. This was a world of isolation, noise from operating machinery, and blasts from the powerful foghorn that went on for hours, sometimes days, at a time." Webber answers that question in this book, drawing on a combination of personal experience and meticulous historical research. Discussions of men going mad, lightships being run down by larger ships, anchor chains breaking, and lightships cast upon shoals are offset by humorous stories and the author's reflections on his best days at sea. Fourteen historic photos are included, as well as a foreword by Michael Tougias.(reprinted from Amazon).
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Help support the restoration of
LV-112 by donating your old car and receive a tax deduction
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How it works
We have teamed with Charitable Auto Resources, Inc. (CARS), to accept vehicle donations across the United States. Once you contact our customer service representative about making a donation, everything will be taken care of, including a receipt for your tax records. Sale proceeds will be donated to the USLM in your name. Donating your vehicle to the U.S. Lightship Museum is as easy as calling our representative toll-free at 855-500-7433. For more information, click here.
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The Lightships
of Cape Cod
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Authored by Frederic L. Thompson, 1996, 2nd printing, 112 pages, soft wrap. Signed by the author. Illustrated with over 93 beautifully detailed photographs. Much sought-after, this scarce volume chronicles the history of the lightships in this vital area. Wonderfully detailed black-and-white photographs enhance the author's vivid description of the history and life aboard these vessels. One of the only volumes ever written exclusively on this subject, this fine work will make a fine addition to any library. Price: $14.95 plus shipping ($5.95), total: $20.90. May be purchased online from the USLM; just click on "Donate" button in this newsletter and add a notation in the area provided. Or mail a check or money order addressed to: U.S. Lightship Museum, PO Box 454, Amesbury, MA 10913 |
Massachusetts Lighthouses and Lightships |
"Massachusetts Lighthouses and Lightships" by Arthur P. Richmond is an indispensable addition to the lighthouse enthusiast's library, required reading for those interested in New England maritime history, and a delight for anyone who enjoys coastal Massachusetts. More than 800 images, many never before published, include historic plans that describe the details of these aids to navigation, and archival and contemporary photos that trace through their history. The book covers all the lighthouses and lightships that marked the shores (exclusive of Cape Cod and the Islands) and guided mariners through the challenging waters surrounding Massachusetts. This volume also explores the interiors of towers, shows the lantern rooms of rarely-visited lighthouses, and gives fascinating facts about these beacons through their 200-year history. U.S.Lightship Museum (USLM): Excellent book-one of the better books published, about lighthouses and lightships. Credit: Review-Amazon Books/USLM |
A crew member rings the bell on the foredeck of Nantucket New South Shoal No. 1 during low-visibility storm conditions. The llustration is from "Life on the South Shoal Lightship" by Gustov Kobbe, Century Magazine, August 1891
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Kenrick A. Claflin & Son Nautical Antiques
Click on the website link above to see nautical artifacts available at Kenrick A. Claflin & Son Nautical Antiques, which has donated publications to the USLM.
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Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 in dry-dock for next phase of restoration and preservation
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Nantucket/LV-112 being towed from her berth on the East Boston waterfront to the historic Fitzgerald Shipyard for dry-docking in Chelsea, Boston Harbor. Photo Credit: Ron Janard
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Nantucket/LV-112’s was transported to dry-dock on August 20 this past summer for its next phase of restoration, being performed at the historic Fitzgerald Shipyard in Chelsea, MA (Boston Harbor), owned by Peter Fitzgerald. The last time LV-112 was previously dry-docked was at the Fitzgerald Shipyard in 2011-12.
Fitzgerald Shipyard is adjacent to a facility where Nantucket/LV-112 used to be serviced (1936-75) — the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS) / U.S. Coast Guard Buoy and Lightship Depot, referred to as the “Chelsea Depot.” The former depot, originally established in 1918, is now occupied by Eastern Salt Co. as a storage and docking port for unloading and transporting road salt to municipalities. The Fitzgerald Shipyard has been a shipyard site for more than 100 years. During World War II, it was the Chelsea Naval Annex (formerly the Green Shipyard, Monroe Dry Dock and Winnisimmet Shipyard) of the Boston Navy Yard, also referred to as Charlestown Navy Yard — one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities (established 1801) in the U.S. Navy, now administered by the National Park Service.
