My how small the world can get! Thanks to the indefatigable maritime reader-photographer-emailer Bernie Ente, I got a link on September 1 from a west coast newspaper saying there was a Bushey tanker headed for scrap. The Ked is a bit younger (if the story has her age right) and shorter than the Whalen but is unmistakenly a Bushey boat. (photo from Kitsap Sun)
September 2, I got in touch with the Seattle yard handling the scrap job Stabbert Maritime to discuss the possibility of engine parts or anything else we need. (They have an interesting line of work in converting workboats to yachts and produce some posh stuff.) And yesterday I had an encouraging call with Melissa Montgomery, the Washington State official in charge of their state Derelict Vessel Removal Program who gave the shipyard the contract. Her tone was one of “we’d love to help.”
During the PortSide business plan process, we had a young captain working p/t for us while he was getting his Master’s degree in planning. He’s back out in Seattle and I gave him a call. He knows the Ked; she’d been grounded in Bremerton for years. He’d been aboard earlier this year, and he encouraged me to try for a shot at Ked parts and photos of the interior. I’ve also spoken to some people on the water in Seattle who can see how the work progresses. Looks like there is still time to get at that engine!
It’s sad to see another Bushey boat go, but we’re hoping the Ked can help save the Whalen. The Ked has two davits on the boat deck (we are missing 3) and also has a Fairbanks Morse engine. We don’t know what type of engine yet; I’m hoping it’s a 37E12! Standing by!
14 comments:
If you get an engine, I will be totally psyched!! That would be awesome of them to do that for you. The Mary Whalen deserves to get her own move on (although the tug boat guys are totally sweet on her). GOOD LUCK!!!
It would be terrific to get some authentic Bushey parts from the KED to help restore the MARY WHALEN to her prime. PortSide has sponsored some great cultural programs and has been so supportive of the working waterfront and intelligent waterfront planning, it deserves some help getting the WHALEN moving under her own power again.
The Whalen with a working engine would be a dream come true. She's a gift to the community now but can bring the same joy to many more under power!!!
John in Brooklyn
What a perfect opportunity, not only for the Whalen to finally take to the sea on its own, but also for the spirit of the Ked to live on and remain a part of the maritime community!
PortSide's work is essential. In order for its mission to truly set sail, we all have to work together to make the Whalen fully-functioning once again to reach as many people as possible.
Lauren Belfer
Historic Districts Council
WOW, that is great news, hope the fine folks at KED can help you out with a few parts so that it'll help to save the historic Mary Whalen. Help save a unique vessel that means so much to people and preserve an important little part of the maritime history of NYC
John in Jackson Heights, NY
Hats off to you, Portside New York, for dedicating so much energy to trying to preserve the ship Marry Whalen and the bigger picture of the working waterfront. Having done a bit of work on old ships myself, I can fully appreciate the sort of hard work it takes to keep these vessels afloat. I hope Stabbert Maritime will appreciate the opportunity the Ked represents. You would think an organization based on ships and boats would fully appreciate the historical value of some of these materials and would want to help in any way they could. Good luck!
P.S. I like your cat.
This looks too good to be true and I hope that Stabbert can see their way to helping it would be a HUGE lift to the project.
Bob M
I just heard! What great news! I an encouraged that KED and Stabbert Marine might recognize the tremendous social capital acquired within the historic preservation and maritime communities when assisting stalwart efforts like PortSide NY. The extra burdens of going out of their way will be repaid many times over in name acknowledgment, in a word-of-mouth phenomena,the printed word and if I might suggest a permanent plague in the engine room!
I am confident our families, our children and our ancestors will all enjoy the results of your fine committment to the Mary Whalen. Bravo!
David Sharps,
Waterfront Museum
It sounds like a promising lead, and those of us interested in historic vessels of all kinds hope that the Bushey KED will help the Bushey MARY WHALEN to keep going with her fine programming and advocacy for New York's waterfront.
Ross Gannon,
Gannon and Benjamin
Glad the blog seems to be back in action! I can't complain too much, as I realize taking care of the Mary Whalen doesn't often leave a lot of time for writing about taking care of the Mary Whalen.
This possibility of getting spare parts of a Bushey headed for the scrapyard seems like one of those perfectly genius win win win situations. Spare parts for the Whalen, and glorious free publicity along with a burnished and smiling corporate profile, for the donors. All with a fabulous twist on recycling!
Once you wrote about it I realized what a no-brainer this sort of situation ought to be--I only wish I heard of more examples like this.
Congrats
this is very exciting. we all know the important niche the mary whalen fills in the new york harbor. i'm eager to hear more on how this could move forward. any way i could help in this, i'm happy to give a hand. bravo portside and bravo bernie
How rare to find a partable Fairbanks-Morse prime mover. You can see a beautiful example of the F-M opposed-piston engine in New York, in the USS Growler at the Intrepid site.
I hate to say this but there are ship salvage yards all over the world.Couldnt you try them for parts?
I've just "discovered" the Mary Whalen while searching the internet...Rare to see an authentic tanker saved...Two older preserved tankers include the Meteor, a whaleback ship in Superior, Wi; and the Falls of Clyde, a tall ship in Honolulu. Unfortunately, both those ships are in danger...
Taximan Steve Lindsey
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