Again we went through a hassle at the gate. The same rent-a-cop was on duty as last weekend, and she hadn't a clue. We did finally get permission to enter the station and wandered over the the ship. The USCG Morganthau is a 378 foot High Endurance Cutter (able to sail around world) that is now in "special commision" status. This means military protocol applies as it undergoes workup for the next eleven months. The keel had been laid in 1968, but the ship had undergone such extensive refitting that it had been decommissioned. Although permanent base is Alameda station in San Francisco, much of the gear had been removed in the Puget Sound shipyards, so she was returned here for the rest of the refitting.
The OOD (real this time) was slightly flustered by the request for a tour, but after some dithering, he assigned a seaman apprentice (four weeks out of boot camp) to show us around. This guy had seen much of the ship (but not all) and was able to explain quite a bit. He did get turned around a few times and we had to make a couple of attempts at finding some of the stuff. He described some of his training--for action stations they report to the fantail, then walk to their stations. This will be become more sophisicated as time goes on. In a month or so they'll leave the dock for the first time. Although he's done some damage control training, he's been told that if fire breaks out, he should get ashore and call 911.
We went forward on the starboard deck, along which we saw: a launcher with three torpedo tubes, a twenty foot (or so) surf (rescue/life) boat, gear for refueling at sea, etc. They'll get a rigid hull inflatable for the port side later in their fitting out. The plenum deck and star deck above were pointed out to us, but as the star deck mounts much of the radar and presents a radio emission hazard, we wouldn't be going there from the bridge.
Passing through a port we came to the fore deck. It was mostly bare (as it gets the brunt of the heavy seas), but there was a 73mm cannon mounted forward. We got into a discussion about the three new classes of gear worn above decks-- Gumby suits, floatation coveralls, and float coats. The Gumby suits are bags with legs, made of foam rubber 1/4" thick. You climb into them fully clothed. In theory you can survive extended periods in Arctic water. The floatation coveralls are a low grade not-so-dry suit, which provide limited exposure protection and full floatation. The float coats are sort-of loose jackets with 1/4" Ensolite lining throughout. They qualify as type III life jackets, but are much less cumbersome. (Cindy and I are giving serious thought to buying ourselves one each.)
From there we climbed up to the bridge. It's 15' fore-aft, and 30' wide. Festooned with equipment on deck, on the bulkheads and fastened above. I thought it interesting to see one indicator "ship's course" next to another "ship's heading". We were told there's significant computer enhancement to the displays. The tiller is one foot long horizontal chrome stick--lots of hydrolics/electronics to help it out. The quartermaster (who, unlike the Army, deals with no stores, only navigation and signalling) has a 8X8 corner full of navigation gear. A good chance to set your clock to the _real_ time. Although we were 20-30' above the waterline, we were told green water comes to the bridge ports in bad weather. When we mentioned seeing a TV show the other night about a CG cutter seeing 51 degree roll in search of the Edmund Fitzgerald, other guy (sort of co-guide) said he encountered a 53 degree roll on a 270 foot cutter.
From there we wandered past the officers quarters and wardroom to below decks. Forwardmost was the paint stores--always closed, and with its own flood system. Below and aft of that was a general storage/exercise area. One 10x10 bin contained rescue gear--including infra-red device to find fire in smoke. Although we were going to be shown the portable pumps later, we forgot.
Also forward were the capstan motors, an turbine auxillary power generator (in a well padded 6X6X10 foot box), and the bow prop. The bow propulsion is not affixed in a bow tunnel; it descends 8-10 feet out of a cavity to operate.
There was a surgery (a small emergency room served by one corpsman (like a paramedic), ships stores, a laundry, etc. Besides storage and work spaces, there were lots of quarters and lounge space for the seamen.
Working aft, we passed the fire-fighting foam generator. It mixes one part foaming agent to 600 parts sea water to be pumped to special standpipes in critical areas. We were also shown a special fitting that could be attached to a regular standpipe to mix foaming agent like lawn fertilizer on a garden hose attachment.
As we passed through the ship we encountered various hatches that were labled "X", "Y", or "Z". We found that they were supposed to be kept closed as a function of the ship's status. X-ray is normally closed, Yoke is closed as an additional precaution when the ship is in-port on weekends, and Zebra is during battle stations. If a hatch is to be kept open contrary to its status, permission must be sought, received, and logged at the quarterdeck.
The engines take up the middle-below decks and our guide was obliged to have a guide to enter those spaces. Thus we went up-and-over, through the mess deck/galley (which during an emergency, becomes another surgery), to some of the aft spaces. There we found a machine room (w/ drill press & 8" machine lathe, but no milling machine) and a electricians room (not visited), and finally we looked over the steering motors (one each for the dual rudders).
Up and aft we came to the fantail, the lowest exposed deck aft. There was a pedestal for the Close-In Weapon System (the Phalanx), but it wasn't yet mounted. I noticed it appeared to be in way of cable from towing bitt: it seems CG is shifting from rescue to enforcement.
Above and forward of there we returned to the quarter deck/helo deck. Besides a 50X50 foot target for helicoptors, it had a partially retractable hanger (to enlarge helo deck clearance). We were told that a helo isn't assigned to ship on permanent basis, but flown on for special missions.
There was a funny bit of CYA at the end--the OOD said to our guide something like "you stayed on main deck and above didn't you?" We all nodded and didn't look at each other. Our guide got us aside and asked if we had heard such a limitation. We explained about the confusion at the beginning and that the OOD had said something about "main deck", but I think he failed to tell our guide (and realized it later?). As a result of this confusion, we got to see quite a bit more than the typical tour. Basically we saw all but the restricted areas, living quarters, and main engineering spaces. Near the end I realized how the hatches were numbered--the level is one number, then the number of "frames" aft from the bow, then an indication of the position of the hatch from center. Until then, what with going up ladders, down ladders, back and forth through companion ways, we really had lost track of where we were. We all agreed we must have stayed on main deck or above.
Other tidbits--CG vessels are "boats" if less than 65 feet and ships, always called "cutters", if over. If activated as naval ships, the cutters become "light frigates" in Navy nomenclature. Cindy noticed the HAZMAT (hazardous materials) markings are quite different than the civilian commercial markings.
Questions we forgot to ask: displacement, range, shaft horsepower, crew complement, typical cruse duration