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Nantucket/LV-112 is presently in dry-dock at the Fitzgerald Shipyard. The historic Boston Harbor wooden tugboat Luna, berthed in the foreground, was built in 1930 and is the world's first diesel-electric tugboat built for commercial service. Both LV-112 and the Luna are National Historic Landmarks.
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In 1960, Cross Rip Lightship/LV-118 (WAL-539) was in dry-dock at the Monroe Shipyard, presently Fitzgerald Shipyard. LV-118 served on three New England lightship stations — Cross Rip, 1958-62; Boston, 1962-72; and Cornfield, 1938-57. LV-118 is presently a lightship museum in Lewes, DE. Its name was changed to Overfalls. For more information, click here. Credit: Courtesy of Ron Janard
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Shipyard divers prepare to check the ship's position relative to the keel and bilge blocks on the dry-dock cradle as LV-112 is slowly hauled up the railway. The comprehensive procedure is very time-consuming and requires taking into consideration important safety measures for personnel, the ship and accurate calculations by the shipyard, utilizing the ship's docking plan drawings and timing of harbor tide levels. The Fitzgerald Shipyard's dry-dock system was designed by Crandall Dry Dock Engineers, established in 1854. For more information about the dry-docking procedure and Crandall's long history, click here. |
Nantucket/LV-117 (predecessor to LV-112) dry-docked in 1931 at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor. Photo credit: Leslie Jones
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Entrance to Fitzgerald Shipyard, c. 1960. The original cobblestone street is still in place to this day. The barque sailing vessel berthed at shipyard (name unknown) was probably waiting to be or was already dry-docked at the shipyard. |
The USLHS/USCG Buoy Depot was used as a navigational-aid servicing facility for buoys, lightships and lighthouse tenders. LV-112 was routinely serviced at the depot while it was a commissioned USLHS/USCG floating lighthouse. Also, LV-112 was previously dry-docked at Fitzgerald’s in 2011-12.
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Former USLHS Buoy and Lightship Depot in Chelsea, c. 1936, is now occupied by Eastern Salt Co. The present Fitzgerald Shipyard, in the upper left, is depicted by a dry-dock railway cradle and steam house with chimney. Nantucket/ LV-112 is berthed towards the center of photo. Photo credit: Boston Public Library
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Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 berthed in 1937 at the USLHS Chelsea Depot, also known as the USLHS Lighthouse Service Yard (presently Eastern Salt Co.).
Photo credit: Digital Commonwealth
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USLHS Chelsea Depot (presently Eastern Salt Co.) in 1935, looking towards East Boston with the Meridian Street Bridge in the background over Chelsea Creek. Brenton Reef Lightship/LV-102 berthed in foreground.
Photo credit: Digital Commonwealth
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USLHS Chelsea Depot with USLHS worker standing alongside lighthouse, lightship and buoy bells.
Photo credit: Digital Commonwealth
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From the deck of Nantucket/LV-112 while in dry-dock, you can see the large white-tarp-covered salt piles in the background where LV-112 used to be serviced from 1936-75 at the former USLHS/USCG Buoy Depot.
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This current phase of restoration work being performed is made possible by a City of Boston Community Preservation Act grant and a matching “Save America’s Treasures” (SAT) grant from the National Park Service to restore interior structural components, critical to maintaining the integrity of the ship’s hull so it can remain open to the general public as a museum and floating learning center for decades to come. Upon completion of this phase of restoration, LV-112’s restoration will be 70% completed. Continued fundraising efforts are ongoing, so the remaining 30% of the historic floating lighthouse can be completed as soon as possible. As in most historic preservation projects, we have encountered areas of unanticipated work. For example, after sand-blasting the interior sections of the forward ballast tanks, anchor chain manger, forward lower-hold floor frames, and bulkheads, we discovered more restoration work was needed than anticipated.
The generosity and commitment of many volunteers/individuals, private foundations, corporations and the support of the local and federal government is making LV-112’s rescue, restoration and preservation possible. Rather than allow a historic site to be neglected or destroyed, many people have stepped forward to protect an important part of our nation's heritage for all to learn from and enjoy. The following photos illustrate the various stages of the present restoration in progress.
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LV-112’s main and auxiliary anchor chain (26 tons) is being removed before the interior hull structural frames and bulkheads can be restored in the bow section. The crane operator is Peter Fitzgerald, shipyard owner.
