Restoring PT-658

[nikimcbee]

It's the end o' the year for us. Here was our last event (I wasn't able to go)

If you're in Portland and want to see the boat, drop me a line and I can arrange a personal tour. We won't be sailing until next year.

Off Beat: Son helps old sailor take his final trip on boat that shared story

By Columbian Staff
As of Sunday, September 25, 2011

Almost 70 years ago, a U.S. Navy PT boat took Charles Williams to war in the Pacific. A couple of Sundays ago, a PT boat left a Vancouver dock and delivered Williams to his final resting place.
At about 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 18, Williams was buried at sea.
Having the ceremony aboard the same sort of boat he served on during World War II wasn***8217;t easy. There***8217;s only one left.
PT-658 is the only remaining operational patrol torpedo (PT) boat left in the world. It still belongs to the Navy, but it***8217;s on loan to a nonprofit group that includes several veterans and boat enthusiasts from Clark County. Members of the group ***8212; Save the PT Boat Inc. ***8212; have been restoring the boat at Swan Island in Portland.
Williams was a gunner***8217;s mate 3rd class aboard PT-349 during World War II. For their size, the 80-foot boats were the most heavily armed craft in the Navy.
***8220;It was an all-volunteer service, and he went in at 19,***8221; his son, Charlie Williams, said.
***8220;They would lie low during the day and wait for ships at night in the straits.***8221;
PT-349 operated in the same area near the Solomon Islands where John F. Kennedy skippered PT-109 before he went on to become president.
The old sailor, who was an Oregon resident, knew about the PT-658 project and donated a flag to the group.
When his dad died in 2009, Charlie Williams started thinking about a suitable ceremony and contacted Save the PT Boat Inc.
***8220;It was supposed to be done last September, but they punched a hole in the bottom of the hull,***8221; Williams said.
PT-658 got back on the river this month when the Forty & Eight veterans group held its national convention in Vancouver. The boat***8217;s caretakers pulled PT-658 up to the Vancouver Terminal dock so the veterans could come aboard.
And that provided an opportunity for Charles Williams***8217; final mission.
A U.S. Navy honor guard took part. The Rev. Jerry Keesee, a Ridgefield resident and a veteran, conducted the service.
A starting point

***8220;It was accomplished under the traditions of the Navy and with specified Navy procedures,***8221; said Keesee, who is chaplain for local veterans***8217; groups.
Keesee read from a military chaplains***8217; book that helped send a lot of soldiers and sailors to their final rests ***8212; ***8220;Song and Service Book for Ship and Field,***8221; published in 1942.
Williams***8217; ashes were spread into the Columbia River off Kelley Point, but that was just the starting point for a final journey to the Pacific, his son said.
***8220;That***8217;s where his ashes would actually go out to sea.***8221;
***8212; Tom Vogt
Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a

[-U666-:-Kpt.Engel-]

nice

[jdkbph]

Yes, very nice. Nice story too.

Though the actual quote on the web page should read "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way".



JD

[ReallyDedPoet]

Received a couple of DVDs for Christmas: Silent Victory: Submarine Warfare in WWII and Devil Boat: The Saga of PT 658. The second looked familiar and I remembered this thread.

Nice stuff here Jason. I have just watched a bit of the video so far.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by reallydedpoet

Received a couple of DVDs for Christmas: Silent Victory: Submarine Warfare in WWII and Devil Boat: The Saga of PT 658. The second looked familiar and I remembered this thread.

Nice stuff here Jason. I have just watched a bit of the video so far.

I have the same dvd set. That's a great deal, both videos are awesome. Hey, if you want to see the boat, let me know and we can make arrangements.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

I have the same dvd set. That's a great deal, both videos are awesome. Hey, if you want to see the boat, let me know and we can make arrangements.

Someday I'll take you up on this offer

[nikimcbee]

update: We've added a real (ww2) pt-boat radar mast!. Added some parts to our 40 mm bofors. (the ammo holding rack)
...and we're updating our survival life-raft with the actual (correct) meshing for the bottom.

If you're interested in seeing the boat, let me know and we can arrange a tour.

[AVGWarhawk]

[nikimcbee]

2012 operating schedule
Events 2012 Events planned, but dependent on funding

May 28 Sea trials to test items worked on during winter.. .


June 5-10


July 4
2012 Portland Oregon Rose Festival 'Fleet Week' (arrival June 6 at 10am; departure June 10 at 200pm). June 5 - Great fleet
June 6 13:00 - 16:00 Viewing to invited guests, Vets and uniformed personal

June 7 - 10th 9:00 -12:00 , 13:00 -17:00 Viewing to invited guests, Vets and uniformed personal
Take boat downtown for fireworksJuly 13-15

13th Take boat to St. Helens
14-15 Give tours and return on 15th.
July 28-29
August 18-19
Milwaukie Dayz Milwaukie, OR Boat tours Depart 7/28 - 0900 Return 7/29 - 1600
Lake Oswego Heritage Boat & Car Show Lake Oswego, OR
Boat tours Depart 8/18 - 0830 Return 8/19 - 1600



If you want to see the boat when we're out, let me know so we can make arrangements.

[nikimcbee]

Had the boat out to take some photos for something, fortunately I had my camera and shot some video.

[nikimcbee]

Portland Fleet Week bump. We'll be out all week. If you want to see the boat, now's your chance.

[nikimcbee]

McHale!!!!!!


Me at the helm. I sailed from Kelly's Point ( where the Wilamette River empties into the Columbia River) up to the St John's bridge.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=N...3&via=1,2&z=13






Refueling 1000 gallons of 100 octane aviation fuel.

[nikimcbee]

Big changes for the boat. We've finished the summer activities and we've pulled the boat out of the water for our final part of the restoration.





The chalk marks are thing that need to be fixed.











Sounds like we're going to be out of the water for ~6 months.

[nikimcbee]

Whoa, I haven't updated this in awhile.

We have the boat totally torn apart, but we are making progress in getting rid of the rotten wood, which there is a lot of. We are also going to be moving from the Naval Base to a new location, so we are packing like crazy.



oohh, nice shiney props.



New planks installed by the shipwright.







Port side has some serious rot to be removed/replaced. I helped make this hole.

[nikimcbee]

oops, hit post.



You can see the original coated canvas they used in the layering.





Stbd hole with beam re-inforcement. That would be the crew head up there and the thruway to the chart room.



I took these last week, so they are up to date photos.