Page 20. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2016 70S MEMORIES: BMW'S MARINE DIESEL Continued from Page 6.
John Spofford, Downeast Diesel, repower at around 1100 hours. Wasn’t having any problems, just decided it was time. Gave me the engine and I had the boys store it underneath our permanent staging in the main shop. This was the D:150 (150 hp) Few years later we get the original “picnic” boat back in the shop for sale which still had original engine, D:160. Ed Bonville, friend of Jack Fiora’s who was having one of the “38’s” completed decided he wanted it and repowered with a Caterpillar Diesel. Now I’ve got two stashed under the staging with retirement on the horizon considering the possibility of putting a boat together for AJ and I.
Get a call from “Pete” Purinton who’d been doing brokerage work for us. “ Have I got a deal for you” he says.
“I found a Dyer 39 powerboat sitting
just off the golf course in Kennebunkport. I know the couple who own it and they want to sell it for $8500. It’s a steal. You should buy it.” Typically, Pete was always telling me I should buy one thing or another he’d just discovered. This time I’d made the mistake of telling Pete we might be consid-
ering a “retirement boat” if he found some- thing.
Boat was sad. She’d been brought up the river to a marina after engine troubles outside. Mechanic had de-coupled exhaust hoses off the V/8 Perkins diesel and laid the hose ends in the bilge. Later that evening on tide change, water forced up the hoses and she sank at the dock. Generator was missing along with engine hatches which must have fl oated away.. AJ and I looked her all over. I could see past the damage, what it would take to make an acceptable cruiser out of her, so made an accepted of- fer and Nick Moody trucked her back to Southwest. Shaking his head once again. What the heck, had two free engines under the staging. Install one, keep the other for parts.
Two years later, looking like a “yacht”,
new fl y bridge, new windows, dark green Awlgrip paint job, mahogany superstruc- ture we launched her from the Manset ramp. Stan Ward, our head mechanic was at the helm. Newly christened “Helen J” (named for AJ’s mother who had always wanted to live on the ocean) didn’t seem to move when he put it in gear. “Put her in gear, Stan. Give her some
juice. Let her pull free.”
“It is in gear”, he said in that quiet, steady voice of his. “And I’ve got the throt- tle way up.”
Just a tad bit embarrassing in front of
a rather large assembled group. However, wasn’t the fi rst launch ever made where ev- erything wasn’t perfect. Grounded her out a few days later, changed the transmission to 2/12:1, found another wheel, got the speed up to 12-14 knots, then realized the “free” engine began to overheat at 10 knots. I’d now retired, and we were due to depart for “Key West by New Year’s Eve” and meet some friends. Had John Spofford over at his Downeast Diesel shop try to work at little magic on her. He managed only a bit and by the 7th
of October, ice forming on
the docks, we headed south at the stately speed of 8 knots, to arrive in Key West, oth- er problems solved along the way, but nev- er the overheating, two days before New Year.
It was a great trip. Long as we kept her around 8-10 knots she ran well. Fastest we ever had her was on trip home going up the east river in New York City with tide running north. We were scaling along at 14 knots and almost missed the turn for Con-
U. S. NAVY NEWS Continued from Page 8.
craft program manager for the Navy’s Pro- gram Executive Offi ce (PEO) Ships. “The Navy-Industry team worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this event and we’re very proud of the ship’s performance.” Designed to perform acoustic, biolog- ical, physical, and geophysical surveys, T-AGS 66 will provide the U.S. military with essential information on the ocean en- vironment. The vessel is 353 feet in length, with an overall beam of 58 feet. USNS Mau- ry is 24 feet longer than the previous T-AGS design, which accommodates a moon pool for deployment and retrieval of autonomous underwater vehicles. T-AGS 66 is named in honor of Cmdr. Matthew Fontaine Maury, nicknamed
“Pathfi nder of the Seas,” and also known as the “Father of Modern Oceanography.” Scheduled for delivery in early 2016, USNS Maury will be operated by the Military Sea- lift Command.
As one of the Defense Department’s
largest acquisition organizations, PEO Ships is responsible for executing the develop- ment and procurement of all major surface combatants, amphibious ships, special mis- sion and support ships.
Future USS Omaha (LCS 12) Launches By Program Executive Offi ce Littoral Combat Ships
MOBILE, Alabama (NNS) -- The future USS Omaha (LCS 12) launched Nov. 20, marking another important production milestone for the littoral combat ship (LCS)
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04092 program.
“That this precisely choreographed launch event has become commonplace in Mobile is a sign of the maturity and stability of the LCS serial production line,” said Capt. Tom Anderson, LCS program manager. “I look forward to the future USS Omaha completing the test and trial process en route to delivery to the fl eet.”
Omaha was rolled out of her assembly
bay at the Austal USA Shipyard onto a barge for transfer down the Mobile River to a fl oating drydock at BAE Shipyard on Nov. 19. The ship entered the water on Nov. 20 when the drydock was fl ooded and the ship fl oated off the blocks. The ship will return to Austal’s fi nal assembly pier to continue outfi tting, system activation and testing. She is scheduled to be christened on Dec. 19.
Omaha is the fourth ship in a block buy contract with Austal to build Indepen- dence- variant ships. Montgomery (LCS 8) is preparing for builders trials and Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) was christened in June 2015 and is currently completing system testing in preparation for trials. Manchester (LCS 14) is under construction preparing for an early 2016 launch. Tulsa (LCS 16) will have her keel laid later this year. The LCS class consists of the Freedom variant and Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams. The Free- dom variant team is led by Lockheed Mar- tin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1). The Independence variant team is led by Austal USA (for LCS 6 and follow-on even-numbered hulls) and was led by Gen- eral Dynamics, Bath Iron Works for LCS 2 and LCS 4. Purchased under the innovative block-buy acquisition strategy, there are 12 ships currently under construction. LCS is a modular, reconfi gurable ship, with three types of mission packages includ- ing surface warfare, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. The Program Executive Offi ce Littoral Combat Ships (PEO LCS) is responsible for delivering and sustaining littoral mission capabilities to the fl eet. Delivering high-quality warfi ghting assets while balancing affordability and capability is key to supporting the nation’s maritime strategy.
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necticut. I’ve for some reason continued to have
an affi nity for the BMW diesel though it’s long out of production. Guess it’s more than likely what the promise was. What could have been if only the proper testing were done. I’d given most accumulated parts away. Past summer fi nally hauled what remained to the dump. John Spofford had the same affi nitive feelings. Whenever he’d fi nd another engine, take one or more out for re-power, as he did this summer, he’ll call and ask if I’ve got something I could put one in. This past summer he tried to give me one for “FREE”. Said later he’d had to take it to the dump. Couldn’t fi nd an adventurous bottom feeder anywhere.
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