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After the anchor chain was removed from LV-112's anchor locker, totaling approximately 1,600 ft., the heavy Di-Lok chain was placed on pallets. The chain will be cleaned, painted with a protective coating to help prevent corrosion and reinstalled inside LV-112's newly rebuilt anchor manger. The safest way to remove the chain from LV-112 was through two openings that had to be cut into the weather deck. The process was slow and arduous, but proved to be effective and the safest option.
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Shipyard worker cutting temporary access opening in bulkhead/hull of LV-112 forward lower hold, in order to provide an efficient means of removing debris, install temporary ventilation ducts for the safety of shipyard workers and an access portal for restoration materials.
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An access opening was created in LV-112’s hull for demolition debris removal, air quality ventilation equipment and bringing in replacement sections of new structural steel.
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The interior bow section of LV-112 is requiring the most involved, comprehensive and expensive phase of restoration. Tons of severely corroded 84-year-old sections of original structural steel has been removed from LV-112’s bow section and being replaced with new steel. Contributing factors to the corroded steel are: The bow section of LV-112 was constantly under severe stress and flooding as a result of rough and stormy seas. The bow section labored under the weight of the two heavy, massive mushroom anchors (only one used at a time — the other was an auxiliary) and chain with a combined weight, upwards of 33 tons, being stored and deployed in 200 feet of ocean. This constant shock of the tugging and banging of the anchor chain on the bow of LV-112 for 39 years while on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station was extremely stressful to the hull. In addition, sea water constantly flooded the interior of LV-112’s bow section through the anchor hawse pipes. The bow, port and starboard ballast tanks were also flooded with seawater periodically throughout LV-112’s 39 years at sea to assist periodically with the ship's stability. This also caused a lot of structural corrosion, in addition to seawater drainage from the anchor manger into the forward lower hold, causing substantial corrosion over the years at sea.
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Severely corroded bottom of anchor manger where the main and axillary anchor chain is stored. There are two separate storage areas divided by individual wood planks fitted into a channel. The protective cement pad at the bottom of the manger had to be removed, revealing severely corroded steel plating underneath. |
Shipyard worker fires up cutting torch to assist with cutting and cropping new structural steel sections into the anchor manger and forward ballast tank structures. Welders and fabricators from The Lightship Group, LLC, are doing the majority of the interior structural restoration in addition to restoring the bilge pumping system and seawater valves connected to the sea chests. Since 2015, the Lightship Group has generously donated a portion of their restoration services performed on LV-112. The entire project has been a team effort of the Fitzgerald Shipyard and subcontractors.
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New steel frames cropped and welded into the anchor manger structure. |
Shipyard worker prepares bulkhead for cropping in new steel plate to restore the original watertight integrity. The compromised 84-year-old corroded steel plate was cut out. |
A shipyard worker welds a doubler plate on LV-112’s exterior hull shell plating near the keel where a section of shell plate did not meet acceptable density standards, discovered by an ultrasonic testing (UT) scan. A UT survey was performed on LV-112’s shell plating below the waterline to measure the shell plating density for acceptable standards. Notice the measurement numbers scribed in chalk on the hull. Numerous less-than- optimal shell plating rivet heads were also clad and ring-welded to improve their holding strength and integrity.
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Marine surveyor Jim Harrington performs a UT scan survey of LV-112’s exterior hull shell plating below the waterline. Jim’s company, 72 Hours, LLC, specializes in non-destructive testing (UT) on structures in marine and non-marine environments. Jim generously donated his services on LV-112 to the U.S. Lightship Museum.
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Georgia Flanagan from AMEX Industrial Services examines LV-112’s shell plating prior to applying protective coatings. Sherwin-Williams Industrial Marine Coatings Division generously donated the specialty protective coatings that were applied to LV-112’s hull during the 2011-12 dry-docking. When LV-112 was hauled for this present dry-docking, we were amazed how well the coatings had held up, stayed intact and maintaining overall durability for 8 years below, at and above the waterline. In addition, all 60 of the zinc anodes attached to LV-112’s hull below the water remained considerably intact. LV-112 has remained at its berth in East Boston for 8 years since its last haul-out in 2011-12. Sherwin-Williams again is donating the hull coatings during this current dry-docking.
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LV-112 after haul-out and 8 years of marine growth being removed. Most of the growth consisted of tons of mussels. Unfortunately, they could not be harvested for consumption (steamed mussels in white wine sure sounded appetizing). The zinc anodes attached to the hull were typical of the condition of the remainder of the zincs on the hull. Although, some of the layers of bottom coatings were worn off, there were no areas on the hull, below or at the waterline that bare metal was exposed.
