Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

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  • Morgan Volunteer
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2010
    • 2854

    Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

    Please note - This thread is now many pages long. To see the latest entries type in the largest number on "page" above. You may also view each page, one at a time, if you wish starting with page 1.

    This thread (blog) is the result of weekly updates made on my activities at Mystic Seaport. Starting in February of 2010, I entered pictures and dialog of my weekly activities. You can read every word but perhaps a page by page review of just the pictures will give you an idea of what went on. This starts with the restoration of the Morgan. In June and July of 2014, the Morgan was sailed to New England ports including New Bedford where she was built in 1841.




    On November 1, 2008 the Charles W. Morgan was hauled out for extensive restoration. It was predicted to take between 3 to 5 years to complete.








    The Charles W. Morgan is the last surviving wooden whaling ship from the great days of sail. Built in 1841 in New Bedford, MA, the Morgan had a successful 80-year whaling career. She made 37 voyages before retiring in 1921.

    When finished the plan is to take the Morgan on her 38th voyage and sail her back to New Bedford.

    http://www.mysticseaport.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewPage&page_id=2103ED0 5-65B8-D398-7609445B7A947310

    I joined Mystic Seaport’s volunteer crew in late July of 2009 and was asked if I would like to work on the Morgan. My job is to scrape paint. Certainly not a glamorous job, but it needs to be done.








    During the last six months while I have been scraping paint, I have been taking pictures, and sending them in e-mails to friends who are on my “Victim List.” I sent them to a couple of Mystic staff members and now I have a new job. I will continue to scrape paint and in my new job I will try to show what is going on behind the scenes where visitors can not go.

    These pictures are from the day the Morgan was hauled out in Mystic’s Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard.

    So to start off with, here is the paint scraping we have been doing. We started with heat but quickly found that all the paint contains lead. Now we use Peel Away which is much safer for everyone.








    As time goes on, I will post updates showing the restoration’s progress. For now I am keeping this simple because I am not exactly sure how all this works yet. If no pictures show up when I post this I will need to do a bit more homework.

    More to come.

    http://www.mysticseaport.org/
    Last edited by Morgan Volunteer; 03-15-2024, 11:31 AM.
  • TimH
    Be as you wish to seem.
    • Nov 2002
    • 12717

    #2
    Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

    I wish the pictures worked.
    "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

    Comment

    • Morgan Volunteer
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2010
      • 2854

      #3
      Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

      They will eventually

      Comment

      • Bill Griffin
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2005
        • 630

        #4
        Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

        All I see is red x-es, but that may be because I'm at work. Them that know, ie Throne, et.al., will be along shortly with proper instructions.

        Comment

        • Fitz
          Wood Canoe Nut
          • Mar 2001
          • 2822

          #5
          Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

          So as to not keep us all in suspense, I took the liberty of posting the pics:






          "Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. " - Thoreau

          Comment

          • GregH
            Senior Member
            • Apr 2005
            • 1857

            #6
            Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

            What is "Peel Away". and why/how is it being used???

            Comment

            • Morgan Volunteer
              Senior Member
              • Jan 2010
              • 2854

              #7
              Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

              Peel Away is a paint stripper that is applied and then covered with a liner that keeps it moist while the chemicals do their magic.

              It's still a lot of hard work, but it is not as toxic as the old lye based products.

              http://www.dumondchemicals.com/

              It has worked well for us. During the warmer weather we can apply in the morning and scrape in the afternoon. When it got cooler in the fall we applied it and waited a few days to scrape. We have moved inside for the winter and are doing doors, stairs, grates, and other removable items.
              Last edited by Morgan Volunteer; 08-11-2010, 04:24 PM.

              Comment

              • BrianY
                Left Wing Extremist
                • Apr 2004
                • 7942

                #8
                Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                Question - What kind of paint(s) is/are on the Morgan? I would imagine that there's a considerable amount of lead-based paint on her and I wondered a how Mystic Seaport would deal with the associated environmental issues.
                From the pix above, it looks like no special precautions are being taken.
                I rather be an American than a Republican.

