Detyens Shipyard

I am proud to anounce that the Bobo is finally finished with her overhaul at Detyens Shipyard in Charleston. She was at the yard for well over 6 months getting repaired from bow to stern: outfitted with new life boats, a fresh coat of paint, a complete new engine and much, much more. To see a ship completely taken apart and put back together is quite something. It’s always a special treat when you can actually walk underneath the ship which you sail. As a Mate, I learned a ton about textbook shipping fundamentals – things that you only get to see in a yard.

The main project for this Shipyard was to upgrade the lifeboats from the Open Life Boats to new closed boats. But we did everything!!

OUT WITH THE OLD…

IN WITH THE NEW!

All I can say, is “WOW, what a transformation!!” Its definitely a treat to have gone from open life boat with flemming gear to state of the art SOLAS closed life boats. Maintainence is now a sinch!! More importantly, in the event we needed to use these boats, our survival rate drastically improves. From an obvious glance you no longer have to mechanically row the lifeboat yourself with the flemming gear, but you get real protection from the sun. How our lives have much improved. To think that the Bobo was built in 1985 and that she is just now getting standardized lifeboats is a bit baffling to say the least, but, hey, at long last, here on the Bobo, we have finally entered the 21st century. This involved welding a whole knew frame and ladderwell to each side of the House. We had to cut holes on the weather deck and weld new base plates.

The Dry Dock!

I learned a ton during this ship yard and this projects gave me alot of firsts too. I got to watch a ship get towed into a Dry Dock. My first experience with a dry dock was aboard the USNS Heezen in 2017 in Dubai. It had a single gate and the water was pumped out. This style for the Bobo was very similar. The Dry Dock at Detyens is shut using a cassion gate. Once the gate is in position the water gets pumps out, and the ship sits on blocks.

Once in the Dock, and painted of course, you get to walk down underneath and its cool!! The video is taken from the bottom of the Dry Dock looking at the ship.

Faking Out the Anchor Chain

Ever since I heard about this, I’ve always wanted to see what it done! Faking the anchor and all 13 shots of her chain from the ship’s chain locker to the dry dock floor. You take out the pins and in a few hours the whole anchor can be completely removed from the ship. This is the chance to fully inspect the chain for rust and give it some new paint. Each shot of chain is marked with white links on either side of a red detachable link. When there are two shots left it is yellow, and the last shot is always red. I even got to climb inside the chain locker during this project!! This can be very dangerous and is rarely done, but it couldn’t resist going and taking a peak.

NOTABLE MOMENTS!

Each crane was completely disassembled and put back together. I saw the entire weather deck become stripped down to nothing and made brand new. I even worked on the magnetic compass that’s all the way up on the flying bridge. I saw her go from old to brand new. I witnessed the propeller come off of the ship and then be re-attached. I got to see the inside of the rudder vane motor assembly. I got to see all four of the anchors faked out across the dry dock basin. I got to see the ship with no power and go completely black. I climbed into the chain lockers, ballast tanks, and void spaces. If there was a small space for a little person, you bet I was there. And I got to see it all in only 2 months.

This overhaul is a project that I am proud to have been a part of. I learned alot of about ship construction and design, and the inner workings of the Bobo herself. I grew professionally and gain valuable knowledge that will be useful where ever I go. If you would like to see more I took a picture from each day. It turned out to be a cool project. Go to my Instagram story @modern.mariner and you can see the whole repair from start to finish.

Stay salty!

-Emily