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One of many Sherwin-Williams industrial marine epoxy products that are being applied to LV-112’s interior storage holds. AMEX Industrial Services from East Boston is doing all the interior coatings prep and coating application work on LV-112. AMEX also has generously donated a portion of their services.
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Regular USLM volunteers Cindy Baxter and Ray McDonald take a quick break from their face masks to pose for a snapshot. In addition to assisting the USLM with miscellaneous tasks, Cindy and Ray also conduct visitor tours on the Nantucket and helped with preparing LV-112 for dry-docking in August. Also, Cindy’s employer, State Street Corporation, is an ongoing financial donor towards LV-112’s restoration and preservation.
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Nantucket/LV-112 in Hawaii
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Captain Mingta Yuen in Hawaii (left). At right, he prepares for a SCUBA dive in Antarctic waters during his time as Chief Mate on the National Geographic Explorer while in Antarctica. Capt. Yuen is a generous donor to LV-112's restoration and preservation.
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Captain Mingta "Ming" Yuen spent most of his life working on the high seas on tankers, bulk carriers, cargo and cruise ships sailing around the world in some of the most treacherous waters including Cape Horn. Being a professional mariner, he obviously loves the sea and its surroundings. During his career as a mariner, he started as an Ordinary Seaman and worked his way to Captain (Master Mariner). Captain Yuen was also a harbor pilot for Kahului, Maui and Hilo harbors in Hawaii. Ming’s home is in Hawaii, where he has lived since 1996.
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Captain Yuen recently built a scale model of Nantucket/LV-112. He has electrified the light beacons and even replicated the proper placement of zinc anodes attached to the hull.
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Ming’s passion working on the high seas also transcended below the water as a SCUBA diver and building ship models as a hobby. In addition, he is writing a book about his international adventures, experience and travels at sea during his career. He is now semi-retired, leaning toward becoming fully retired.
As a Midshipman, crossing the Atlantic his first time many years ago, his ship passed Nantucket Lightship on Nantucket Shoals Lightship Station. He became fascinated with the history of the famous lightship and its station, as the most remote and treacherous lightship station in the world — inspiring him to build a scale model of Nantucket Lightship LV-112. To learn more about Captain Yuen’s extraordinary career at sea, click here.
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In 2013, Ming joined Lindblad Expeditions and sailed on board the National Geographic Explorer as Chief Mate in Antarctica.
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Time capsule: 1940 lighthouse calendar found on LV-112
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This vintage 1940 calendar was recently discovered in a filing cabinet on LV-112 when the ship was cleaned out and prepped for restoration. The promotional calendar had fallen behind the cabinet drawer and found 80 years later. Also, the calendar looked like it was not used, as it was still in its original packaging and near-pristine condition.
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The Merrimack Farmers’ Exchange, Inc. (formerly based in Concord, NH, 1920-82) produced the 1940 advertising calendar which featured a reproduction of a hand-colored photo of Cape Neddick lighthouse (Nubble). The photo includes the previous enclosed pyramidal fog bell tower that was removed in 1961. The calendar itself is a unique and interesting example of American culture in the 1940s time period, when the words ”politically correct” were not a widely used part of the English lexicon, by evidence of the inclusion of birthdays of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and date of the “Battle of Bull Run.” However, the calendar also included many other U.S.-related events, celebrations, religious holidays, “words of wisdom,” etc. There are also many dates related to Word War I incidents.
Nantucket Lightship/LV-112 is a living time capsule that embodies the evolution of our nation’s culture and heritage. Since its decommissioning in 1975, it has always operated as a museum ship. Many period documents and replacement parts remained stored on board and were undisturbed, which has led to discovering these historic treasures.
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Support LV-112's restoration!
Become a USLM member today
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For a gift of $1,000 or more, donors will receive a limited-edition, fine-art print of the SS United States passing Nantucket/LV-112, signed by marine artist Gerald Levey.
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Discover the value-added membership benefits when you become a member of the U.S. Lightship Museum (USLM). The USLM is a member of the Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM). All USLM members will be granted reciprocal privileges (free admission) at participating CAMM institutions. For more information about the benefits and the USLM Membership program, click on USLM Membership.
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All electronic donations will be processed by PayPal.
We thank everyone for their ongoing
contributions and support
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