Summer of 2014
- strut and engine alignments
- Tampa-USCG Cushing- Hendry Shipyards
- Fort Lauderdale-Dania Beach
- July 2014
July 2014
The USCG Cushing in drydock at Hendry. This is a Bollinger built cutter, and the work involved check the strut alignment prior to hull work. Every time I work with the Coast Guard I'm honored to meet the men and women who manage and sail these vessels. They are truly outstanding individually and collectively, and there's pride in being part of the repair process knowing them and a little bit about the tough and sometimes thankless jobs they have to do. There may be a little personal gratitude as well- my parents were rescued by the cutter USCG Boutwell when the cruise ship "Prinsendam" burned and sank off Alaska in 1980. Thanks to the Coast Guard all were rescued.
Here's a brief video with a look at some of the procedures we use when replacing stern tubes on aluminum or steel vessels. This is aluminum, and I'm working with a great team of welders and mechanics at Derecktor of Florida, in Dania Beach.
Optical alignment speeds up the stern tube replacement procedure. Setting a target wire can be a time-consumeing operation, and with the telescope the welders and I can be up and running the first tacks quickly, and with confidence that the shaft line is correct. On this vessel the struts were fine, but the tubes are ready to be renewed.
Stern tubes have a tough life, as anaerobic water can sit in a hard-to-coat area, accelerating corrosion. It's a straightforward replacement procedure and I'm working with a team of welders. The picture is of the exterior jig used to support and position the replacement stern tube for the welders. The bolts allow us to position it precisely, and you can see the first weld on the top of the tube itself. Once both ends are tacked there is a gradual buildup of material until both ends are firm, and then the controlled stitching procedure can start.
Engine and shaft optical alignment solutions
Optical shaft and engine alignment for yachts, boats, commercial vessels, and military vessels remains the most accurate, quickest, and most efficient alignment procedure.Optical alignment equipment operated with knowledge and experience provides shipyards, boatyards, and builders with efficient and accurate engine, bearing, and stern tube alignment. Michael H. Bartlett, in the marine industry in Fort Lauderale for thirty years and with over 15 years of optical alignment experience and over 1500 successful boat alignment procedures, owns and operates Marine Alignment, Inc.