                Comment

                • Morgan Volunteer
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2010
                  • 2854

                  #9
                  Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                  The paint is lead based paint. The stripper contains the lead so there is no airborne dust. On my first day we used heat guns. Then the paint was tested and it was the end of the heat guns.

                  Mystic is a very green place today. The new ship lift has underground storage tanks to contain the runoff when hulls are power washed. The area under the Morgan is first covered with a fabric that permits any water to pass through but traps any fine particles such as paint chips. The fabric is covered with a layer of crushed stone to protect it. When tha Morgan is finished everything will be disposed of properly.
                  Last edited by Morgan Volunteer; 08-11-2010, 04:23 PM.

                  Comment

                  • rbgarr
                    43.50.918 N, 69.38.583 W
                    • Apr 1999
                    • 25479

                    #10
                    Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                    Interesting report on the futtocks replacement in the latest WB.
                    For the most part experience is making the same mistakes over and over again, only with greater confidence.

                    Comment

                    • nedL
                      Senior Member #1976
                      • Jul 2000
                      • 7544

                      #11
                      Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                      Thanks for the update on Morgan. I did volunteer work at the Seaport back in the late 1970's & have a lot of good memories aboard her. Setting sail (for show) was a good time (no safety harnesses then!), used to slide down her backstays, went swimming off her jibpole (after the Seaport was closed in the evening), & spent some good time up in the hoops of her foremast.





                      Here is the seaport from Morgan's foremast hoops.




                      Notice you are looking DOWN at Joseph Conrad's mast trucks!


                      Please keep us posted on her progress!
                      Last edited by nedL; 02-09-2010, 02:13 PM.

                      Comment

                      • Paul Pless
                        pinko commie tree hugger
                        • Oct 2003
                        • 124803

                        #12
                        Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                        Originally posted by Morgan Volunteer
                        I sent them to a couple of Mystic staff members and now I have a new job. I will continue to scrape paint and in my new job I will try to show what is going on behind the scenes where visitors can not go.
                        Congratulations!

                        Thanks for the pics and updates.
                        Simpler is better, except when complicated looks really cool.

                        Comment

                        • Morgan Volunteer
                          Senior Member
                          • Jan 2010
                          • 2854

                          #13
                          Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                          I climbed up to the fighting top (I think that's what it's called)on HMS Rose in 1986 while she was tied to the dock.

                          Man, I ain't cut out for that sort of thing.
                          Last edited by Morgan Volunteer; 08-11-2010, 04:27 PM.

                          Comment

                          • Morgan Volunteer
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2010
                            • 2854

                            #14
                            Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                            I live 62 miles from Mystic so the commute is a bit long. For that reason I usually only put in one day a week.

                            I would appreciate corrections on glaring errors, but please be kind.

                            As I have written before, I am a volunteer scraping paint off the Morgan. Starting in the bow we have been using Smart Strip, Peel Away and other products from Drummond Chemical.

                            http://www.dumondchemicals.com/

                            This product works well, but it’s still a lot of work.

                            The factory rep came and demonstrated the products he recommended.
                            Because the company made a contribution of some of their products I give them a small plug.



                            This is my boss in the green jacket.



                            As with all projects, quality is in the details.



                            Here my partner is hard at work applying the paper over the newly applied Peel and Strip.



                            Our work started in the bow.




                            Last edited by Morgan Volunteer; 05-06-2010, 08:15 AM. Reason: Changed a picture.

                            Comment

                            • S.V. Airlie
                              Ancient Mariner
                              • Dec 2006
                              • 63914

                              #15
                              Re: Charles W Morgan Restoration; A Volunteer's Perspective-1

                              My father was Director of the Mystic Seaport when the Morgan first "accidentally " floated in I think 1969. The museum was removing some ballast... She floated then but there was a lot of nail biting.
                              Last summer, a retired museum employee gave me a pamphlet my father wrote in the 70's. He drew the plan for the site where the Morgan is currently hauled out. Amazing how similar what is there to what he drew...
                              Nice pics and thanks for the thread.

                              Comment

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